Читать книгу A Beginner's History of Philosophy, Vol. 1: Ancient and Mediæval Philosophy онлайн

28 страница из 54

The Cosmic Substance is Being.

All thinking refers to something thought, and therefore has Being for its content;

Thinking that refers to nothing, and is therefore contentless, cannot be;

Therefore, not-Being cannot be thought, much less can it be.

These propositions look very abstract, and make us believe that we are to plunge immediately into a kind of German idealism. But Parmenides leaves us in no doubt that he is one of the hylozoists of his time. Being is indeed thought, but Being is also matter. We may therefore amend our equation to Being ＝ Thought ＝ Matter. Being is what fills space, and all Being has this and only this property. All Being is therefore exactly alike, and there is only one, single Being. There are no distinctions in Being. By not-Being Parmenides means empty space or that which is not material. So that Parmenides’ assumption of Being as the cosmic substance means this: all that exists, including thought, fills space; and all that does not exist does not fill space.