2.4 Non-duality in Ancient Greece
- Non-Duality as “Monism”
- Time: 6th-5th century BCE. BCE stands for “Before Common Era.” CE stands for common era, from year 1 onwards. A standard convention in chronology is that time decreases before our common era, also described as “BC,” Before Christ.
- Era: Antiquity
- Geography: Ancient Greece
- Key Thinker: Parmenides
- Movement: The Eleatic School
- Geography: Ancient Greece
Bust of Parmenides. Source: Wikimedia Commons. License Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0. Photography by Sergio Spolti
70. The reader is invited to closely examine the development and nuances of monism in Western thought, tracing its evolution from its simplest to its most elaborate forms, starting with Ancient Greece, the cradle of Western civilization. The most notable form of non-duality in Ancient Greece is the doctrine or philosophy of monism.
71. In a philosophical poem, which has been partially preserved through fragments collected by Plato, Parmenides engages in discourse with a female deity who imparts knowledge about Being. Parmenides later established the Eleatic School to propagate Monism, or the doctrine of the One. He observed that beingness is inherent in (common to) all things, animate and inanimate alike, leading him to the conclusion that only Being is real and truly exists; everything else is mere appearance or illusion.
72. Before Parmenides and Socrates (5th-4th century BC: 470–399 BC), many thinkers began to question mythology and inquire the nature of life, the cosmos, and existence, often adopting dualistic or pluralistic perspectives. Parmenides stands apart in his assertion that, whether the universe appears purely elemental (physical) or divine, one fundamental characteristic unites everything within it: beingness. The term “Monism” is derived from the ancient Greek word “monos,” meaning “one.”
This ends subchapter 2.4. , Non-duality in Antiquity. Let’s see how Oneness evolved during the Middle Ages.