Zeno was one of the most wise ancient philosophers. Zeno used a paradoxical approach to represent his intriguing arguments. Some of his most famous antinomies are against plurality and motion. Zeno’s arguments were preserved by Aristotle in the context of his own discussion. Zeno made 4 arguments related to motion, namely- The dichotomy argument, the achilles, the arrow and the moving rows arguments. The argument that will be given emphasis in this essay is the arrow argument related to motion. In this arrow argument, he asks us to imagine a flying arrow and shows through the example of this arrow how nothing is in motion. He does this by relating motion to concepts of temporal periods, temporal instants, spaces and others.
Zeno’s third argument concerning motion has been divided into two fragments and is as follows, “Zeno argues fallaciously; for if, he says, everything always rests when it is against what is equal, and what is in locomotion is always in the now, the arrow in locomotion is motionless. But this is false, for time is not composed of indivisible ‘nows’, no more than is any other magnitude.” (Aristotle Physics 6.9, 239b30-33) The second part of his argument as follows “ The third [argument concerning motion] is the one just mentioned, that the arrow in locomotion is at rest. This follows from assuming that time is composed of ‘nows’; for if that is not granted, the conclusion will not follow.” (Aristotle Physics 6.9, 239b30-33)
For a better understanding, there is a need to understand the difference between a temporal instant and a temporal period in time. A temporal instant can be looked at as an unextended point in time. For example- a period in time like 9 am. Suppose one asks how long is 9 am? There would be...
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...for denying the existence of motion. This would eventually be in agreement with Zeno.
To conclude, Zeno argued very well about his views concerning motion. His antinomies may seem absurd at first, but after a clear understanding they seem very logical. The arrow argument certainly had some critics but Zeno responded to those critics very well and was successful in arguing against the existence of motion.
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Plato, author of the Phaedo, was the second member of the brilliant philosophical flourish of ancient Athens that began with Socrates, continued through him and then culminated with Aristotle. Thou...
Baird, Forrest E., and Walter Kaufman. "Aristotle." Ancient Philosophy. 3rd ed. Philosophic Classics, vols. 1. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000. 304 - 444.
In the first part, Aquinas states that the existence of god is not self-evident, meaning that reason alone without appealing to faith can give a good set of reasons to believe. To support this claim, Aquinas refers to “The Argument of Motion”, proposing that:
(4) Plato, Crito, in: The Works of Plato, The Nottingham Society, New York, vol. III, p. 125-6. (the year of publication unknown).
Plato, and G. M. A. Grube. "Phaedo." Five Dialogues. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub., 2002. 93-
...e ultimate cause of everything? While its minor problems are resolved quite easily, Aristotle’s argument for the unmoved mover is predicated on a premise of unknown stability: philosophy. At the heart of the issue is the very nature of philosophy itself and its ability to tackle questions of any magnitude. If everything is knowable, and philosophy is the path to knowledge, then everything must be knowable through philosophy, yet the ad infinitum paradox Aristotle faces is one that shows that the weakest part of his argument is the fact it relies on the abovementioned characteristics of philosophy. If any one of those is wrong, his proof crumbles and the timeless God in which he believes goes along with it, but if they are all right, then there is one God, immovable and actuality, for as Aristotle says, “The rule of many is not good; let there be one ruler” (1076a).
Wetherbee, Winthrop. "Dante Alighieri." Stanford University. Stanford University, 29 Jan. 2001. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
. Its most famous defender is Descartes, who argues that as a subject of conscious thought and experience, he cannot consist simply of spatially extended matter. His essential nature must be non-m...
Aurelius, Marcus. "Meditations." Ancient Philosophy. 3rd Ed. Philosophic Classics, vols. 1. Baird, Forrest E., and Walter Kaufman. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000.
In this paper, I offer a reconstruction of Aristotle’s argument from Physics Book 2, chapter 8, 199a9. Aristotle in this chapter tries to make an analogy between nature and action to establish that both, nature and action, have an end.
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Zeno of Elea was a mathematician who is known for introducing a number of intelligent and original paradoxes. A paradox is a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. Zeno was not only a Greek mathematician but also a Greek philosopher and wrote books about the paradoxes that he discovered. His paradoxes continue to stump intelligent people from Aristotle done to people in the present day. Not only did Zeno’s paradoxes contribute to him being considered a mathematician but also his rich background. Little is known about Zeno himself but the information we do know comes from either the manuscript “Parmenides” written by Plato or Aristotle.
For Plato, Forms are eternal and changeless, but there is a relationship between these eternal and changeless Forms and particular things we perceive by means of our senses in the world. These particular things change in accordance to the perceiver and the perceiver’s environment and this is why Plato thought that such things do not possess real existence. For Plato, onl...
Many of Aristotle’s teachings have shown remarkable insight into the human mind, especially considering the time in which he lived. Just as some of his teachings on physics were held as true for nearly 2000 years, many of his teachings on the human mind were well ahead of his time. His method of study and experimentation, followed by logical deduction are the basis for all sciences now, something which was completely new when he wrote of this approach.
Pope, Alexander. "Essay on Man." Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces 6th ed. Ed. Maynard Mack et.al. New York: Norton, 1992. 326-333