P³: Parmenides, Plato, and Parallel Universes

Nynshari Baenre

Alpha Omega at Louisiana State University

For millennia Parmenides has remained one of the most intriguing philosophers of the Western world, and his philosophy of the cosmos has remained one of the most enigmatic.  It is no wonder: his claims about the nature of being and existence – that it is changeless, eternal and infinite – are radical and completely contrary to human experience, both in ancient Greece and in the modern world.  At least, that is what many people think to be the case.  Modern theoretical physics appears to be going back to its roots, however, and in searching for the answers to now-valid scientific questions – such as: What is reality?  What is time?  Of what does existence consist? – some scientists are turning to philosophers, both ancient and modern, for help.  In some ways, theoretical physics is becoming more metaphysical, and some theories, such as Multiverse theory, are embracing the very views held by Parmenides over 2,500 years ago that seem so completely outrageous to us, though many people, sometimes even the scientists proposing the theories, don’t even realize it.

Parmenides is not the only ancient philosopher to profit from this new turn in modern theoretical physics: Plato is also finding a new home amoung a number of physicists and their theories, mainly due to the very idea for which he is most criticized: his Theory of Forms.  Unlike with Parmenides, there are physicists who willingly admit that their theories about the nature of the universe and existence resemble nothing short of radical Platonism, especially those who advocate Multiverse theory.

It is possible that new turns in modern science, especially theoretical cosmology and physics, could breathe new life into the philosophies of Parmenides and Plato and induce new and improved interpretations of their works.