Work · Ancient Greek
On Non-Being
Nothing exists; if anything existed, it could not be known; if it could be known, it could not be communicated.
Introduction
Gorgias’ treatise is lost; it is known through two later paraphrases, one by Sextus Empiricus and one in the anonymous treatise “On Melissus, Xenophanes and Gorgias”, transmitted with Aristotle’s works. The two versions differ in detail but share the three-step argument. Gorgias uses the methods of the Eleatics, especially Parmenides and Zeno, to reach the opposite conclusion: their own arguments about being, applied consistently, end in nothing. The third step, that speech cannot convey things because words are not things, touches on questions of language and meaning. Whether the text is serious philosophy, parody or a rhetorical exercise is still debated.
Connections
Criticizes
- On Naturec. 475 BCE · Parmenides
More works by Gorgias
- c. 415 BCEEncomium of Helen
As of November 2026 · Improve this page · How Agora is made