Plato, Parmenides

Kelsey Wood (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University)

Domains

Philosophy (any)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. -367

Places

Ancient Greece (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Dialogue

Resources

Introduction

Over the centuries, Plato’s Parmenides has been an enigma for scholars. Scores of interpretations have been published by commentators who cannot seem to come to agreement about the meaning of this dialogue. Why does Parmenides remain fascinating and controversial?

The fascination is due, in part, to the fact that this dialogue represents the initiation into philosophy of a very young Socrates by the legendary Parmenides of Elea. In addition, Parmenides is one of Plato’s most carefully-crafted works, and yet it seems to be thoroughly contradictory. More significantly, in this dialogue Plato reevaluates his own earlier work, for Parmenides is an …

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3100 words

Citation: Wood, Kelsey. "Parmenides". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13438, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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