We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Zeno of Elea
FREE Catholic Classes
Greek philosopher, born at Elea, about 490 B.C. At his birthplace Xenophanes and Parmenides had established the metaphysical school of philosophy known as the Eleatic School. The chief doctrine of the school was the oneness and immutability of reality and the distrust of sense-knowledge which appears to testify to the existence of multiplicity and change. Zeno's contribution to the literature of the school consisted of a treatise, now lost, in which, according to Plato, he argued indirectly against the reality of motion and the existence of the manifold. There were, it seems, several discourses, in each of which he made a supposition, or hypothesis, and then proceeded to show the absurd consequences that would follow. This is now known as the method of indirect proof, or reductio ad absurdum , and it appears to have been used first by Zeno. Aristotle in his "Physics" has preserved the arguments by which Zeno tried to prove that motion is only apparent, or that real motion is an absurdity. The arguments are fallacious, because as Aristotle has no difficulty in showing, they are founded on on false notions of motion and space. They are, however, specious, and might well have puzzled an opponent in those days, before logic had been developed into a science. They earned for Zeno the title of "the first dialectician," and, because they seemed to be an unanswerable challenge to those who relied on the verdict of the senses, they helped to prepare the way for the skepticism of the Sophists. Besides, the method of indirect proof opened up for the sophist new possibilities in the way of contentious argument, and was very soon developed into a means of confuting an opponent. It is, consequently, the forerunner of the Eristic method, or the method of strife.
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
FREE Catholic Classes Pick a class, you can learn anything

Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
Female / Women Saints
-
Saint of the Day for Saturday, Feb 4th, 2023
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
A Guide for Confession
-
St. Blaise
-
Saints A to Z: A
-
Patron Saints A-Z
-
Bible
-
St. Agatha
Daily Catholic
Daily Readings for Sunday, February 05, 2023
St. Agatha: Saint of the Day for Sunday, February 05, 2023
For Special Intentions: Prayer of the Day for Sunday, February 05, 2023
- Daily Readings for Saturday, February 04, 2023
- St. Joan of Valois: Saint of the Day for Saturday, February 04, 2023
- A Prayer for Church Unity: Prayer of the Day for Saturday, February 04, 2023
Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.