Universität Wien
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180080 SE The Poem of Parmenides (2023W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work

Hinweis der SPL Philosophie:

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Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 11.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 18.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 25.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 08.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 15.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 22.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 29.11. 09:00 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 06.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 13.12. 09:00 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 10.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 17.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 24.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 31.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Parmenides was probably the first philosopher to theorize about being, and his concept of being shaped classical ontology. In this seminar, we will carefully read all the existing fragments of Parmenides’ poem with the intention of understanding the theory it expounds. Our main concern will be with the philosophical content of the poem, which is anticipated in an allegorical proem and presented in three distinct moments: (1) a series of methodological fragments establishes an equivalence between thinking and being that grounds Parmenidean ontology; (2) the longest of the fragments applies such an ontology to the study of the real in its totality, presented as an actual plenum; (3) some fragments touch on the origin of all things, presenting a plausible explanation of the world as the ancient Greek natural philosophers understood it, that is, as a process of transformation and diversification.

Participants will then encounter the first study of being and witness the breakthrough of ontology as opposed to Ionian naturalistic monism. Understanding the philosophy of Parmenides in general will facilitate their understanding of two of the most influential ontological positions in history, those of Plato and Aristotle.

After an introductory lesson, each session will be divided into five parts. The first 10 minutes will be used to summarize the previous session. Then some students will have 20 minutes to present the main argument of a pre-selected scientific article (see below). Next, we will have 10 minutes to introduce the topic to be discussed. For 30 minutes we will read and comment together some lines of the poem of Parmenides or the corresponding alternative material. During the last 5 minutes we will summarize the current session and announce the topic of the next session.

Session 1: Parmenides of Elea
Session 2: Overview of the poem
Session 3: Proem (B1.1–17)
Session 4: Proem (B1.18–32)
Session 5: Methodological fragments (B2, B3, B4)
Session 6: Methodological fragments (B5, B6, B7)
Session 7: The Way of Being (B8.1–13)
Session 8: The Way of Being (B8.13–25)*
Session 9: The Way of Being (B8.26–41)
Session 10: The Way of Being (B8.42–51)
Session 11: The Way of Seeming (B8.51–61, B9)
Session 12: The Way of Seeming (B10, B11, B12, B13, B14, B15, B15a)
Session 13: The Way of Seeming (B16, B17, B18, B19)

*The lecturer is organizing and attending a conference on December 5, 6, and 7, so the corresponding session will be held without his presence or rescheduled to a date determined by the group.

Assessment and permitted materials

ACTIVITY 1: Participants are asked to read a pre-selected academic article (see below) and give a 20-minute presentation to the class. They should briefly present the general content and main arguments of the text. This task can be done individually or in groups of two or three, depending on the length of the text and the number of participants.

ACTIVITY 2: Beginning in the third week, participants will be asked to submit a weekly written reflection via Moodle on the section of the poem we have read. Their submissions should be no more than 400 words and no less than 300 words. There will be no reflection corresponding to the last session.

ACTIVITY 3: Participants should write a 5 page final paper (Times New Roman font, 11 point size, double-spaced, standard margins). In this paper, they should address, from their own perspective, one of the issues discussed in the selected articles.

Allowed material: the extensive secondary literature available.

By registering for this course, you agree to allow Turnitin, an automatic plagiarism checker, to check all of your written submissions in Moodle.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

A basic knowledge of ancient Greek would be helpful, but is not required, as we will be reading the poem in the English translation by André Laks and Glenn Most (see below). We may consult other editions and translations in order to understand the philological and hermeneutical challenges posed by such an ancient and fragmentary text. If we do so, these other works will be announced and made available.

Students who miss three classes without an official excuse will not pass the seminar. In order to pass the seminar, students must complete the three activities listed above. To do this, they must turn in all weekly reflections on time, i.e., at least one day before the following week’s meeting.

Activity 1 (max. 20 points)
Activity 2 (max. 30 points)
Activity 3 (max. 50 points)

Grading:

1 87–100 points
2 75–86 points
3 63–74 points
4 50–62 points (sufficient)
5 0–49 points (insufficient)

Examination topics

All primary and secondary literature topics covered during the seminar

Reading list

(The University of Vienna makes all of these works available in some way, but the lecturer will provide those that are not available online.)

(BASIC) Laks, A. & Most, G. W. (2016). Early Greek philosophy, volume V: Western Greek thinkers, part 2. Harvard University Press.

(SESSION 2) Hermann, A. (2004). Parmenides. In To think like God. Pythagoras and Parmenides: The origins of philosophy (pp. 127–150). Parmenides Publishing.
(SESSION 3) Bowra, C. M. (1937). The proem of Parmenides. Classical Philology, 32(2), 97–112.
(SESSION 4) Miller, M. (2006). Ambiguity and transport: Reflections on the proem to Parmenides’ poem. Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 30, 1–47.
(SESSION 5) Kahn, C. H. (2009). The thesis of Parmenides. In Essays on being (pp. 143–166). Oxford University Press.
(SESSION 6) Palmer, J. (2009). Parmenides’ three ways. In Parmenides and presocratic philosophy (pp. 51–105). Oxford University Press.
(SESSION 7) Mourelatos, A. P. D. (2008). Signposts. In The route of Parmenides (2nd ed.) (pp. 94–114). Parmenides Publishing.
(SESSION 8) Curd, P. K. (1991). Parmenidean monism. Phronesis, 36, pp. 241–264.
(SESSION 9) Long, A. A. (2005). Parmenides on thinking being. In G. Rechenauer (Ed.) Frühgriechisches Denken (pp. 227–251), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
(SESSION 10) Mourelatos, A. P. D. (2008). The bounds of reality. In The route of Parmenides (2nd ed.) (pp. 115–135). Parmenides Publishing.
(SESSION 11) Johansen, T. K. (2016). Parmenides’ likely story. Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 50, 1–30.
(SESSION 12) Cherubin, R. (2019). Sex, gender, and class in the poem of Parmenides: Difference without dualism? American Journal of Philology, 140(1), pp. 29–66.
(SESSION 13) Alcocer Urueta, R. (TBA)

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 30.10.2023 08:47