biography
pronunciation:
[zeenoh, eelia]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (c.490–c.420 BC)
|
| biography:
| Greek philosopher, a native of Elea, Italy. A favourite disciple of Parmenides, he became known for a series of paradoxes, many of which denied the possibility of spatial division or motion. The best known is ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’, whose conclusion is that no matter how fast Achilles runs, he cannot overtake a tortoise, if the tortoise has a head start. The rigour and dialectical nature of his arguments influenced Socrates' philosophical technique. The paradoxes were revived as serious philosophical issues by Lewis Carroll and by Bertrand Russell. |
|
|
