The fast Parmenides

By James Paul Roolvink

Parmenides was born around 510 BC, and parts of a poem by him have been preserved. In that poem, he sets out a doctrine of dual truth: there is objective truth and absolute truth. Objectively speaking, Plato was deeply inspired by Parmenides, and we can safely say that Plato's theory of ideas and his allegory of the cave stem from a thorough reflection on Parmenides' words. Objectively, movement exists, but in absolute terms it does not. Objectively, you will undoubtedly be moved when you read Parmenides' words with your heart.

'The fast Parmenides' contains a translation and commentary on the poem (translated from English into Dutch and back to Dutch via the translation machine DeepL). A commentary so original that it will eclipse current interpretations. The connections drawn between the power of the imagination, nothingness, appearance, time, and the emergence of logic and the phenomenal world - and how this, in turn, relates to Parmenides's thoughts on human procreation - are merely examples of this new reading of Parmenides, which, in a certain sense, predates Parmenides's own words.

The book concludes with a chapter on what time is and the relationship between time and being. It demonstrates that both Heidegger (1889-1976) and McTaggart (1866-1925) are on the trail of the same truth, but that they misinterpret it. The Babylonian confusion of tongues is then resolved. Not only is it argued that being comes first and time comes later, but it is also explained what being is and what time is, and how 'clock time' and 'psychological time' relate to one another. Parmenides features prominently in this explanation, and it becomes clear that his poem is more relevant than ever.

The book concludes by exploring how, drawing on Parmenides' thought, one arrives at mysticism and from mysticism at Magic, against the backdrop of a dialogue with Ibn Arabi (1165-1240). The conclusion ends with a translation of this dialogue in terms of time and concludes that the future can be present. In the final section, the Opener is contemplated.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H7XTJCDX
• ISBN13: 9798186011392
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 115 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"