Parmenides’ Ideas in Pedagogy and Knowledge Quest Essay

The reasoning and ideas of Parmenides have been of great significance in the modern world as far as teaching and the quest for knowledge are concerned. This assertion is based on the fact that social problems and other related issues have become common among individuals nowadays. Most people share the behavior of avoiding social problems instead of looking for solutions. This is contrary to the traditional approach to difficult situations.

Concerning the ideas of Parmenides, it is important to analyze situations for deeper understanding and knowledge. This is evident from his approach where he rejects what he terms as the “beliefs of mortals”, whose basis is the sensory experience as he considers such reasoning to bear “no true trust”. According to him, individuals need to be judgmental concerning the reasoning behind any given claim to differentiate “what can be” from “what cannot”. Such reasoning has been used in education and teaching nowadays where it has become important to provide the reasoning behind any claim.

Also, Parmenides provides further grounds on the quest for knowledge by alluding that genuine things are based on the thinking that what is, must be: “whole, complete, unchanging, and one”. Such thoughts bring the need for different things that can undergo qualitative change, from that which can become, or can come to pass. As such, Parmenides’ thoughts and ideas on knowledge bring out the need to base an understanding of knowledge based on features of wholeness, completeness, oneness, and the ability to remain unchanged.

The evolutionary works of Parmenides are brought about in the form of metaphors as he tries to defend metaphysics. His argument for essential homogeneity, as well as the changelessness of being, is presented through a metaphor of the trip to the goddess in search of enlightenment.

Such an approach can be considered to have some similarities with the Greek approach of invoking the muse. In this metaphorical approach, Parmenides illustrates the process of building knowledge through a description of the views of reality, where he explains “the way of truth” and “the way of opinion”. The metaphor of the trip to the goddess provides readers with the illustration of changelessness and homogeneity by explaining aspects of appearances and how sensory faculties can result in false and deceitful conceptions.

His use of the goddess and the trip for enlightenment is symbolic of the search for true knowledge. The reference to the axle at the center of the chariot’s wheel represents the continuous search and demand for knowledge. Metaphorically, Parmenides points out that the axle “was thrilling forth the bright sound of a musical pipe”. Such a metaphor is used to illustrate the process of building knowledge. Also, he refers to the maidens as daughters of Sun and considers his trip to be from night to light.

Such illustration is intended to explain the difference between an individual who knows one who does not, and the change from lack of knowledge to the gain of knowledge as emphasized in “…escort after leaving the house of Night for Light…”. On the other hand, the maidens are presented as having no veils, which can be considered a metaphor for trueness.

Based on the ideas and thoughts of Parmenides, one gets to understand the need to search for knowledge based on the importance of completeness, oneness, and true trust.