EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS BY OKEY IKECHUKWU
In the words of Parmenides: “What is, is; and what is not is not”. And he is right. If an umbrella exists, then it exists. If it does not exist, then it does not exist. But, wait a minute! How about something that exists “becoming” something else? An egg can become a chicken, `for instance. A student may one day become a teacher, an engineer, an armed robber or a priest. A seed may one day become a tree, or a shrub. So, where does that leave us with Parmenides? Perhaps we should just tell the gentleman philosopher that he is wrong in his further statement that “for something to come into being, it must have been in existence before then”. He forgot, or denied, the concept of development.
Unlike Parmenides, Aristotle said: “Everything is what it is” at any particular point in time. A chair is a chair. A table is a table, and not a chicken. But the table was made from pieces of wood, nails, gum and…
Source: Thisday Newspaper
