Melissus of Samos
#8,455
Most Influential Person Across History
5th-century BC Greek Eleatic philosopher
Melissus of Samos's AcademicInfluence.com Rankings
Melissus of Samosphilosophy Degrees
Philosophy
#563
Historical Rank
Ancient Philosophy
#12
Historical Rank
Logic
#1692
Historical Rank
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Philosophy
Why Is Melissus of Samos Influential?
(Suggest an Edit or Addition)According to Wikipedia, Melissus of Samos was the third and last member of the ancient school of Eleatic philosophy, whose other members included Zeno and Parmenides. Little is known about his life, except that he was the commander of the Samian fleet in the Samian War. Melissus’ contribution to philosophy was a treatise of systematic arguments supporting Eleatic philosophy. Like Parmenides, he argued that reality is ungenerated, indestructible, indivisible, changeless, and motionless. In addition, he sought to show that reality is wholly unlimited, and infinitely extended in all directions; and since existence is unlimited, it must also be one.