Publication Details

Abstract

The study reassesses the line of argument presented by Tom Mackenzie in his monograph Poetry and Poetics in the Presocratic Philosophers: Reading Xenophanes, Parmenides and Empedocles as Literature (2021). Mackenzie aims to enrich our literary appreciation of the works of the Presocratic philosophers. His attention in this context, however, is largely focused only on analyzing the poetic force of metaphoric aspects in the works of the Presocratics. Mackenzie’s reading from this literary aesthetic perspective, combined with his consideration of the philosophical meaning of the works, fails to capture and explain the metonymic dimensions of Parmenidesʼ Alétheia. This study argues in favour of the aesthetic dimension of Parmenidesʼ Alétheia and evaluates it as a supplement to the didactic function postulated by Mackenzie.