The conference will address the question of why the philosophy of Parmenides is important in a modern context. Specifically this question addresses two aspects of Parmenides. The first considers Nestor Cordero's ( University of Rennes ) contention that Parmenides was as much a scientist as a philosopher, in that his poem is a thesis on rational inquiry as opposed to opinion. The second aspect is that rational inquiry provides a powerful countercheck on superstition and the dangers that lie in superstitious belief. What can be viewed as particularly powerful about Parmenides' thesis, it might be argued, is that his answer to the origins of Being avoids a creator or god. One interesting corollary is the possibility that Parmenides was an atheist; or at least, despite apparently being a mystic, the possibility that he did not take the gods of his day too seriously.