por melissa of Samos He was a philosopher of Ancient Greece, but also served as an important commander in the navy. He achieved significant victories in battles and shared some of the ideas expounded by the theory of atomism.
He was a disciple of Parmenides of Elea, an important Greek philosopher who founded the School of the Eleatas. Meliso was one of the most important philosophers of this movement, although he later moved away from the ideas of his mentor.
What is known about the philosophical work of Melisso de Samos is thanks to the writings of other thinkers. For example, Aristotle was one of his detractors, since he assured that his ideas did not have a basis that could be considered correct.
In a kinder way, thanks to Simplicio of Cilicia, a mathematician and philosopher originally from the territory that would now be Turkey, there are 10 fragments of the only work that survived from Samos.
As part of the navy, he is remembered for the battle against Pericles, although he was ultimately defeated.
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Biography
Melissus of Samos was a Greek philosopher. There is no exact date that allows clarifying biographical events in his life. The only verifiable data was that of the battle of Samos that occurred between the years 441 and 440 BC. C. and in which he participated as commander of the navy.
For this reason, many historians assume that the birth of Melisso de Samos could have occurred around the year 470 BC. c. From then on, all the data on the life of Samos are based on inferences from the work of other thinkers of the time.
For example, it has been taken for granted that he was a disciple of Parmenides, but this is due more than anything to the fact that they shared many ideas and that he was part of the philosophical School of the Eleatas. He was even, along with Parmenides, Zeno and Xenophanes, one of the most important exponents of this school.
Personal life
The place where Meliso was born was Samos, an island in Greece. In ancient times the city was located in the southern part of the island, while today Samos is located in the north. It was a territory with great economic and cultural relevance.
In the era before Christ there were several prominent philosophers from this area such as: Pythagoras and Epicurus. It was also the birthplace of the architect Teodoro. Even Pythagoras had a great influence on Melisso’s life because he grew up surrounded by his ideas and teachings.
Plutarch of Chaeronea made reference to the battle of Samos and there he named Itagenes as the father of Melisso.
Philosophical thought
The only work of which there is evidence of any of its fragments was called About nature or what exists. The ideas that Meliso de Samos captured were written in prose and only 10 fragments of the publication are known thanks to Simplicio.
In total, there are only about a thousand words of Meliso’s work. Although it has been enough for historians to be able to study the thoughts and ideas exposed by the Ancient Greek philosopher.
Differences with Parmenides
Melisso and Parmenides agreed on many of their approaches, but they distanced themselves in some aspects. For example, Melisso spoke of being as something infinite, a thought that even Aristotle himself refuted, considering that the statement did not have any kind of logic.
His theory of being
Despite everything, Melissus and Parmenides agreed on many ideas about being. Most of the concepts used by both were accepted. Especially those that had to do with the unalterable.
For Meliso, the lack of limits to be something was non-negotiable. He opted for the idea that being is not something fleeting but lasts forever.
Senses
Melisso did not agree that the stimuli caused through the five senses were very reliable. The philosopher explained that the idea that was generated changed continuously.
He was also against the presence of the bodies. Aristotle was especially critical of this idea of being as something incorporeal. The philosopher stated that something could not be infinite if it did not have a body, for which reason one of Meliso’s ideas managed to cancel out the other.
Influence
It is clear that Melissus of Samos was not the most influential of the ancient Greek philosophers, not even from the group of the Eleatas School. Obviously one of the reasons was that very little of his work survived the test of time. Likewise, some of his thoughts were very relevant to the time.
It has not been possible to prove who his direct disciples were either. Although some historians have come to affirm that Leucippus of Miletus, founder of atomism, was one of his pupils.
Plato and Aristotle focused on many of his ideas to challenge the nature of the Eleatian School of Philosophy. Both were his main critics.
detractors
For years, great importance has not been given to the contributions of Meliso de Samos to the branch of philosophy. Aristotle was one of the main culprits that this will happen since he directed very harsh criticism of the navy commander.
For some connoisseurs, the importance of Melisso is in question, since he took advantage of the ideas and principles exposed by Parmenides to gain relevance in the area of philosophy. In this sense Aristotle did not discriminate. He was detractor of the two thinkers. He assured that the two gave explanations of little level and lacking in logic.
For Aristotle, who was much harsher in his criticism of Melissus, the philosopher from Samos carried out bad procedures to reach his conclusions, which invalidated all his work.
recent time
In more recent years, the work of Melissus of Samos has gained importance among historians and philosophers. Some have come to affirm that the role played by Melisso in the formation and thought of Plato was more relevant than is believed.
Phrases
Some of the 10 surviving fragments of his work About nature or what exists are:
– “What always was, always will be. Because if it arose, necessarily before its generation there was nothing; then, if there were nothing, nothing would come from nothing.”
– “Nothing that has a beginning and an end is eternal or without limit”.
– “If it were not one thing, it would limit something else”.
– “If what exists is divided, it moves; and if it moves, it would not exist”.
All these phrases that Meliso said were arguments that supported his idea of infinity.
References
Harriman, B. (2019). Melissus and eleatic monism. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Jouanna, J. (2007). Sophocle. [Paris]: Fayard.
Kolak, D. and Thomson, G. (2006). The Longman standard history of philosophy. New York: Pearson Education.
Preus, A. (2001). Essays in ancient Greek philosophy. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Waterfield, R. (2012). The first philosophers. Vancouver, BC: Langara College.