Zeno of Elea

1. “There can be no creation, for being cannot come from non-being, because a thing cannot arise from that which is different from it.”Eleatics school

2. Explain why for Zeno, plurality is impossible.

3. Is there a possibility of motion in the world of essence? why?

4. Why is nous inevitable in the dynamic system of the universe?

5. Differentiate love from strife; discuss their roles in the cosmological balance.

6. Ignis aurum probat, miseria fortes viros. “Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.”

7. “For what prevents us from saying that the happy life is to have a mind that is free, lofty, fearless and steadfast – a mind that is placed beyond the reach of fear, beyond the reach of desire, that counts virtue the only good, baseness the only evil, and all else but a worthless mass of things, which come and go without increasing or diminishing the highest good, and neither subtract any part from the happy life nor add any part to it?

A man thus grounded must, whether he wills or not, necessarily be attended by constant cheerfulness and a joy that is deep and issues from deep within, since he finds delight in his own resources, and desires no joys greater than his inner joys.”.

The concept of creation is an attribute only for God, its beyond human comprehension and explanation of science. I believe that there is one Supreme Being responsible in the creation of the universe, the existence of humans and everything that exist, immaterial or material. This belief of universal oneness or sameness of being by the eleatics is undeniably wrong; we can prove this by looking at these different creatures that exists. Are they the same?

Zeno believes that there could not be more than one thing, on pain of contradiction. Assume then that there are many things; he argues that they are both ‘limited’ and ‘unlimited’, a contradiction.

Zeno argues that it is impossible for a runner to traverse a race course. His reason is that “motion is impossible, because an object in motion must reach the half-way point before it gets to the end” Why is this a problem? Because the same argument can be made about half of the race course: it can be divided in half in the same way that the entire race course can be divided in half. And so can the half of the half of the half, and so on, ad infinitum. So a crucial assumption that Zeno makes is that of infinite divisibility: the distance from the starting point to the goal can be divided into an infinite number of parts. Thus the concept of motion by zeno is very miss leading and erroneous.

Nous is the most powerful thing in the cosmos (universe) controlling the rotation in our society and all ensouled things. It is inevitable because our mind and intellect has all the judgment and discernment about all things

Love is responsible for the attraction of different forms of matter, and Strife is cause for their separation. If these elements make up of the universe, then Love and Strife explain their variation and harmony. Love and Strife are attractive and repulsive forces, respectively, which is plainly observable in human behavior, but also pervade the universe. In other words it preserves the balance of human interaction towards all sorts of human’s natural desire.

Mistakes are inevitable, and failures are necessary for success – It’s a fact. Nobody reap their success in life easily, as quoted “no pain no gain” so don’t be afraid to try and failed, it is where we become stronger and a test of a real man.

Happiness is the ultimate search of a person. But I believe that everyone should experience also uncertainties in the pursuit of real happiness. It’s not only being