Melissus and Eleatic Monism

Comprehensive account of Melissus of Samos and his contribution to the philosophy of monism in early Greek thinking.

Benjamin Harriman (Author)

9781108416337, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 December 2018

254 pages
22.3 x 14.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.43 kg

In the fifth century BCE, Melissus of Samos developed wildly counterintuitive claims against plurality, change, and the reliability of the senses. This book provides a reconstruction of the preserved textual evidence for his philosophy, along with an interpretation of the form and content of each of his arguments. A close examination of his thought reveals an extraordinary clarity and unity in his method and gives us a unique perspective on how philosophy developed in the fifth century, and how Melissus came to be the most prominent representative of what we now call Eleaticism, the monistic philosophy inaugurated by Parmenides. The rich intellectual climate of Ionian enquiry in which Melissus worked is explored and brought to bear on central questions of the interpretation of his fragments. This volume will appeal to students and scholars of early Greek philosophy, and also those working on historical and medical texts.

Prefatory material
B1: what-is did not come to be
B2 and B3: spatial infinity
B4, B5, B6: what-is is one
B9 and B10: bodilessness and indivisibility
B7: change, pain, and motion
B8: sense experience and plurality.

Subject Areas: Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology [HPJ], Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], History of Western philosophy [HPC]