Plato's Reception of Parmenides

John Palmer presents a new and original account of Plato's uses and understanding of his most important Presocratic predecessor, Parmenides. Adopting an innovative approach to the appraisal of intellectual influence, Palmer first explores the Eleatic underpinnings of central elements in Plato's middle-period epistemology and metaphysics. He then shows how in the later dialogues Plato confronts various sophistic appropriations of Parmenides while simultaneouslydeveloping his own deepened understanding. Along the way Palmer gives fresh readings of Parmenides' poem in the light of the Platonic reception, and discusses Plato's view of Parmenides' relation to such key figures as Xenophanes, Zeno, and Gorgias. By tracing connections among the uses of Parmenides overthe course of several dialogues, Palmer both demonstrates his fundamental importance to the development of Plato's thought and furthers understanding of central problems in Plato's own philosophy.

Palmer presents detailed and convincing readings of some of the most difficult passages in the Platonic corpus., Palmer has found a new angle from which to tell the story of the development of the metaphysics of the later dialogues. His analyses of Plato's arguments are careful and sober, and his tracing of their antecedents in Plato's reading of Parmenides is innovative and valuable., challenging and interesting ... every serious student of ancient philosophy will want to read it., This excellent and extensive survey is valuable reading for scholars and graduate students interested in Plato's metaphysics and epistemology., This is a learned book and there is much that is both new and valuable. The discussion of the sight-lovers of Republic 5 ... is very good, and the accounts of Gorgia's influence on the arguments of the Parmenides and the Sophist are particularly insightful. Palmer has read widely and critically, and he engages with much modern and contemporary scholarship.

John A. Palmer is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He was previously Research fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge.