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Peri physeos

poem by Parmenides
Also known as: “On Nature”

Quick Summary

Parmenides' Peri physeos (On Nature) is a philosophical poem divided into three parts: a proem, the "Way of Truth," and the "Way of Opinion". In the "Way of Truth," Parmenides argues that reality is a single, eternal, unchanging, and indivisible "Being". He posits that change and multiplicity are mere illusions perceived by mortals. The "Way of Opinion" explores the world of appearances, which Parmenides considers less real than true Being. This work is foundational to metaphysics and the Eleatic school of pre-Socratic philosophy.12

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