Zeno of Elea

Zeno of Elea
Zeno of Elea
Greek philosopher (b. 490 B.C.)

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Zeno of Elea
    Zeno of Elea
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Zeno of Elea
    Greek philosopher, born at Elea, about 490 B.C. At his birthplace Xenophanes and Parmenides had established the metaphysical school of philosophy known as the Eleatic School. The chief doctrine of the school was the oneness and immutability of reality and the distrust of sense-knowledge which appears to testify to the existence of multiplicity and change. Zeno's contribution to the literature of the school consisted of a treatise, now lost, in which, according to Plato, he argued indirectly against the reality of motion and the existence of the manifold. There were, it seems, several discourses, in each of which he made a supposition, or hypothesis, and then proceeded to show the absurd consequences that would follow. This is now known as the method of indirect proof, or reductio ad absurdum, and it appears to have been used first by Zeno. Aristotle in his "Physics" has preserved the arguments by which Zeno tried to prove that motion is only apparent, or that real motion is an absurdity. The arguments are fallacious, because as Aristotle has no difficulty in showing, they are founded on on false notions of motion and space. They are, however, specious, and might well have puzzled an opponent in those days, before logic had been developed into a science. They earned for Zeno the title of "the first dialectician," and, because they seemed to be an unanswerable challenge to those who relied on the verdict of the senses, they helped to prepare the way for the skepticism of the Sophists. Besides, the method of indirect proof opened up for the sophist new possibilities in the way of contentious argument, and was very soon developed into a means of confuting an opponent. It is, consequently, the forerunner of the Eristic method, or the method of strife.
    WILLIAM TURNER
    Transcribed by Rick McCarty

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


Catholic encyclopedia.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Zeno of Elea's — Zeno of Elea …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Zeno of Elea — (pronEng|ˈziːnoʊ əv ˈɛliə, Greek: Ζήνων ὁ Ἐλεάτης) (ca. 490 BC? – ca. 430 BC?) was a pre Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. Aristotle called him the inventor of the dialectic… …   Wikipedia

  • Zeno of Elea — (c. 490 bc–c. 430 bc) Greek philosopher Zeno was born at Elea (now Velia in Italy) and in about 450 bcaccompanied his teacher, Parmenides, to Athens. There he propounded the theories of the Eleatic school and became famous for his series of… …   Scientists

  • Zeno of Elea — c490 c430 B.C., Greek philosopher. Also called Zeno. * * * born с 495 died с 430 BC Greek philosopher and mathematician. He was called by Aristotle the inventor of dialectic. He is best known for his paradoxes (see paradoxes of Zeno). As a pupil… …   Universalium

  • Zeno of Elea — (b. c. 490 BC) The pupil and principal defender of Parmenides, Zeno was called the inventor of dialectic by Aristotle . His one book, of which we possess only fragments, contained many arguments for the unreality of the pluralistic world that we… …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Zeno of Elea — noun ancient Greek philosopher who formulated paradoxes that defended the belief that motion and change are illusory (circa 495 430 BC) • Syn: ↑Zeno • Instance Hypernyms: ↑philosopher * * * c490 c430 B.C., Greek philosopher. Also called Zeno …   Useful english dictionary

  • Zeno of Elea — biographical name circa 495 circa 430 B.C. Greek philosopher …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Zeno of Elea — See Pythagoreans and Eleatics …   History of philosophy

  • Zeno of Elea — Ze′no of E′lea n. big c490–c430 b.c., Greek philosopher …   From formal English to slang

  • Zeno of Elea — /ˌzinoʊ əv ˈiliə/ (say .zeenoh uhv eeleeuh) noun fl. late 5th century BC, Greek philosopher, a disciple of Parmenides …  

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”