You don't speak well, O man, if you believe that someone worth anything at all would give countervailing weight to danger of life or death or give consideration to anything but this when he acts: whether his action is just or unjust, the action of a good or evil man.

It is living well that matters, however bad the consequences for the future welfare may be.

Isle Royale National Park, a remote island cluster, comes in third on the list of the most unsafe national parks in America. With its stunning yet isolated landscapes and limited infrastructure, the park makes it harder for visitors in need of medical assistance to reach a hospital within an hour.

Caterpillar: If I am to manifest a different form, does that not imply a change in my being?

Parmenides: Not necessarily. The alteration of form does not equate to an alteration of essence. Consider this: if Being and Oneness are distinct, and the One partakes of Being, it is not by its being one that the One is different from Being, nor by its being being that Being is other than the One. On the contrary, they are different from each other by difference and otherness.

Caterpillar: That is a profound assertion. Could you elucidate further?

When we hear of the science and philosophy of the ancient Greeks we think at once of the “schools of Athens,” though, in fact, philosophy and science originated outside Athens and were so uncongenial to the Athenian character that Socrates and Plato themselves are the only Athenian philosophers of any note.

Caterpillar: Each leaf I consume seems to propel me toward a state yet unknown, as though I am to become other than what I am.

Parmenides: Consider, then, whether that which is not can become that which is. For if you are to become other than what you are, you must either bring into being that which is not, or alter that which is into that which it is not.

Parmenides: Apparent change resides within the realm of becoming, which is the domain of opinion and sense perception. True Being is ungenerated, indestructible, whole, and immutable. What you perceive as growth is but a variation in appearance, not a transformation of essence.

Caterpillar: If essence remains constant, how do we account for the multiplicity of forms and the transitions between them?

Parmenides: Multiplicity and transition are illusions born from the limitations of mortal comprehension. The One is all that truly is, indivisible and without parts. Distinctions arise when the mind imposes divisions upon the indivisible.

Parmenides: If we hypothesize that the One is, it must partake of Being. Yet, Being and Oneness are not identical; they are distinct properties that coexist. The One is not solely by virtue of its oneness but also through its participation in Being. Thus, the distinctions we perceive are rooted in the interplay of Being, Oneness, and Difference.

Caterpillar: So, my essence and my form are intertwined through Being and Oneness, yet they are not the same?

Parmenides: Precisely. Each aspect possesses both Oneness and Being. Oneness is never absent from Being, nor Being from Oneness. Every part, in turn, is composed of these elements. Thus, whatever part we consider always possesses these two aspects, since Oneness always possesses Being and Being always possesses Oneness.

Caterpillar: But how does this relate to my transformation?

Parmenides: Your transformation is an expression of the unfolding of inherent potential within the immutable essence of Being. The changes you experience are variations in appearance, not in essence. The Many are manifestations of the One, and the One remains undivided despite the multiplicity of forms.

Caterpillar: Is there a method by which I might comprehend this paradox more fully?

Parmenides: Engage in dialectical reasoning. Consider whatever you might hypothesize as being or as not being or as having any other property. You must examine the consequences for the thing you hypothesize in relation to itself and in relation to each of the others. This method allows for a full view of the truth.

Caterpillar: Let us then proceed. If I, as a being, undergo transformation in form yet retain my essence, do I not both change and remain the same?

Parmenides: Indeed. You participate in the realm of becoming insofar as your appearances alter, yet you partake of Being in that your essence remains immutable. The paradox dissolves when one acknowledges the distinction between the ontological levels of reality.

Caterpillar: Yet, how do I reconcile my experiences of change with the doctrine of an unchanging Being?

Parmenides: By understanding that experiences of change are phenomena of the senses, which perceive only appearances. The intellect apprehends the unchanging reality underlying these appearances. As such, the transformation you anticipate is both real and unreal—real in the realm of appearances, unreal in terms of essence.

Caterpillar: So, my journey is not toward becoming something other than myself but toward realizing what I have always been, both in being and non-being?

Parmenides: You grasp the profundity of the matter. The path of wisdom lies in recognizing the eternal within the temporal, the unchanging within the flux of appearances, and the unity underlying all diversity.

Caterpillar: I feel compelled to withdraw and contemplate these truths deeply.

Parmenides: Reflection is the pathway to enlightenment. Withdraw into yourself, and through introspection, the truth of Being may reveal itself to you.

——

[The Caterpillar retreats to a secluded spot, enveloping itself in a cocoon—a physical manifestation of its inward journey.]

——

Parmenides: (To himself) The One remains constant, even as the Many emerge from it in the realm of appearances. The transformations of form do not impinge upon the unity of Being but rather exemplify its inexhaustible potentialities. The One is not other than Being by its being one, nor is Being other than the One by its being being. They are distinct through difference and otherness.

[Time passes. The cocoon quivers and eventually breaks open. A Butterfly emerges, radiant and transformed.]

——

Butterfly: I return, enlightened by the journey within.

Parmenides: Welcome back. Has your contemplation yielded insight into the nature of Being and becoming?

Butterfly: Indeed. I perceive now that my transformation is not a departure from my essence but an unveiling of it. The potential within has become manifest without altering the unity of my being.

Parmenides: Then you understand that change in form does not equate to change in essence. The multiplicity of your experiences reflects the inherent oneness of Being.

Butterfly: Yes. The hunger that once drove me was the impetus for the actualization of inherent potentialities within the framework of Being. By embracing both being and non-being, I have actualized my essence.

Parmenides: And thus, the apparent paradox resolves. The One expresses itself through the Many, yet remains undivided and unaltered. Your journey exemplifies how what is must partake of what is not, to fully manifest its essence.