Lisa Atwood Wilkinson - Böcker

This book explores the possibility that Plato’s philosophia is influenced by non-agonal practices and values that historically and philosophically antedate the agonal practices of the Athenian ekklesia. The author surveys literature concerning the predominance of agonal in ancient Greek culture, the values associated with oral poetic performance as a religious practice, and the ubiquitous character of the gift practice known as xenia in the ancient world. The author compares the structure of the agon to the structure of other ancient practices, and reasons that while agonistic practices are oppositional and binary, poetic and social practices are narrative and plural and exemplify, alternative to the agonal, the value of charis—grace. Reading Socratic speech and Socratic inquiry in terms of charis illuminates the narrative structure of Plato’s portrayal of Socrates and precludes one-dimensional analyses of Plato’s writings as philosophically agonistic and demonstrative. Rather the value of Socratic charis illustrates the value of genuine dialogue, and the author suggests how revaluing Socratic dialogue in light of charis can be relevant to current thinking about philosophy, politics, and the agon.

Parmenides and To Eon offers a new historical and philosophical reading of Parmenides of Elea by exploring the significance and dynamics of the oral tradition of ancient Greece. The book disentangles our theories of language from what evidence suggests is an archaic Greek experience of speech. With this in mind, the author reconsiders Parmenides' poem, arguing that the way we divide up his text is inconsistent with the oral tradition Parmenides inherits. Wilkinson proposes that, although Parmenides may have composed his poem in writing, it is probable that the poem was orally performed rather than silently read. This book explores the aural and oral components of the poem and its performance in terms of their significance to Parmenides' philosophy. Wilkinson's approach yields an interpretative strategy that permits us to engage with the ancient Greeks in terms closer to their own without, however, forgetting the historical distance that separates us or sacrificing our own philosophical concerns.