Overview

A rigorous investigation of Socrates' early education, pinpointing the thought that led Socrates to turn from natural science to the study of morality, ethics, and politics Plato's Parmenides is regarded as a canonical work in ontology. Depicting a conversation between Parmenides of Elea and a young Socrates, the dialogue presents a rigorous examination of Socrates' theory of the forms, the most influential account of being in the philosophic tradition. In this commentary on the Parmenides, Alex Priou argues that the dialogue is, in actuality, a reflection on politics. Priou begins from the accepted view that the conversation consists of two discrete parts -- a critique of the forms, followed by Socrates' philosophical training -- but finds a unity to the dialogue yet to be acknowledged. By paying careful attention to what Parmenides calls the ""greatest impasse"" facing Socrates' ontology, Priou reveals a political context to the conversation. The need in society for order and good rule includes the need, at a more fundamental level, for an adequate andefficacious explanation of being. Recounting here how a young Socrates first learned of the primacy of political philosophy, which would become the hallmark of his life, Becoming Socrates shows that political philosophy, and not ontology, is ""first philosophy."" Alex Priou is an instructor in the Herbst Program in the Humanities in Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alex Priou (Customer)
Publisher:   Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Imprint:   University of Rochester Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.001kg
ISBN:  

9781580469197

ISBN 10:   1580469191
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   20 March 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

"Acknowledgments The Problem of the Parmenides Parmenides on Socrates' ""Platonism"": ""Parmenides"" 126a1-137c4 Parmenides on Eleatic Monism: ""Parmenides"" 137c4-166c5 The Problem of Socrates Notes Works Cited Index"

Reviews

For the first time, Plato's presentation of the young Socrates being schooled by the great Parmenides in ontology is shown to illuminate, and to be illuminated by, Plato's presentation of the mature Socrates analyzing justice in the Republic</>. What results is a deeply thought-provoking new perspective on Platonic-Socratic political philosophy. --Thomas L. Pangle, University of Texas at Austin Alex Priou addresses here the crucial role that the Parmenides plays in Plato's account of the Socratic turn, that is, in the thinking that led Socrates to turn away from natural philosophy and initiate a new way of philosophizing that we now call political philosophy. This impressive and valuable new interpretation helps us to understand better a notoriously difficult Platonic dialogue about the beginning of both political theory and the tradition of Western rationalism. --Mark J. Lutz, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Alex Priou achieves an extraordinary feat in his study of the Parmenides. Becoming Socrates is essential reading for understanding both the emergence of political philosophy and the centrality of political philosophy. INTERPRETATION

For the first time, Plato's presentation of the young Socrates being schooled by the great Parmenides in ontology is shown to illuminate, and to be illuminated by, Plato's presentation of the mature Socrates analyzing justice in the Republic</>. What results is a deeply thought-provoking new perspective on Platonic-Socratic political philosophy. --Thomas L. Pangle, University of Texas at Austin Alex Priou addresses here the crucial role that the Parmenides plays in Plato's account of the Socratic turn, that is, in the thinking that led Socrates to turn away from natural philosophy and initiate a new way of philosophizing that we now call political philosophy. This impressive and valuable new interpretation helps us to understand better a notoriously difficult Platonic dialogue about the beginning of both political theory and the tradition of Western rationalism. --Mark J. Lutz, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

For the first time, Plato's presentation of the young Socrates being schooled by the great Parmenides in ontology is shown to illuminate, and to be illuminated by, Plato's presentation of the mature Socrates analyzing justice in the Republic. What results is a deeply thought-provoking new perspective on Platonic-Socratic political philosophy. --Thomas L. Pangle, University of Texas at Austin Alex Priou addresses here the crucial role that the Parmenides plays in Plato's account of the Socratic turn, that is, in the thinking that led Socrates to turn away from natural philosophy and initiate a new way of philosophizing that we now call political philosophy. This impressive and valuable new interpretation helps us to understand better a notoriously difficult Platonic dialogue about the beginning of both political theory and the tradition of Western rationalism. --Mark J. Lutz, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Alex Priou achieves an extraordinary feat in his study of the Parmenides. Becoming Socrates is essential reading for understanding both the emergence of political philosophy and the centrality of political philosophy. INTERPRETATION Alex Priou's Becoming Socrates is a noteworthy achievement. It sheds new light on the relation between Plato's theory of forms and political philosophy, and puts forth a winning account of both Parmenides and Plato's philosophical project as a whole. ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY

For the first time, Plato's presentation of the young Socrates being schooled by the great Parmenides in ontology is shown to illuminate, and to be illuminated by, Plato's presentation of the mature Socrates analyzing justice in the Republic</>. What results is a deeply thought-provoking new perspective on Platonic-Socratic political philosophy. --Thomas L. Pangle, University of Texas at Austin Alex Priou addresses here the crucial role that the Parmenides plays in Plato's account of the Socratic turn, that is, in the thinking that led Socrates to turn away from natural philosophy and initiate a new way of philosophizing that we now call political philosophy. This impressive and valuable new interpretation helps us to understand better a notoriously difficult Platonic dialogue about the beginning of both political theory and the tradition of Western rationalism. --Mark J. Lutz, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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