Review
"The importance of Parmenides' thought cannot be exaggerated. Virtually all Greek philosophers that came after him tried either to meet his challenges or refute his claims. Not even Plato and Aristotle could avoid a confrontation with the Parmenidean doctrine of being. But the exegesis of Parmenides' poem posed enormous difficulties right from the beginning. How should his notoriously obscure verses be understood? To the long list of interpretations that go back to antiquity we can now add a fresh and imaginative proposal by Professor Nestor Luis Cordero. After canvassing a vast amount of work on Parmenides, Professor Cordero reaches an interpretation that breaks new ground, especially in his understanding of the Parmenidean ways of thought and the use of the Greek verb "to be." This thorough and controversial book will certainly be valued highly by the international community of scholars devoted to the study of ancient philosophy as well as by educated readers worldwide. Alfonso Gomez-Lobo Georgetown University"
Product Description
The adventure of philosophy began in Greece, where it was gradually developed by the ancient thinkers as a special kind of knowledge by which to explain the totality of things. In fact, the Greek language has always used the word onta, "beings," to refer to things. At the end of the sixth century BCE, Parmenides wrote a poem to affirm his fundamental thesis upon which all philosophical systems should be based: that there are beings.
In By Being, It Is, Néstor-Luis Cordero explores the richness of this Parmenidean thesis, which became the cornerstone of philosophy. Cordero's textual analysis of the poem's fragments reveals that Parmenides' intention was highly didactic. His poem applied, for the first time, an explicative method that deduced consequences from a true axiom: by being, it is. To ignore this reality meant to be a victim of opinions.
This volume explains how without this conceptual base, all later ontology would have been impossible. This book offers a clear and concise introduction to the Parmenidean doctrine and helps the reader appreciate the imperative value of Parmenides's claim that "by being, it is."
In By Being, It Is, Néstor-Luis Cordero explores the richness of this Parmenidean thesis, which became the cornerstone of philosophy. Cordero's textual analysis of the poem's fragments reveals that Parmenides' intention was highly didactic. His poem applied, for the first time, an explicative method that deduced consequences from a true axiom: by being, it is. To ignore this reality meant to be a victim of opinions.
This volume explains how without this conceptual base, all later ontology would have been impossible. This book offers a clear and concise introduction to the Parmenidean doctrine and helps the reader appreciate the imperative value of Parmenides's claim that "by being, it is."
