Parmenides and to eon
Subtitle: reconsidering muthos and logos
By: Lisa Atwood Wilkinson.
Series: Continuum studies in ancient philosophy
Publisher: Continuum
Published: 2009
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 156
ISBN-13: 9781847062451
Subjects: Parmenides
Description: Parmenides and To Eon offers a new historical and philosophical reading of Parmenides of Elea by exploring the significance and dynamics of the oral tradition of ancient Greece. The book disentangles our theories of language from what evidence suggests is an archaic Greek experience of speech. With this in mind, the author reconsiders Parmenides' poem, arguing that the way we divide up his text is inconsistent with the oral tradition Parmenides inherits. Wilkinson proposes that, although Parmenides may have composed his poem in writing, it is probable that the poem was orally performed rather than silently read. This book explores the aural and oral components of the poem and its performance in terms of their significance to Parmenides' philosophy. Wilkinson's approach yields an interpretative strategy that permits us to engage with the ancient Greeks in terms closer to their own without, however, forgetting the historical distance that separates us or sacrificing our own philosophical concerns.
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: A route to Homer; title: Homeric or sung speech; title: Reconsidering Xenophanes; title: Rreconsidering speech; title: Parmenides' poem; title: The way it seems.