Parmenides

The "Parmenides" is often described as one of the most complex and problematic of the Platonic dialogues. In it a group of characters, including Parmenides, an eccentric teacher and poet from Elea, Zeno, the student and lover of Plato, and the young Socrates and Aristotle, engage in a series of conversations on some of the most abstract philosophical concepts: the nature of Forms, and the meaning of the One. Forms are the principles or sources of explanation of all the parts of the Whole in the world: earth, fire, man and even mortal qualities such as justice and prudence. The One, is the source of our knowledge of the Whole itself - the underlying principles of experience. Despite its structural complexity, the "Parmenides" gives us the clearest insight into the working of the mind of Socrates. It is the only surviving example of a conversation between Socrates and another philosopher. By studying this dialogue, the reader can gain some insight to the source of Socratic philosophy, and about the development of early Greek philosophy in general.