Form And Argument In Late Plato

Author : Christopher Gill,Mary Margaret McCabe
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 1996
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : STANFORD:36105018462379

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Form and Argument in Late Plato by Christopher Gill,Mary Margaret McCabe Pdf

Why did Plato put his philosophical arguments into dialogues, rather than presenting them in a plain and readily understandable fashion? In writing rich tales of philosophical encounters, does Plato desert argumentative clarity? While recent work has focused on the literary brilliance of the early dialogues, the late dialogues present a particular problem: they lack the vivid literary character of Plato's earlier works, and the dialogue structure seems to be a mere formality. Is there a philosophical reason why Plato's late works are in the form of dialogues? In this volume, a group of internationally prominent scholars address that question. Their answers are fresh, varied, and powerfully argued. This volume offers both a series of first-class essays on major late Platonic dialogues and a discussion which has important implications for the study of philosophical method and the relation between philosophy and literature. It shows that the literary form and modes of dialectic of the late dialogues are richly rewarding to study, and that doing so is of deep importance for Plato's philosophical project.

Author : Robert William Jordan
Publisher : Cambridge Philological Society
Page : 109 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2020-08-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781913701154

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Plato's Arguments for Forms by Robert William Jordan Pdf

If we are to understand why Plato had a theory of Forms, we must explain, firstly, why he thought it necessary to depart from the ontology of the Socratic dialogues; secondly, why he then posited the existence of entities that have the characteristics that he ascribes to Forms (entities that are 'unmixed', 'unchanging', 'in every way being' and so on); and thirdly, why Plato took this course when other philosophers have not done so (and even he himself and his immediate pupils were later to modify or abandon the theory). In this study, Robert William Jordan discovers an answer to these questions where we might expect to find one - namely in the arguments Plato gives us in favour of the hypothesis that there are Forms. These arguments, on analysis, reveal not just a concern with the nature of knowledge and explanation, but an interest in the analysis of the apparent contradictions that Plato in his middle period thought to be presented to the intellect by the sensible world. These contradictions, he then thought, could not be resolved except by those with knowledge of the Forms.

Author : Samuel Scolnicov
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 207 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2003-07-08
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780520925113

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Plato's Parmenides by Samuel Scolnicov Pdf

Of all Plato’s dialogues, the Parmenides is notoriously the most difficult to interpret. Scholars of all periods have disagreed about its aims and subject matter. The interpretations have ranged from reading the dialogue as an introduction to the whole of Platonic metaphysics to seeing it as a collection of sophisticated tricks, or even as an elaborate joke. This work presents an illuminating new translation of the dialogue together with an extensive introduction and running commentary, giving a unified explanation of the Parmenides and integrating it firmly within the context of Plato's metaphysics and methodology. Scolnicov shows that in the Parmenides Plato addresses the most serious challenge to his own philosophy: the monism of Parmenides and the Eleatics. In addition to providing a serious rebuttal to Parmenides, Plato here re-formulates his own theory of forms and participation, arguments that are central to the whole of Platonic thought, and provides these concepts with a rigorous logical and philosophical foundation. In Scolnicov's analysis, the Parmenides emerges as an extension of ideas from Plato's middle dialogues and as an opening to the later dialogues. Scolnicov’s analysis is crisp and lucid, offering a persuasive approach to a complicated dialogue. This translation follows the Greek closely, and the commentary affords the Greekless reader a clear understanding of how Scolnicov’s interpretation emerges from the text. This volume will provide a valuable introduction and framework for understanding a dialogue that continues to generate lively discussion today.

Author : Mary M. McCabe
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 354 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2020-10-06
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780691219448

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Plato's Individuals by Mary M. McCabe Pdf

Contradicting the long-held belief that Aristotle was the first to discuss individuation systematically, Mary Margaret McCabe argues that Plato was concerned with what makes something a something and that he solved the problem in a radically different way than did Aristotle. McCabe explores the centrality of individuation to Plato's thinking, from the Parmenides to the Politicus, illuminating Plato's later metaphysics in an exciting new way. Tradition associates Plato with the contrast between the particulars of the sensible world and transcendent forms, and supposes that therein lies the center of Plato's metaphysical universe. McCabe rebuts this view, arguing that Plato's thinking about individuals--which informs all his thought--comes to focus on the tension between "generous" or complex individuals and "austere" or simple individuals. In dialogues such as the Theaetetus and the Timaeus Plato repeatedly poses the question of individuation but cannot provide an answer. Later, in the Sophist, the Philebus, and the Politicus, Plato devises what McCabe calls the "mesh of identity," an account of how individuals may be identified relative to each other. The mesh of identity, however, fails to explain satisfactorily how individuals are unified or made coherent. McCabe asserts that individuation may be absolute--and she questions philosophy's longtime reliance on Aristotle's solution.

Author : Christopher Gill
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 116 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 1995-12-14
Category : History
ISBN : 0199220743

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Greek Thought by Christopher Gill Pdf

Four related themes in Greek thought are examined in this book: (1) personality and self, (2) ethics and values (3) individuals and communities, and (4) the idea of nature as a moral norm. Although the focus is on Greek philosophy (the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, and the Hellenistic period), links between philosophy and literature or the wider culture are also explored. The book combines a survey of recent scholarship on these topics with the author's own interpretations. It can be used by students or teachers of classical studies or philosophy as an introduction to key themes and issues in Greek ethics or psychology. One aspect of the subject given special emphasis is the relationship between ancient and modern ideas on the issues treated here. The book closes with a selective bibliography on modern work on Greek philosophy.

Author : Edith Watson Schipper
Publisher : Springer
Page : 85 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2013-11-09
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9789401762090

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Forms in Plato’s Later Dialogues by Edith Watson Schipper Pdf

Author : Gail Fine
Publisher : Clarendon Press
Page : 422 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 1993-04-29
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191519512

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On Ideas by Gail Fine Pdf

The Peri ideon (On Ideas) is the only work in which Aristotle systematically sets out and criticizes arguments for the existence of Platonic forms. Gail Fine presents the first full-length treatment in English of this important but neglected work . She asks how, and how well, and why and with what justification he favours an alternative metaphysical scheme. She also examines the significance of the Peri ideon for some central questions about Plato's theory of forms - whether, for example, there are forms corresponding to every property or only to some, then to which ones; whether forms are universals, particulars, or both; and whether they are meanings, properties, or both. In addition to discussing the Peri ideon and its sources in Plato's dialogues, Fine also provides a general discussion of Plato's theory of forms, and of our evidence about the date, scope, and aims of the Peri ideon. While she pays careful attention to the details of the text, she also relates the issues to current philosophical concerns. The book will be valuable for anyone interested in metaphysics ancient or modern.

Author : Mary Louise Gill,Pierre Pellegrin
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 832 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2009-02-09
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781405178259

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A Companion to Ancient Philosophy by Mary Louise Gill,Pierre Pellegrin Pdf

A Companion to Ancient Philosophy provides a comprehensive and current overview of the history of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy from its origins until late antiquity. Comprises an extensive collection of original essays, featuring contributions from both rising stars and senior scholars of ancient philosophy Integrates analytic and continental traditions Explores the development of various disciplines, such as mathematics, logic, grammar, physics, and medicine, in relation to ancient philosophy Includes an illuminating introduction, bibliography, chronology, maps and an index

Author : John R. Wallach
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 421 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2015-12-16
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780271076799

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The Platonic Political Art by John R. Wallach Pdf

In this first comprehensive treatment of Plato’s political thought in a long time, John Wallach offers a "critical historicist" interpretation of Plato. Wallach shows how Plato’s theory, while a radical critique of the conventional ethical and political practice of his own era, can be seen as having the potential for contributing to democratic discourse about ethics and politics today. The author argues that Plato articulates and "solves" his Socratic Problem in his various dialogues in different but potentially complementary ways. The book effectively extracts Plato from the straightjacket of Platonism and from the interpretive perspectives of the past fifty years—principally those of Karl Popper, Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt, M. I. Finley, Jacques Derrida, and Gregory Vlastos. The author’s distinctive approach for understanding Plato—and, he argues, for the history of political theory in general—can inform contemporary theorizing about democracy, opening pathways for criticizing democracy on behalf of virtue, justice, and democracy itself.

Author : Angelo J. Corlett
Publisher : Parmenides Publishing
Page : 150 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2005-12-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781930972469

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Interpreting Plato's Dialogues by Angelo J. Corlett Pdf

This new way of approaching Plato neither sees Plato's words as doctrines according to which the dialogues are to be interpreted, nor does it reduce Plato's dialogues to dramatic literature. Rather, it seeks to interpret the primary aim of Plato's writings as being influenced primarily by Plato's respect for his teacher, Socrates, and the manner in which Socrates engaged others in philosophical discourse. It places the focus of philosophical investigation of Plato's dialogues on the content of the dialogues themselves, and on the Socratic way of doing philosophy.

Author : Gail Fine
Publisher : Oxford Handbooks
Page : 793 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780190639730

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The Oxford Handbook of Plato by Gail Fine Pdf

Plato is the best known, and continues to be the most widely studied, of all the ancient Greek philosophers. The updated and original essays in the second edition of the Oxford Handbook of Plato provide in-depth discussions of a variety of topics and dialogues, all serving several functions at once: they survey the current academic landscape; express and develop the authors' own views; and situate those views within a range of alternatives. The result is a useful state-of-the-art reference to the man many consider the most important philosophical thinker in history. This second edition of the Oxford Handbook of Plato differs in two main ways from the first edition. First, six leading scholars of ancient philosophy have contributed entirely new chapters: Hugh Benson on the Apology, Crito, and Euthyphro; James Warren on the Protagoras and Gorgias; Lindsay Judson on the Meno; Luca Castagnoli on the Phaedo; Susan Sauvé Meyer on the Laws; and David Sedley on Plato's theology. This new edition therefore covers both dialogues and topics in more depth than the first edition did. Secondly, most of the original chapters have been revised and updated, some in small, others in large, ways.

Author : Brooke Holmes,Klaus-Dietrich Fischer
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 775 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2015-03-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9783110336337

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The Frontiers of Ancient Science by Brooke Holmes,Klaus-Dietrich Fischer Pdf

Our understanding of science, mathematics, and medicine today can be deeply enriched by studying the historical roots of these areas of inquiry in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. The fields of ancient science and mathematics have in recent years witnessed remarkable growth. The present volume brings together contributions from more than thirty of the most important scholars working in these fields in the United States and Europe in honor of the eminent historian of ancient science and medicine Heinrich von Staden, Professor Emeritus of Classics and History of Science at the Institute of Advanced Study and William Lampson Professor Emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at Yale University. The papers range widely from Mesopotamia to Ancient Greece and Rome, from the first millennium B.C. to the early medieval period, and from mathematics to philosophy, mechanics to medicine, representing both a wide diversity of national traditions and the cutting edge of the international scholarly community.

Author : J.D.G. Evans
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 130 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2014-12-05
Category : History
ISBN : 9781317492139

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A Plato Primer by J.D.G. Evans Pdf

"A Plato Primer" introduces beginning students and the general reader to the main theses, concepts and arguments in Plato's philosophy. Subtle, versatile and multi-faceted though Plato's thought undoubtedly is, it has a core that needs to be explored and savoured. Evans presents this core, as it appears over a large range of his works, spread out over many decades of composition and many philosophical topics. Through all this diversity Plato's original philosophical personality shines through. Evans approaches the material thematically, in terms of modern philosophical categories, in seven main chapters. Within each of these individual treatments Evans follows the lines of argument in the main works of Plato that explore them. Indications about how to pursue given topics in the secondary literature are given in the helpful guide to further reading.

Author : Norman Gulley
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 214 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2013-11-05
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781136200601

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Plato's Theory of Knowledge (Routledge Revivals) by Norman Gulley Pdf

First published in 1962, this book provides a systematic account of the development of Plato’s theory of knowledge. Beginning with a consideration of the Socratic and other influences which determined the form in which the problem of knowledge first presented itself to Plato, the author then works through the dialogues from the Meno to the Laws and examines in detail Plato’s progressive attempts to solve the problem.

Author : Dominic J. O'Meara
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 171 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2017-10-05
Category : History
ISBN : 9781107183278

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Cosmology and Politics in Plato's Later Works by Dominic J. O'Meara Pdf

This book relates Plato's cosmology to his political philosophy by means of new interpretations of his Timaeus, Statesman, and Laws.