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Plato Against Parmenides: Sophist 236D–242B

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PLATO AGAINST PARMENIDES: SOPHIST 236D–242B Noburu Notomi (Keio University, Tokyo) 1. Parmenides in Plato’s Sophist Parmenides, one of the greatest and most in uential Greek thinkers, is not mentioned in Plato’s earlier dialogues. His name appears only in four dialogues: Symposium, Parmenides, Theaetetus, and Sophist. This peculiar fact by no means implies that Parmenides had little in uence on Plato’s earlier thinking. On the contrary, it is generally agreed that Republic V bases the theory of forms on the Parmenidean scheme of what is and what is not. Nevertheless, that passage contains no reference to its source. Two passages in the Symposium, one spoken by Phaedrus (178b9) and the other by Agathon (195c2), cite a line on Love from Parmenides (DK 28B13), along with Hesiod and Acusilaus.1 Parmenides is treated as an authoritative poet, rather than a metaphysical thinker. On the other hand, Parmenides’ in uence suddenly comes to the surface when he appears as the main speaker of the dialogue named after him. The senior Parmenides, on his visit to Athens, criticises the theory of forms, presented by the young Socrates, and engages in a series of dialectical arguments concerning ‘one’ and ‘being’.2 In the Theaetetus, Parmenides and the Eleatic school (Melissus is mentioned) are contrasted with the other stream of thinkers includ- ing Homer, Epicharmus, Heraclitus, and Protagoras (152e2–8). The unchanging whole of the former is contrasted with the ever-chang- ing ux of the latter (180d7–e4). Socrates, expressing deep respect for Parmenides, whom he had met as a youth, proposes to postpone 1 This fragment is naturally attributed to the Second Part of the poem. The par- allel citation of Hesiod, Theogony 116–117, 120, and Parmenides, B13 in Aristotle’s Metaphysics A4, 984b23ff. seems to indicate the common source, i.e. Hippias’ Anthology; cf. Mansfeld ([1986]/1990), 35, 46, 48, 71, n. 9 (with reference to the suggestions by W. von Kienle and C.J. Classen). For Acusilaus of Argos, see DK 9B2. 2 As most commentators do, I take the young Socrates’ encounter with Parmenides (around the 450s’ BCE?) to be a \ ction. 168 noburu notomi examination of his thought until another occasion (183d10–184b3). This passage refers back to their dramatic encounter in the previous dialogue, the Parmenides, and anticipates a full discussion in the follow- ing dialogue, the Sophist. The Sophist confronts the philosophy of Parmenides by introducing a new speaker, the Eleatic visitor. Examination of Parmenides becomes necessary because the sophist, in his counterattack against philosophical inquiry, resorts to Parmenides’ position on what is not, just as the eristic sophists, Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, contrive various fallacious arguments out of it in the Euthydemus.3 It is noteworthy that Parmenides is never mentioned again after the Sophist. In order to judge how much Plato owes to Parmenides and in what way he reacts to this great philosopher, I focus on the Sophist.4 For this is the main dialogue to tackle the philosophy of Parmenides—the project postponed in the Theaetetus. Let us rst see the various contexts in the Sophist where the name of Parmenides appears:5 C1: The visitor from Elea is introduced by Theodorus as “a fellow of Parmenides’ and Zeno’s circle” (216a1–4). C2: Socrates mentions his experience of dialoguing with Parmenides, who pursued wonderful arguments through questions (217c2–7). C3: The dif\ culty in de ning the sophist is related to Parmenides’ pro- hibition, with a quotation from his poem (Fr. 7.1–2; 237a4–b1). C4: The Eleatic visitor asks his interlocutor not to take the inquiry as ‘parricide’, when he cross-examines Parmenides’ logos (241d1– 242a4). C5: The way previous thinkers, including Parmenides, spoke about things that are is said to be complacent (242c4–243b2). C6: The monist position is critically examined, with a quotation from Parmenides’ poem (Fr. 8.43–45; 244b6–245e5).6 3 The sophists’ use of Eleatic logic is clearly shown by Sprague (1962 and 1965), whose analysis is followed by Hawtrey (1981) and Notomi (1999), 180–184; cf. 201–204. But there is no reference to Parmenides in the Euthydemus, either, except in a possible allusion to “some earlier people” (286c3). 4 For Parmenides’ role in Plato’s metaphysics, see Notomi (2006), 194–195. 5 His name is mentioned seven times only: 216a3, 217c5, 237a4, 241d5, 242c4, 244e2, and 258c6. I refer to the line number of the old Oxford Classical Texts of Burnet (1905). 6 There is also an allusion to his position in 252a6–7: “those who make one rest”..
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