Parmenides’ Vision

A Study of Parmenides’ Poem

Stuart B. Martin

This book intends to establish, against his numerous modern critics, that the ancient philosopher Parmenides was a mystic. Instead of arriving at his conclusions by cold reason, Parmenides found the unity of Being, which he called “the Truth,” by turning to a life of meditation. His use of reason throughout his poem was not intended to discover the Truth, but to undermine those who would disallow the Truth which had been revealed to him: the Truth as living and intelligent that is, some One, not something. In making the case that Parmenides was basically a religious seer, this book makes clear that the rationalist opponents of this interpretation have inevitably misread and emended the text to suit their views. Far from rejecting a mythic presentation of ultimate Reality, Parmenides’ narrative upholds the doctrine that all Truth is one, as the mystics proclaim. This book also attempts to explain how, if Reality is ultimately one, multiplicity and flux can be part of the human experience.

University Press of America

Pages: 308 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-6742-5 • Hardback • March 2016 • $97.00 • (£75.00)

978-0-7618-6743-2 • eBook • March 2016 • $87.00 • (£67.00)

Subjects: History / Ancient / Greece, Literary Criticism / Poetry, Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Religion / Ancient

Parmenides’ Vision

A Study of Parmenides’ Poem

Hardback

eBook

Summary

This book intends to establish, against his numerous modern critics, that the ancient philosopher Parmenides was a mystic. Instead of arriving at his conclusions by cold reason, Parmenides found the unity of Being, which he called “the Truth,” by turning to a life of meditation. His use of reason throughout his poem was not intended to discover the Truth, but to undermine those who would disallow the Truth which had been revealed to him: the Truth as living and intelligent that is, some One, not something. In making the case that Parmenides was basically a religious seer, this book makes clear that the rationalist opponents of this interpretation have inevitably misread and emended the text to suit their views. Far from rejecting a mythic presentation of ultimate Reality, Parmenides’ narrative upholds the doctrine that all Truth is one, as the mystics proclaim. This book also attempts to explain how, if Reality is ultimately one, multiplicity and flux can be part of the human experience.

Details

University Press of America

Pages: 308 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-6742-5 • Hardback • March 2016 • $97.00 • (£75.00)

978-0-7618-6743-2 • eBook • March 2016 • $87.00 • (£67.00)

Subjects: History / Ancient / Greece, Literary Criticism / Poetry, Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Religion / Ancient

Author

Stuart Martin, a native of Michigan, received his MA and PhD from Fordham University. He also received a post-doctoral Licentiate from the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto, Canada. He served in the Department of Philosophy of Boston College for 54 years, before retiring in 2012.

Table of Contents

Preface
Abbreviations
INTRODUCTION
Preliminary Remarks
Setting-Background
Life of Parmenides
Literary Character
GREEK TEXT AND TRANSLATION
FRAGMENT 1
Importance of the First Fragment
Controversy over the Images
Path of Delusion
Overview of Fragment
Manuscript Tradition of Fragment
Fragment 1 Text and Commentary
Conspectus of Imagery
FRAGMENTS 2–19 TEXT AND COMMENTARY
EPILOGUE
TRANSLATION WITH INTERLINEAR GREEK TEXT
WORD-LIST
Bibliography
Index of Ancient Authors Cited
Index of Modern Authors Cited
Index of Subjects

Parmenides’ Vision

A Study of Parmenides’ Poem

Stuart B. Martin

Parmenides’ Vision

A Study of Parmenides’ Poem

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