Ricerc@Sapienza

The focus of this chapter is Aristotle’s resolution of Parmenides’ argument for monism in Physics I 3, in particular the role that this resolution plays in Physics I and its philosophical meaning. It argues that one of Aristotle’s principal aims is to construe a theory of principles that, unlike those of his predecessors, is correct, because it is built (among other things) by solving some major problems left unresolved by his predecessors.

In Plato’s Parmenides (135c8-d5), Parmenides suggests Socrates to practice a dialectical exercise before the search for truth: this exercise consists in verifying the logical consistence of the consequences of a certain hypothesis and of its reversal, as regards the object of the hypothesis and its opposite. In a very short passage (137b1-4)), Parmenides states that his analysis will be dedicated to the one itself and that it will start from his philosophical thesis. But what’s the object of Pamenides’ hypothesis?