Interpretations of Parmenides’ thought abound, but what can be said with some certainty is that one major aspect elucidated in On Nature is, put simply, that what can be is and what is not can never be. In his A History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell puts it thus:

‘whatever can be thought of or spoken of must exist at all times. Consequently there can be no change, since change consists in things coming into being or ceasing to be.’

The following fragment from Simplicius shows this in greater depth and may be viewed as directly opposed to the perspective which sees reality as a kind of continual becoming, often credited to Heraclitus:

‘For if it came into being, it is not, nor if it is ever going to be. In this way, coming to be has been extinguished and destruction is unheard of. Nor is it divided, since it all is alike; nor is it any more in any way, which would keep it from holding together, or any less, but it is all full of what is. Therefore, it is all continuous, for what is draws near to what is. But unchanging in the limits of great bonds, it is without start or finish, since coming to be and destruction were banished far away and true conviction drove them off.’

Parmenides’ position, namely ex nihilo nihil fit (nothing comes from nothing) may be contrasted with the conventional Christian standpoint of creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing).

One further line, here quoted by Plotinus, is noteworthy not least because of its seeming influence on the work of Martin Heidegger:

‘the same thing is for thinking and for being.’

Before

Goldsmith’s graduate Tommy Allen rescued an abandoned bath and enabled its transmogrification into a fine armchair…

After

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961), The Phenomenology of Perception

The most expensive armchair in the world: The Dragons Armchair, created c.1917-1919 by Irish designer Eileen Gray (1878-1976). Previously owned by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, the chair was sold at auction in February 2009 for $28,238,277.

Huineng: tearing up the sutras

Huineng (c. 638-713 CE) was the Sixth Patriarch of Chan, a fusion of Chinese Daoism (Taoism) and Indian Mahayana Buddhism that later evolved into Zen in Japan. Huineng grew up illiterate and in poverty yet was covertly awarded the patriarchal robe by his predecessor Hongren following a dharma contest in which Huineng apparently showed greater understanding of his ‘original nature’ than the head monk, Shenxiu.

The monks were challenged to write a verse to illustrate their understanding and Shenxiu wrote the following on the wall of the dharma hall:

The body is the Bodhi Tree;
The mind like a bright mirror standing.
Take care to wipe it all the time,
And allow no dust to cling.

Huineng, upon hearing the verse being recited, apparently asked a monk to add some further lines:

There never was a Bodhi Tree,
Nor bright mirror standing.
Fundamentally, not one thing exists,
So where is the dust to cling?

Central to Huineng’s teachings is the notion that deliberate thought – what we might call reasoning – is to be habitually avoided: the mind is not a ‘device’ for reflecting an external truth, rather one’s original ‘Buddha-nature’ is truth. By attempting to cultivate purity, we lose touch with the ‘original’ purity which is present in all of us.

The influences of both Daoist (Taoist) and Mahayana Buddhist thought are apparent in the following quote, which hints that Samsara (the endless round of life, suffering, death and rebirth) – far from being a state from which escape should be sought – does not actually ‘exist’ in the first place. Moreover, enlightenment is not something which can be ‘achieved’ by ‘trying’:

‘In this moment there is nothing which comes to be. In this moment there is nothing which ceases to be. Thus there is no birth-and-death to be brought to an end. Wherefore the absolute tranquility (of nirvana) is this present moment. Though it is at this moment there is no limit to this moment, and herein is eternal delight.’

Schopenhauer: ever the optimist

‘We are like lambs in a field, disporting themselves under the eye of the butcher, who chooses first one and then another for his prey. So it is that in our good days we are all unconscious of the evil Fate may have presently in store for us – sickness, poverty, mutilation, loss of sight or reason.’

- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), On the Suffering of the World

This armchair constructed from steer horns resides at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan: hometown of the motor vehicle magnate.

Produced in 1904/1905 by John Vine of Fayette, Ohio, the chair is almost three feet wide and features a seat of solid oak. As well as the armchair, Mr.Vine and his wife fashioned a number of other items from Texas longhorns, including a library table, a clock shelf and a rocking chair.

Camus: not one for inflatable armchairs

‘I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist.’

- Albert Camus (1913-1960), Notebooks 1951-1959