Pre-Socratic Philosophy

Discover the Language of the World

An Introduction to Parmenides’ Philosophy of Language

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We all know about Plato and his famous teacher Socrates. These two are often credited with being the first true philosophers. However, Plato and Socrates both built on a long tradition of intellectual work by those who came before them.

One of the most influential pre-Socratic philosophers was Parmenides. He was born into a rich and influential family in what is now southern Italy and earned a reputation for being a wise politician and scholar. Parmenides was so famous that Plato named one of his dialogues after him where an elder Parmenides conversed with a young Socrates.

While , the fact that Plato used Parmenides’ name shows just how important a figure he was even during his own time. Today, Parmenides is considered the founder of ontology (i.e., the study of existence) and is included along with discussions of Plato and Aristotle to provide background for their metaphysics.

Here I would like to focus on a less well-known part of his thought than his ontology. I would like to present Parmenides’ view of language and how it can be helpful even today in understanding some of the most pressing issues…