Emese Mogyoródi

The purpose of this project is to provide a comprehensive study of the extant fragments of Parmenides of Elea, focusing on one of the most debated issues in his philosophy: the relation of “revelation” (divine inspiration) and reason in his poem. I propose that this perspective affords a vantage point from which a series of debated questions in Parmenides might be resolved in a more satisfactory way than suggested by standard accounts. It also helps to place Parmenides in a broader historical context than customary, connecting his tenets and methods not only with earlier Presocratics and his immediate successors, but also with Socrates and Plato. I argue that while Parmenides remains within his contemporary cultural (religious) paradigm in subscribing to the traditional Greek view that human cognitive faculties are insufficient in attaining ultimate knowledge, he contributes to the development of critical thought without implying an antagonism of reason and religion.