On Nature or the Non-Existent - Classic Text | Alexandria
On Nature or the Non-Existent (Greek: Περὶ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ἢ Περὶ φύσεως) is a seminal philosophical treatise attributed to Gorgias of Leontini (c. 485-380 BCE), surviving only through later paraphrases that have profoundly influenced Western philosophical thought on existence, knowledge, and communication. This sophisticated work presents three interconnected revolutionary arguments: nothing exists; if anything exists, it cannot be known; and if anything can be known, it cannot be communicated.
The treatise emerges from the intellectual ferment of fifth-century BCE Greece, when Sophistic movements were challenging traditional philosophical assumptions about truth and reality. Our knowledge of the text comes primarily through two ancient sources: Sextus Empiricus's Against the Mathematicians and the anonymous De Melisso, Xenophane, Gorgia, with each version presenting slight but significant variations in interpretation.
Gorgias's work represents a radical departure from the Parmenidean tradition of Greek philosophy, employing rigorous logical argumentation to arrive at seemingly paradoxical conclusions. The text's sophisticated use of rhetoric and logic demonstrates the Sophistic practice of arguing contrary positions, while simultaneously raising fundamental questions about the nature of existence, knowledge, and language that continue to resonate in contemporary philosophical discourse. Scholars have debated whether the treatise represents a serious philosophical position or serves as a rhe