Page 47 - STOLEN LEGACY By George G. M. James

(ii) The Doctrine of Truth

Truth consists of the knowledge that Being is, and that not-Being is not: and since not-Being is
not, then Being is one and alone. Consequently, Being is unproduced and unchangeable. It is
impossible for Being to produce Being; for under such circumstances Being must exist before it
begins to exist.

(iii) The doctrine of the Cosmology of the Apparent.
1
Here Parmenides simply repeats the Pythagorean doctrine of opposites:—
All things are composed of light or warmth, and of darkness or cold, and according to Aristotle,
the former of these opposites corresponds to Being, while the latter to not-Being.
These opposites are equivalent to the male and female principles in the cosmos.

(iv) The Doctrine of the Anthropology of the Apparent

The life of the soul, i.e., perception and reflexion, depends upon the blending of opposites, i.e.,
of the light-warm and the dark-cold principles, each of which stands in a physical relation to a
corresponding principle in the cosmos. (Zeller's History of Philosophy p. 60–62). (Roger's
Students' History of Philosophy p. 29–30). (William Turner's History of Philosophy p. 47–48).
(B. D. Alexander's History of Philosophy p. 22–24).

(c) Zeno
Supposed to be born 490 B.C. at Elea was a pupil of Parmenides, according to Plato.
(Parmenides 127B).

His doctrines were intended to be a contradiction of (i) Motion and (ii) Plurality and space.
(i) Arguments against motion:

(a) A body, in order to move from one point to another, must move through an infinite number of
spaces since magnitude is divisible ad infinitum.

(b) A body which is in one place is at rest. An arrow in its flight is at each successive moment in
one place therefore it is at rest.

(c) The race between Achilles and the tortoise is intended to contradict the concept of motion. In
such a race Achilles can never overtake the tortoise, because he must first reach the point at
which the tortoise started; but in the meantime the tortoise will have gained more ground. Since
Achilles must always reach first the position previously occupied by the tortoise, the tortoise
must always keep ahead, at every point.

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Stolen Legacy: Greek Philosophy is Stolen Egyptian Philosophy by George G. M. James
The Journal of Pan African Studies 2009 eBook