The World of Parmenides: Essays on the Pre-Socratic Enlightenment

Karl Karl Raimund Popper

Psychology Press, 1998 - Philosophy - 328 pages

This unique collection of essays, published together for the first time, not only elucidates the complexity of ancient Greek thought, but also reveals Karl Popper's engagement with Presocratic philosophy and the enlightenment he experienced in his reading of Parmenides. As Karl Popper himself states himself in his introduction, he was inspired to write about Presocratic philosophy for two reasons - firstly to illustrate the thesis that all history is the history of problem situations and secondly, to show the greatness of the early Greek philosophers, who gave Europe its philosophy, its science and its humanism.

Contents

• Back to the Presocratics: 7
• an attempt to establish: 33
• How the Moon might shed some of her light upon: 68
• How the Moon might throw some of her light upon: 79
• Can the Moon throw light on Parmenides: 97
• notes on Parmenides: 105
• Beyond the search for invariants: 146
• Comments on the prehistoric discovery of the self: 223
• Plato and geometry: 251
• Appendix Poppers late fragments on Greek philosophy: 280

About the author

Popper is deceased. He is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest philosophers and most influential thinkers of our time.

Petersen is Associate Professor of the Humanities, University of Copenhagen.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The World of Parmenides: Essays on the Pre-Socratic Enlightenment
• Author: Karl Karl Raimund Popper
• Editors: Arne Friemuth Petersen, Joergen Mejer
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Psychology Press, 1998
• ISBN: 0415173019, 9780415173018
• Length: 328 pages
• Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical; Philosophy / History & Surveys / General; Philosophy / Movements / Humanism