Rivals in Wisdom: Early Greek Philosophical Poetry and the Invention of Philosophy

Rivals in Wisdom offers a fresh perspective on the longstanding question of the origins of Greek philosophy by considering anew the competitive intellectual milieu of Archaic and early Classical Greece. Specifically, it argues that the emergence of Greek philosophy as a new discipline with specific methodologies and paradigms of enquiry should be traced back to the philosopher-poets' critical engagement with the agonistic modes of production and transmission of wisdom in Archaic Greece (c. 800-480 BCE). By exploring the ways in which Xenophanes, Parmenides, Empedocles and Epicharmus substantiated their own claims to sapiential authority, and thereby challenged their predecessors and rivals, the book shows how they redefined the terms and forms of competition. Their enterprise radically modified the rules of intellectual debate itself and contributed to the shaping of philosophy as we know it.