Plato's Parmenides：Text, Translation & Introductory Essay

ThistranslationistheresultofacollaborationbetweenArnoldHermannandSylvanaChrysakopoulou.Heedingthechallengeofbalancingintelligibilitywithfaithfulness-whilemaintainingsufficientconsistencytoallowthediscernmentoftechnicalterms-greatpainshavebeentakentosecurebothaccuracyandaccessibility.InhisForeword,DouglasHedleygivesaninsightfulaccountofthewaytheParmenideswasreceivedbydifferentculturesandphilosophicalschoolsthroughoutthecenturiestothepresentday.Hermann'sIntroduction,aimedatfirsttimereadersandprofessionalinterpretersalike,offersanoverviewofthemostnotedphilosophicalproblemsaddressedinthedialogue,andofitshistoricalbackground.Inviewofthefactthatcertainindividualissueshavebeenexhaustivelyexploredbygenerationsofscholars,Hermannchoosestofocusalsoonsubjectsthathaveattimesbeenpassedover,ortrivialised:thedebtthedialoguemayowetotheworksofearlierthinkers,orwhetheritconstitutesaresponsetocertaincriticsoftheTheoryofForms;asfortheTheoryitself,whetheritisbolsteredorsupersededbythedialogue'sconclusions,orwhetherthereissuchathingasa"simple",unparticipatedForm,andifthereis,whyitcannotbethesubjectofanaccount;also,theissueofthe"interweavingofForms",(theSophist)isdiscussed,inlightofitspossiblerelevancetotheSecondPartoftheParmenides.Finally,Hermannprovidesanoverviewwithalistingandsummariesoftheindividualconclusionstoeachoftheeightcentralargumentsofthedialogue'sSecondPart(plusCoda).