Empedocles’ attitude towards Parmenides

Abstract

The article is an attempt to explain to what extent Empedocles could imitate the way of thinking of Parmenides in his views on the nature of reality and its order. The analyzes of the assumptions of both thinkers show that Parmenides’ goal was to show what consequences result from adopting the only way, that it is (ὡς ἔστιν). Empedocles, on the other hand, addresses the problem of moving from the one (ἐξ ἑνός) to many (πλέονα) and from many (ἐκ πλεόνων) to the one (ἕν). In order to obtain a clear understanding of the experienced reality, Empedocles used the rules resulting from the thinking of being established by Parmenides. Adopting this method of interpretation, an attempt was made to re-analyze those aspects of Empedocles’ theory, the content of which is considered to refer to the views of Parmenides. Empedocles’ first reference to Parmenides is the theory of Love (Φιλότης), which would correspond to Parmenides’ thesis about Eros as a beginning (ἀρχήν) of all (τοῦ παντός). However, the area possessed by the Friendship impulse is referred to by Empedocles as Σφαῖρος. The application of the term Σφαῖρος to the area defined by Friendship, which is equal in length and breadth, may refer to Parmenides’ thesis that the boundaries of being are similar to a well-rounded sphere (σφαίρης) from the center equal everywhere. It is also generally accepted that Empedocles accepted Parmenides’ theorem that anything (οὐδέν) can come to be out of nothing (ἐκ μηδενός), which, however, is present in this form only in Melissus. It is likely that Empedocles, when writing about ungenerated elements, refers to Parmenides’ theses regarding light and night, included in his speech on the deceptive order.