Plato

The two giants of ancient Greek philosophy, Plato and Aristotle, have traditionally been contrasted as "idealism vs realism." This paper offers a deeper reinterpretation of this contrast. We hypothesize that the directions each philosopher aimed for were, in fact, reversed in the way they were eventually realized through the course of history. Plato, who was oriented towards a transcendentalist structure, surprisingly derived a discipline (i.e. quantum language) that is more useful than modern statistics. Aristotle's empiricism, on the other hand, developed (...) into the causal determinism of Newtonian mechanics. Who would have expected the former to grow into an earthly discipline and the latter into a heavenly one? Who is greater, Plato or Aristotle? (shrink)

Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, taught himself to read, as a teenager, by spending hours with Plato’s Republic and a dictionary. Later, he describes reading the cave allegory in Republic 7 as “a seminal experience” in his life, “for it had started me thinking and reading and trying to find a way to liberate Black people.” Last year, I decided to teach his book Revolutionary Suicide in my ancient philosophy class alongside Plato. A few (...) key considerations guided my work: I wanted to make sure that Newton and the Panthers were not reduced to Plato cheerleaders. I also needed to introduce the Black Panther Party and its complex histories without overwhelming the students. In terms of Plato, one goal of the class was to offer examples of what might arise as we viewed Republic 7 through this lens. Finally, since the Black Panther Party established many schools—often with inspiring results—I worked to both incorporate key elements of Black Panther pedagogy into my class and design assignments that might allow the students to feel challenged by and connected to these stories. (shrink)

In this paper, I shall discuss the question whether a concrete object can be multi-located while it is moving or not. I shall say nothing on the vexed issue of multi-location in and for itself. Instead, my discussion will support a ‘might’-conditional claim: ‘if multi-location were possible, then change might imply multi-location’. To do this, after a very short clarification of the various meanings of ‘to be located’, I will first present and discuss Diodorus’ arguments against the reality of motion, (...) since they focus on the question of what the location of the moving item is, and then scrutinize Hegel’s reply to Diodorus Cronus’ reasonings, insofar as his answer consists in claiming that an object in motion is in many locations at once. Although many philosophers of the past are referred to, this paper does not aim to be a piece of scholarship, but to explore the various metaphysical possibilities concerning the logic of location underlying change. (shrink)

Celem tego artykułu jest przebadanie i objaśnienie platońskiego wpływu na rady Williama Oslera dla wszystkich lekarzy, które dotyczą ich autonomii, charakteru i stosunku do prawdy i fałszu w medycynie. W sugestiach „Ojca współczesnej medycyny” wprawne ucho może dosłyszeć echo niektórych opinii ucznia Sokratesa. Jego ideały i wartości powinny kształtować nie tylko lekarski etos, lecz i wiedzę o zasadach zdrowego życia i zwalczania choroby. Zwłaszcza dzisiaj to jest niesłychanie istotne w obliczu zagrożeń i nieszczęść, jakie stwarza farmakracja. -/- *** -/- Platonic (...) reminiscences in Osler’s advice about physicians’ autonomy, character and relation to truth and falsehood in medicine The aim of this article is to examine and explain Plato’s influence on William Osler’s advice to all physicians about their autonomy, character and relation to truth and falsehood in medicine. In the suggestions of “the Father of Modern Medicine” an experienced ear can detect an echo of certain opinions propagated by the pupil of Socrates. His ideals and values should shape not only the medical ethos, but also knowledge on the principles of a healthy life and overcoming disease. This is extremely important especially today, in the face of the threats represented – and the misfortunes caused – by pharmacracy. (shrink)

This paper criticises the two prominent interpretations of utopianism in Plato's Republic. The traditional argues that it is mere utopianism, seriously proposing that Kallipolis is, in fact, the ideal city. The ironic argues that the Republic is a critique of the ability for reason to reconstruct human nature and is, therefore, a dire warning against utopian thinking in politics. I oppose these two interpretations and instead argue that the Republic implies a paradoxical necessity in the nature of utopianism: The ideal (...) cannot be theorised without itself being conditioned by the politics of theorising, and yet the politics of theorising is immanently motivated by the ideal. I locate this seemingly antonymic dynamic within the education of the learner/citizen in the Republic. Although this is centred on the notion of self-governance, it cannot be imposed and instead depends on the philosophical development of one's soul that is inextricably linked to justice in the city. Therefore, the utopianism of the Republic ought to be thought of as dialectical, being simultaneously situated and yet normatively transcending. (shrink)

This Ph.D. thesis aims to provide a comprehensive account of the relationship between ethics and epistemology in Plato’s late dialogues (specifically, Sophist, Statesman, Philebus, and Laws). While scholars have been concerned with understanding the extent to which Plato’s middle dialogues resonate with his early theory of ethical intellectualism (according to which knowledge is a necessary and sufficient condition for virtue), Plato’s later moral epistemology has received much less attention. The few scholars who have worked on the subject have argued that (...) Plato’s late dialogues present a radical transformation of the epistemological and ethical ideas displayed in Plato’s earlier works. The scholarly debate has almost unanimously concluded that Plato’s late dialogues heavily revise the theory of ethical intellectualism that, arguably, features in the earlier works. Through an in-depth analysis of the late dialogues’ textual evidence, this thesis will show that the so-called Socratic theory of ethical intellectualism has not been abandoned by Plato in his late works. To this end, I will contend that the Sophist, the Statesman, the Philebus, and the Laws suggest that (philosophical) knowledge is the ultimate condition that a moral agent has to meet to be fully virtuous. In addition, taking for granted that philosophers alone can achieve a full and philosophical virtue, I will also show that Plato’s later moral epistemology extends beyond philosophers. For, while achieving philosophical knowledge is presented as a necessary and sufficient condition for being virtuous, I will argue that Plato’s late dialogues establish that opinion, if true, is sufficient for acting virtuously. (shrink)

Jakiej filozofii warto być wiernym, zwłaszcza w sofistopolis? Prolegomena do książki Seweryna Blandziego Między aletejologią Parmenidesa a ontoteologią Filona *** Artykuł unaocznia potrzebę wierności kilku ponadczasowym postulatom filozofii, które pobrzmiewają głośnym echem w książce Seweryna Blandziego Między aletejologią Parmenidesa a ontoteologią Filona. Służąc bezinteresownie prawdzie, rzetelny historyk filozofii musi – zarówno w samym sobie, jak i w kręgu osób sobie najbliższych – pielęgnować nie tylko dar uważnej obserwacji, bez którego nie nabywa nikt mądrości, lecz i cnotę męstwa, bez którego ani (...) w czynie, ani w słowie nie znajduje mądrość odzwierciedlenia. Słynne pytanie Leopolda von Rankego: Wie es eigentlich gewesen? powinien każdy współczesny badacz historii filozofii rozszerzyć: (1) jako filolog – do postaci: Wie es eigentlich geschrieben ist?; (2) jako filozof – do problemu: Wie es eigentlich gemeint ist? Jak długo historia filozofii będzie się wyrzekać ambicji ustalania jasnych i jednoznacznych odpowiedzi na pytania tego rodzaju, tak długo nie wydźwignie się z kryzysu, w jaki popadła zakwestionowawszy wartość i status prawdy. *** What kind of philosophy is deserving of our loyalty – especially in the sophistopolis? Prolegomena to Seweryn Blandzi’s book Between Parmenides’ Aletheiology and Philo’s of Alexandria Ontotheology The article reveals that one must be faithful to several timeless demands of philosophy, demands that resound loudly in Seweryn Blandzi’s book Between Parmenides’ Aletheiology and Philo’s of Alexandria Ontotheology. Serving the truth selflessly, a reliable historian of philosophy ought – both in himself and in the circle of his intimates – cultivate not only the gift of careful observation, without which nobody acquires wisdom, but also the virtue of courage, without which wisdom will not be expressed in deed or in word. Every modern researcher of the history of philosophy should broaden the famous question of Leopold von Ranke: Wie es eigentlich gewesen?: (1) as a philologist – to the form: Wie es eigentlich geschrieben ist?; (2) as a philosopher – to the problem: Wie es eigentlich gemeint ist? As long as the history of philosophy abdicates from providing clear and unambiguous answers to questions of this kind, it will not overcome the crisis it suffered after questioning the value and status of truth. (shrink)

Se argumenta que el inmoralismo que confronta Platón en República I y II, lejos de presentar un solo desafío, tiene en realidad cuatro niveles de exigencia progresiva. Esta estructura escalonada del desafío inmoralista pone de manifiesto el hecho de que el desafío oficial, formulado por Adamanto en República II, corresponde a una peculiar interpretación que Platón hace del inmoralismo. Esto se debe a que los dos primeros niveles del desafío no introducen la novedosa posibilidad de suplantación de la realidad moral (...) por la reputación moral, característica de la interpretación platónica. Se argumenta también que la interpretación platónica acarrea ciertos problemas, y para los cuales se ofrecen soluciones tentativas. Entre estos problemas destaca la famosa objeción según la cual la noción de justicia como armonía síquica que Platón propone como respuesta, en República IV, parece cambiar de tema. Se argumenta, finalmente, que la estructura escalonada del desafío inmoralista permite hacer frente a esta objeción, pues sus últimos dos niveles ya determinan la forma que deberá tomar la respuesta ofrecida en República IV. (shrink)

This treatise introduces a transformative socio-political paradigm that merges empathy, philosophy, ethics, science, equality, and the refinement of excellence to address the novel challenges of the 21st century and beyond. By combining ethical bio-genetic enhancement, empathetic governance, and the cautious reconstruction of socio-political structures, it envisions a society capable of achieving unprecedented precision, efficiency, and unity in governance. This interdisciplinary framework integrates modern science, classical philosophy, and historical lessons to propose a genetically optimized, rigorously educated, and ethically inclined sub-population, the (...) “Electi.” Designed to embody human refinement and empathy, the Electi are uniquely qualified to navigate the ethical, technological, environmental, and scientific challenges of the modern era. Building on the works of Aristotle and Plato while incorporating contemporary concepts like Polygenic Scores, artificial intelligence, and psychometrics, the treatise provides a balanced model that addresses democracy’s inefficiencies without sacrificing equality or representation. Ethical safeguards and public engagement strategies are woven into the paradigm to counter fears of elitism and inequality. This model aims to accelerate societal advancement, improve policy-making efficiency, and respond proactively to crises such as climate change and AI threats. By harmonizing ethical considerations with practical governance, the treatise offers an innovative framework for academics, philosophers, and policymakers to reimagine the future of human progress and governance. (shrink)

Nella «Metafisica» Aristotele fonda una scienza filosofica a cui assegna il compito di occuparsi dell’«essere in quanto essere», indagandone le cause e i principi primi. Egli denomina questa scienza «filosofia prima» e la eleva a forma massima di sapere. La filosofia prima è abitualmente riconosciuta come il punto di partenza per la formazione della disciplina filosofica che, a partire dalla prima età moderna, chiamiamo ontologia. Nel delinearne la fisionomia teorica e lo statuto, tuttavia, Aristotele si confronta da vicino con un (...) altro autorevole modello di scienza suprema, avente anch’essa l’essere per oggetto proprio: la dialettica platonica. Scopo di questo libro è esplorare il retroterra platonico della progettazione aristotelica della filosofia prima e mostrare, attraverso dettagliate ricostruzioni testuali, che Aristotele ha elaborato questa scienza come un’alternativa alla dialettica platonica. (shrink)

I argue that part of Plato's strategy to neutralize the paradox of falsehood is to pin down various referents of the name 'being', τὸ ὄν. I focus on four and track their role in the dialogue's argument. They are: (1) any primary being; (2) the Kind Being; (3) any participant in the Kind Being; (4) a set of participants in the Kind Being.

The present paper has two objectives. First, it explicates the story, initially portrayed by Eckart Förster (2012), that allegedly philosophy started with publishing of Kant’s CPR and ended a quarter century later when Hegel’s Phenomenology of Mind appeared. We address the questions in what sense this happened and how is this development to be interpreted? Secondly, we demonstrate that similar radical transition from new, “true” beginning of philosophy to its apparent finishing took place in two other, high profile occasions in (...) the history of Western philosophy, in two key points of its development: in the years 390–365 BC, between the early and the late Plato, and between 1898 and 1922, between Russell and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus. These three short-lived, spectacular transitions from philosophy’s alleged start to its alleged ultimate accomplishment give us good reason to speak about a specific 25-years principle in philosophy. In a peculiar way, this principle reveals philosophy’s true nature. (shrink)

In the Laws, Plato argues that legislation must not only compel, but also persuade. This is accomplished by prefacing laws with preludes. While this procedure is central to the legislative project of the dialogue, there is little interpretative agreement about the strategy of the preludes. This paper defends an interpretation according to which the strategy is to engage with citizens in a way that anticipates their progress toward a more mature evaluative outlook, and helps them grow into it. This paper (...) shall refer to this strategy as proleptic engagement. While the virtuous ways of life required by law are intimately connected to happiness, the preludes do not persuade by spelling out this connection. Rather, they persuade by telling citizens what they need to hear so that they can come to appreciate this connection for themselves, in the context of their own lives. While the preludes are many and varied, this paper argues that all preambular material can be understood as proleptic engagement. (shrink)

Abstract below. The published version of this article is available open access at The Monist's website. Part of Plato’s complaint about the cognitive status of art cites the pollution of aesthetic cognition by the affective side of our natures. Schopenhauer, by contrast, takes aesthetic cognition to transcend (some of) the limitations of everyday cognition precisely because in it agents become the “pure, will-less subject of cognition” (WWR I 219). On the orthodox reading of his later philosophy, Nietzsche scorns Plato and (...) Schopenhauer’s association of the value of art with its truthfulness. I challenge the orthodox reading and argue that one strand of art’s value is its penetrative cognitive power. In contrast to Schopenhauer, Nietzsche understands this cognitive power to result from the embracing and exploitation of the affects in the artistic process rather than their extirpation. (shrink)

In this book, Julie K. Ward examines the concept of theoria within both philosophical and what she terms ‘traditional’ frameworks. Her primary objective is to enhance the ongoing philosophical discussion surrounding Plato and Aristotle’s accounts of theoria by situating them within the context of the earlier practice of traditional theoria. By understanding the cultural ground from which these philosophical accounts spring, Ward rightly asserts that her work enables a deeper and more sustained critical analysis of both philosophers’ theories than what (...) is found in current scholarship. (shrink)

This article explores the figure of Socrates as a religious reformer along the lines of McPherran's studies. Particular attention is paid to the conception of providence as expressed in the accounts of Socrates by Xenophon.

This book brings together a number of researchers of different nationalities to reflect on religion and philosophy in ancient Greece. These scholars have been convened by the Brazilian research group Delphos and discuss, in particular, how religious and philosophical thought intertwined during this period. Among the papers collected here, several are devoted to epic and philosophical literature before Plato. The others deal, alongside this great classical philosopher, with Aristotle and Philo of Alexandria. These contributions allow us to recognise how the (...) vision of the cosmos, metaphysics and human life are intertwined in Greek thought. A journey is made from traditional Greek religion to its philosophical reinterpretations, reaching as far as the monotheistic God of Judaism made known in the Hellenic language. The nature of the cosmos, investigated scientifically, is no stranger to the Greeks' view of the divine, but neither is ethics, with all its demands. Thus, these studies provide a kaleidoscopic view of the various points of view from which nature, the human condition and divinity are approached through the eyes of ancient Greek literature. (shrink)

The clean separation between manifold phenomena and a systematic order that prevails in them is a basic feature of the rational-scientific orientation system. The first authoritative formulation of this premise is found in Plato. His discussion of constitutive forms of world events has initiated a broad development in the history of philosophy, which is also effective today in the preference for reason-guided analyses of often confusing circumstances. The authors of this volume address the lasting relevance of this idea within two (...) interrelated areas of research, namely Plato scholarship and contemporary Platonism. Of particular interest is the relationship between Plato and Wittgenstein. Following this overall idea, this volume is divided into three sections: Plato scholarship, Platonism, and Plato and Wittgenstein. As the contributions show, Platonism proves to be not only a purely historical-exegetical field of research but rather a fruitful stimulus for contemporary discussions on logical, linguistic, and social topics. (shrink)

In this essay, I offer some of the reasons to think that Plato has a substantial contribution to make to contemporary thinking about moral education. To allow a sense of how wide the range of reasons is, I start by listing ten miscellaneous reasons that one can compellingly offer and some of which scholars *have* offered. Then I present my preferred reason, which involves a way of approaching Plato that is new and unorthodox. When you approach Plato this way, you (...) don't try to interpret him correctly. Instead, you use his writings simply as a tool for theorizing, and what you theorize about is how best to carry out the Socratic project of leading other people to self-examination. (shrink)

Martin Heidegger as Interrogator: The Final Paradigm By Daniel Fidel Ferrer. Copyright©2024 Daniel Fidel Ferrer. All rights reserved. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND. Imprint 1.0. 2024. All Rights are reserved. Intended copies of this work can be used for research and teaching. No change in the content and must include my full name, Daniel Fidel Ferrer. Enjoying reading and disagreeing. Publisher: Kuhn von Verden Verlag. Language: English and German. Includes bibliographical references and an index. Pages 1-316. Index total pages is 524. Ontology. (...) 2. Metaphysics. 3. Philosophy, German. 4. Thought and thinking. 5. Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804. 6. Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von, 1775-1854. 7. Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831. 10. Philosophy, Modern -- 20th century. 11. Philosophy, Modern -- 19th century. 12. Practice (Philosophy). 13. Philosophy and civilization. 14. Postmodernism. 15. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900. 16. Heidegger, Martin, 1889-1976. 17. Ferrer, Daniel Fidel. Table of Contents Mottos Division I. Discussion of the title pages 2-6 Prologue pages 7-14 Heidegger, what do we know about him? page 15-22 Early Heidegger pages 23-41 What are the periods in Heidegger’s thought? pages 42-51 Preface and Setting the Stage pages 52-65 Introduction pages 66-82 Heidegger on Questioning pages 83-94 The Crisis or Krisis in philosophy? pages 95-106 Does Heidegger have a philosophy? pages 107-127 Heidegger about the Nature of Teaching pages 128-132 Heidegger against philosophy as a worldview or the standpoint of standpointlessness pages 133-137 Heidegger’s world-famous book Being and Time (Sein und Zeit, SuZ, 1927) pages 138-153 Heidegger’s second attempt Beiträge zur Philosophie (Vom Ereignis) (1936-1938) pages 154-162 Heidegger on the image of the Bridge pages 163-170 Conclusion pages 171-188 -/- Division II. Engagement with Heidegger on history of philosophy (metaphysics). Reinigung as cleaning, purifying pages 189-191 What is Heidegger’s Metahistory of philosophy? pages 192-243 Appendix A. Reconstruction of a partial letter from Martin Heidegger to Dieter Sinn. Dated. 24 August 1964. pages 244-248 Appendix B. Martin Heidegger's Dialogue and Critical Debate with Hegel. pages 249-253 Appendix C. Heidegger on Pain (Schmerz) pages 254-257 Appendix D. Update: 2023 Oct 24. Daniel Fidel Ferrer replies to Professor Thomas Sheehan (Sein question) pages 258-269 Appendix E. Five Habilitations done with Martin Heidegger. Habilitationsschrift pages 270-272 Heidegger Bibliography Individual Lectures Vortrag or Vorträge. Detailed pages 273-294 Heidegger‘s Gesamtausgabe (HGA or GA). Note GA 72 has yet to be published (2024). pages 295-299 Letters. Briefe. Briefwechsel. Not complete pages 300-303 Heidegger Studies / Heidegger Studien / Etudes Heideggeriennes (list of Heidegger texts) pages 304-305 Jahresgaben der Martin-Heidegger-Gesellschaft (from the internet) (list of Heidegger texts) pages 306-308 Additional References (bibliographies) pages 309-310 Heidegger Index Projects by Daniel Fidel Ferrer page 311 -/- Martin Heidegger Audio Recordings pages 312-313 -/- Additional acknowledgements pages 314-315 -/- Letter from Hermann Heidegger to Daniel Ferrer den 5.2.2002. In German. Hermann Heidegger’s response to the Barbara Fiand collection being in the USA. -/- One of the thesis: there is no Heidegger philosophy. Read more… -/- “What always counts in the lecture-courses is the manner of proceeding - the sequence of steps - not a claim to final truths. The lecture-courses never wrap up in a completeness and in seemingly "finishing off" the works interpreted, but rather in the inner fullness of the hidden dynamics of questioning.” GA 66. Besinnung (1938/39). GA 66: 421. (shrink)

Critics often suggest that Socrates’ portrait of the philosopher’s inspired madness in his second speech in Plato’s Phaedrus is incompatible with the other types of divine madness outlined in the same speech, namely poetic, prophetic, and purificatory madness. This incompatibility is frequently taken to show that Socrates’ characterisation of philosophers as mad is disingenuous or misleading in some way. While philosophical madness and the other types of divine madness are distinguished by the non-philosophical crowd’s different interpretations of them, I aim (...) to show that they are not, in fact, presented as incompatible. Socrates’ pair of speeches demonstrates that madness can be divided into harmful and beneficial kinds, and in Socrates’ key discussion of philosophical madness (249c4-e4), I argue that the crowd correctly recognises that the philosopher is mad on the basis of his eccentricity, but wrongly assumes that the philosopher’s madness is of the harmful type because it fails to realise that the philosopher is enthused. Socrates’ second speech provides information about human souls and gods which shows that philosophical madness belongs to the beneficial type and so falls under the heading of divine enthusiasm after all. Importantly, human souls and gods are shown in the speech to be roughly isomorphic. Both philosophical and other kinds of divine madness involve having something divine inside a human body (entheos): in the former a human soul has become godlike; in the latter a human soul has been displaced by a god. Because of this, I propose that philosophy is presented as a genuine form of divine madness alongside the other more conventional examples. (shrink)

In this paper I provide a commentary on and edition of the unpublished and apparently incomplete Medicina contracta of the Flemish philosopher Arnold Geulincx (1624– 1669). This short treatise, dating to c. 1668–1669, was not included in the edition of Geulincx’s works edited by J.P.N. Land, on the ground of its apparent unoriginality. However, it reveals the attempt, by Geulincx, to develop a medicine based on a new account of disease (intended in Cartesian-Platonic terms of the impossibility of the mind (...) using the body through animal spirits), and integrating avant-garde solutions typ- ical of iatrochemistry (in particular those of Franciscus Sylvius) and iatromechanics. The text, which I also consider in the light of Geulincx’s disputations in physiology, is moreover revelatory of his ongoing efforts in understanding the nature of respiration and its related diseases and conditions, such as apoplexy, and of his progressive, albeit not uncritical acceptance of Cartesianism. (shrink)

Plato’s attitude towards women in his major political works, the Republic and Laws, is complex. On the one hand, Plato argues that in well-run cities, women should hold positions of rule; but on the other, he suggests that women are inferior to men with respect to virtue. To reconcile these conflicting attitudes, some scholars argue that Plato’s progressive proposals are about women as they could be given the right education and environment, while his derogatory comments are about women as they (...) are. Surprisingly, however, commentators who defend this line of thought fail to identify which aspect or aspects of women’s current social position is the problem. I argue that a central problem is women’s role in the private family. More specifically, I argue that Plato thinks the institution of the private family and household is an impediment to virtue; since the private family and household is the primary domain of women, they will be particularly susceptible to its ill effects. In short, individuals’ characters are shaped by the institutions they inhabit; the private family and household is a character-shaping institution that is the primary domain for women, and as a result their characters will be shaped for the worse. (shrink)

"Sapiolatry," the excessive reverence and idolization of historical figures renowned for their wisdom, poses a significant challenge to critical thinking and innovation. In the article "Say Goodbye to Plato," we delve into the concept of sapiolatry and its implications for our engagement with the teachings of revered figures like Plato. By exploring the roots, consequences, and the case of Plato, we highlight the necessity of moving beyond uncritical adoration towards a more dynamic and contextual interpretation of ancient wisdom. The article (...) advocates for a balanced and critical approach to studying the teachings of revered figures, emphasizing the importance of adapting their wisdom to address contemporary issues and foster innovation. (shrink)

It has a long history for the exploration of the origin and essence of human consciousness with different definitions and explanations in various fields such as philosophy, medicine, sociology, biology, and psychology. However, all of them had not been recognized so far. The main reason is that the complexity of consciousness leads to the inability of various fields to understand its essence fully, reasonably, and comprehensively, and there are still significant differences for it, and which have become an eternal mystery. (...) So, it is necessary to delve deeper into it. Here we show that this article concludes that the origin of consciousness comes from natural matter, the essence of consciousness is material information, the ability of consciousness is the degree to which the complexity and orderliness of material information are utilized, and consciousness has the attributes of congenital, materiality, systematicness, complexity, dynamics, difference, and selfness according to the analysis, summary and induction of knowledge from various disciplines. (shrink)

This paper responds to two trends in debates about Plato's view of women in the Republic. First, many scholars argue or assume that Plato seeks to minimize the influence of femininity in the ideal city, and to make guardian women themselves as “masculine” as possible. Second, scholars who address the relationship between Plato's views of women and his psychological theory tend to focus on the reasoning and appetitive parts of the tripartite soul. In response to the first point, we argue (...) that the idea that Plato seeks to masculinize/de-feminize the city oversimplifies his treatment of Greek gender norms. Although he does want to eliminate some traditionally feminine qualities from the city, he also seeks to eliminate many masculine qualities as well. Moreover, while he tries to make guardian women more like men in some respects, he simultaneously aims to make guardian men more like Greek women in important ways. Regarding the second point, we argue that this project of reimagining gender norms is illuminated by Plato's psychology, but instead of emphasizing reason and appetite, we show how his views are connected to his account of the third, “spirited” part of the soul, thumos, and its dual hard/soft or aggressive/gentle nature. (shrink)

Bernard Williams argued that historical and philosophical inquiry were importantly linked in a number of ways. This introductory chapter distinguishes four different connections he identified between philosophy and history. (1) He believed that philosophy could not ignore its own history in the way that science can. (2) He thought that when engaging with philosophy’s history primarily to produce history, one still had to draw on philosophy. (3) Even doing history of philosophy philosophically, i.e. primarily to produce philosophy, required a keen (...) sense of how historically distant from us past philosophers were, on his view, because the point of reading them was to confront something different from the present. (4) He held that systematic philosophy itself needed to be done historically, engaging not necessarily with its own history, but with that of the concepts it sought to understand. The chapter closes with an overview of the volume’s structure and content. (shrink)

This enquiry attempts to establish Walter Pahnke's categorization of the mystical experience as the specific phenomenological process Socrates refers to as dialectic in the Republic's allegory of the cave. Aside from a comparative analysis of the numerous connections between Plato's most prolific allegory and Pahnke's mystical experience, I define the symbol bearers as oppressive religious authority and tie the symbols of the cave to the post-industrial drug-war and for-profit organization of spirituality observable throughout a world so far removed from the (...) holistic model of the Eleusinian Mysteries. (shrink)

Als Plato de hedendaagse academie zou aanschouwen, zou hij niet alleen stomverbaasd zijn over de massificatie en de byzantijnse bureaucratie, maar gezien het ethische doel van de universiteit zou hij ook reden hebben om bezorgd te zijn.

In this paper, drawing on evidence internal to the Platonic dialogues (supplemented with some ancient testimonia), I answer the question, “How did Plato teach in the Academy?” My reconstruction of Plato’s pedagogy in the Academy is that there was a single person who read the dialogue aloud like a rhapsode (this is in contrast to the dramatic theatrical hypothesis, in which several speakers function as actors in the performance of a dialogue). After the rhapsodic reading, students were allowed to ask (...) that portions of the text to be re-read, to ask a question about the text, and were encouraged to enter into a broader conversation about the topic and themes brought out by the text. This later pedagogical method of interrogating and investigating a dialogue is of more importance than the mere reading of a dialogue. I contend that Plato’s experiences teaching were woven into some of the dialogues, and that Plato’s pedagogy reflects some of the ways that he taught in the Academy. I propose that excellent points made by students may have been written into revised forms of the dialogue. And not only good points, but also mistakes in reasoning may have been added into the dialogues. I suggest that the way certain dialogues are organized with “guest lecturers” and “tag-team” philosophical debates reflect Plato’s pedagogy in the Academy. Plato’s broadmindedness, his openness to various and opposing viewpoints, is also evident from both outside and inside of the dialogue. Lastly, drawing on the idea of Socratic mimēsis, I give a plausible curriculum for how Plato may have used the dialogues to teach them: he had his students “play” with them. Plato may have asked his students to enter into the roles of the characters in the dialogues to better understand them and the type of person they represent. Plato may have also asked students to take over from the position of the character in the dialogue and to suggest a better, truer account of things than what the characters said or did. (shrink)

This is a short entry on "Metatheatre" in Section 4, "Concepts, Themes and Topics Treated in the Dialogues," in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Plato, edited by Gerald Press and Mateo Duque.

This is a short entry on "Comedy" in Section 3, "Important Features of the Dialogues," in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Plato, edited by Gerald Press and Mateo Duque.

This essential reference text on the life, thought and writings of Plato uses over 160 short, accessible articles to cover a complete range of topics for both the first-time student and seasoned scholar of Plato and ancient philosophy. It is organized into five parts illuminating Plato’s life, the whole of the Dialogues attributed to him, the Dialogues’ literary features, the concepts and themes explored within them and Plato’s reception via his influence on subsequent philosophers and the various interpretations of his (...) work. This fully updated 2nd edition includes 19 newly commissioned entries on topics ranging across comedy, tragedy, Xenophon, metatheatre, gender, musical theory, animals, Orphism, political theory, religion, time, Hellenistic philosophy and post-Platonic ancient commentaries. It also features revisions to the majority of articles from the 1st edition, including 8 which have been completely re-written, and 12 which have had the references substantially revised. Reflecting the growing diversity of Plato scholarship across the world, this edition includes contributions from a wide range of scholars who enrich the field and provide students and scholars with a vital resource for study and reference. (shrink)

In the "Republic," Plato has Socrates attack poetry’s use of mimēsis, often translated as ‘imitation’ or ‘representation.’ Various scholars (e.g. Blondell 2002; Frank 2018; Halliwell 2009; K. Morgan 2004) have noticed the tension between Socrates’ theory critical of mimēsis and Plato’s literary practice of speaking through various characters in his dialogues. However, none of these scholars have addressed that it is not only Plato the writer who uses mimēsis but also his own character, Socrates. At crucial moments in several dialogues, (...) Socrates takes on a role and speaks as someone else. I call these moments “Socratic mimēsis.” While previous commentators have noticed some of these moments, they have either overstated their rarity or they have not studied them collectively. My dissertation is the first in-depth investigation of this phenomenon in the dialogues. Socrates’ dramatic imitation of others is way of teaching in a voice separate from his own, and it is also a way for Plato to speak to, and to educate, different kinds of audiences. Although “Socratic mimēsis” occurs throughout the Platonic corpus, I focus on three passages from three different dialogues, which are paradigm instances: [1] in the "Crito" Socrates plays the part of ‘the Laws’ (50a-54c); [2] in the "Theaetetus" he acts the part of ‘Protagoras’ (166a-168c); and [3] in the "Menexenus" he recites a funeral speech learned from ‘Aspasia’ (236d-249c). Instead of one-sidedly reading the dialogues as either only literary works of art or as only a series of philosophical arguments, this study gleans philosophic insights from the literary and dramatic details of the dialogues. In chapter one I argue that in the "Crito" Socrates tries to convince Crito of a universal and absolute ethics based on never committing injustice, but Crito is not able to understand. In order to make Crito more just—but not yet at the level of Socratic ethics—Socrates creates ‘the Laws’ to persuade Crito to expand his personal notion of justice. Socrates instills a political obedience in place of Crito’s existing lawlessness as a second-best recourse. Plato expects the astute listener or reader to see the contrast between Socrates’ earlier ethical principles, said in his own voice, with what he says in the voice of ‘the Laws.’ In chapter two I argue that in the part of the "Theaetetus" where Socrates defends Protagoras (often called ‘the Defense’), Socrates, by imitating ‘Protagoras,’ is actually criticizing Protagorean relativism. The Protagorean theory cannot account for mimēsis and Socrates’ mimetic act performatively contradicts the identity of appearance and reality, which the theory presupposes. Finally, in chapter three I argue that in the Menexenus the funeral oration that Socrates recounts for Menexenus that he heard from ‘Aspasia’ is actually a disguised criticism of political rhetoric and of Athenian imperialism. Although the speech is never interrogated within the dialogue, Plato provokes the listener or reader outside the dialogue to question its message and to see how it conflicts with many of Socrates’ positions in other dialogues. Beyond reconsidering the long-standing and persistent view that Plato was against poetry and mimetic performance, I re-examine the role that performance and role-playing can have in philosophy and pedagogy more generally. Actors, by taking on other personas, and audience members, in observing actors and their actions, are both involved in acts of imagination that can expand their horizon of thinking and feeling. (shrink)

The conceptualisation of numbers is culturally bound. This may seem like a counterintuitive claim, but one illustration thereof is the limitations of the resemblance of the ancient Greek concept of number to that in modern mathematics.

The article undertakes a phenomenological interpretation of the description of contingency in two late-antique models of the relationship of time and eternity — in the theory of Plotinus, and in the eschatology of Paul on the basis of the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. Contingency as a possible property not of time, but of eternity, the presence of the supertemporal in the physical world — this hypothesis promotes a new view of the relationship between time and eternity and a new (...) view of the properties of time. Time remains as immeasurable as eternity, inheriting its character as a phenomenon of consciousness. The article also compares the ideas of H. Bergson and E. Husserl on duration and memory, on the coincidence of moments and the measurability of the movement of time. A turn to Ptolemaic cosmology proposed by Q. Meillassoux seems relevant, an appeal to ancient mathematics and ontology through the optics of post-metaphysical criticism. The search for a new correlationism is significant for the philosophy of time, and contingency, like any coincidence of thought and object, the world and the subject, the signifier and the signified, leads to new forms of manifestation, new phenomena of presence, a new fullness of being in history. (shrink)

Kako je moguće baviti se Platonom danas, ukoliko je filozofija „svoje vreme obuhvaćeno mislima“? Autor Platonovom delu ne pristupa kao dogmatskom štivu, već kao tekstu prožetom paradoksima, koje izmiče svakom unapred pripremljenom, šematizovanom modelu čitanja. Obratiti se Platonu kao filozofskoj paradigmi isplativo je ukoliko filozofi koji progovaraju iz dubine vremena mogu nešto važno da nam saopšte i ukoliko smo kadri da im postavimo autentično pitanje. Zato filozofi moraju imati dah delfskog ronioca, jer biser se ne nalazi u svakoj školjci. Knjiga (...) Iz Platonove filozofije ulazi u red značajnih knjiga posvećenih Platonovoj filozofiji. Veći deo knjige je objavljen u časopisima od svetskog ugleda (na nemačkom i engleskom jeziku). Time je njen kvalitet potvrđen recenzijama koje su nastale van domaćih koterija, a delo se samerilo sa aktuelnim pristupima Platonu. Knjiga se bavi problemima koji su formulisani u drugoj polovini prošlog veka (napisano i nenapisano učenje), preko naizgled klasičnih tema (dvostruki paradoks, utemeljenje istorijskog i političkog, eros), do tekstova koji pogađaju fenomen aktuelnosti Platonove teorije i prakse (problemi kongitivne dispozicije i bioetike u Platonovoj filozofiji). Ispred nas je Platon u dijalogu sa filozofskim strujanjima s kraja dvadesetog i početkom ovog veka. Za Irinu Deretić smisao filozofskog dijaloga leži u procenjivanju i odmeravanju stanovišta u raspravi, kako bi se vlastito stanovište preciznije artikulisalo. Ne radi se o utopijskoj komunikativnoj zajednici - već o karakteru filozofskog dijaloga, koji je upućen na unutrašnji, a ne na spoljašnji agon. Platon iz sasvim nesofističkih razloga preuzima metodu sofista kada „slabiju stvar čini jačom“. Tome je suprotna eristička (ne)kultura, u kojoj strasti imaju prevagu na davanjem bilo kakvih, „a kamoli valjanih razloga“, piše Irina Deretić. Iz problematičnosti jezika i sučeljavanja sa bliskim granicama pojmljivosti, ne mora da proizađe i slabost logosa. Naprotiv, snaga logosa je obrnuto proporcionalna sposobnošću da se odredi njegova nemoć. Granicu Platonove misli Irina Deretić jezgrovito formuliše: „Platonov jezik je sav okrenut biću, i usmeren je na saznajno ovladavanje njime. Snaga argumenta učesnika u Platonovim razgovorima upravo se sastoji u njihovoj sposobnosti da tačno pogode stvarnost na koju se odnose i koju nastoje da izraze“. Ali to vodi oblikovanju samog karaktera dijaloga: sagovornici se podređuju vođstvu „same stvari“ mišljenja. Međutim, logos nije svemoćan, i inače, a pogotovo ne za Platona. Irina Deretić insistira na autentičnom smislu nemoći logosa kao racionalnog diskursa, koji se pokazuje na odlučujućim mestima, tamo gde njegove refleksije o idejama, posebno o Ideji Dobra bivaju suočene sa granicama njihove saznatljivosti i saopštivosti. Napokon, Platonova okrenutost biću nije dovela do teorije adekvatnosti između bića i jezika, nego do isticanja paradoksa i metafore. A šta je iza njihovog vela - ništa, ili su oni, naprotiv, konstitutivni za biće, da li uopšte može biti odlučeno? U skladu sa filozofskim vjeruju Nikolaja Berđajeva, može se formulisati karakteristika ove važne i lepe knjige: Iz dubine vremena izvire sposobnost da se filozofski misli, a to onda nije u koliziji sa aktuelnim „primenama“ filozofske refleksije. Naprotiv. (shrink)

Nemali broj interpretatora Platonove Države smatra kako Sokratova argumentacija protiv Trasimaha u prvoj knjizi Države nije zadovoljavajuća, valjana i uverljiva. U ovom radu autorka nastoji da pokaže u čemu leže smisao, snaga i validnost Sokratovih argumenata protiv imoralističkog stanovišta o prirodi pravednosti. Njegovi argumenti nemaju samo elenktičku, pobijajuću vrednost, nego nam daju i uvid u neka načelna pitanja, poput prirode umeća, pleoneksije, funkcije, vrline, eudajmonije, te pružaju putokaz u kojem pravcu će se kretati dalja rasprava u Državi.

Classical Sparta is an enigma in many ways, but for ancient and contemporary political theorists it is especially intriguing insofar as its politeia (or its educational/political/social system or “constitution”) produced a city-state that was both the hegemon of all other Greek city-states, for instance during the 5th century Persians wars, but was also ignobly defeated by Thebes at the battle of Leuctra in 371, slightly more than a century later, after which its hegemony collapsed and its subject population of helots (...) won a war of emancipation. How did Sparta field citizen-soldiers in the 5th century who were without parallel in their bravery and military prowess? And why did Sparta, perhaps under the same politeia, collapse just over a century later? Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch searched for answers to such questions in the Spartan public educational program, its mixed constitutions, and its apparently militaristic goal and orientation. Such 4th century intellectuals (and Plutarch, writing in the 1st century CE) debated whether Sparta’s collapse was the result of deep-rooted problems within its Lycurgan constitution or in Sparta’s subsequent departure from that constitution; there also is significant debate concerning the education and roles of women within Spartan society. (shrink)

Ancient philosophical schools developed and discussed perspectives and practices on the emotion of anger useful in contemporary philosophical practice with clients, groups, and organizations. This paper argues the case for incorporating these insights from four main philosophical schools (Platonist, Aristotelian, Epicurean, and Stoic) sets out eight practices drawn from these schools, and discusses how these insights can be used by philosophical practitioners with clients.

The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a United States taken over by a fundamentalist dictatorship called Gilead that also resembles Plato’s ideal city. Attempts to explain Gilead’s debt to Plato face two challenges. First, aspects of Gilead that recall Plato also contain features that differ, at times dramatically, from the Platonic original. Second, Gilead invokes distorted versions of ideas from philosophies other than Plato’s. I explore two ways of making sense of Gilead’s distorted philosophical appropriations. The explanations differ over whether such distortions (...) are best explained by the nature of the philosophies they misrepresent, or by the nature of Gilead. The explanation that emphasizes Gilead’s own agency is ultimately best able to make sense of how illiberal regimes misappropriate philosophical concepts, both in the novel and in reality, in order to limit the political imagination of their subjects. (shrink)

Plato is among the most influential philosophers in the course of history, and the range of his ideas about different issues makes other scholars impressed. Considering his various views on varied subjects, one can argue that many ideas of the thinkers originated from Plato’s ideas in the contemporary world. Plato, in different positions, discussed women and their equality with men, especially in Republic Book V. The study of the ideas makes one suppose that the book explores the roots of feminist (...) theory. In Book V, Plato deals with the equality of women and men related to learning different issues and positions. Besides, he has discussed the children-sharing system resulting in the elimination of the private family system. Plato’s opinions are highly disputed; on the one hand, his ideas are considered feminist, and on the other hand, however, they are seen with no relation to feminist philosophy. The present paper aims to judge opinions related to women in the Republic Book V. -/- . (shrink)

In his essay, “The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking,” Heidegger proposes the existence of uncharted avenues for intellectual exploration that transcend the confines of metaphysical philosophy. He articulates a more contemplative form of thinking, distinct from the incessant rationalization that permeates traditional discourse, transcending the dichotomy of rational and irrational thought. 2 In typical Heideggerian fashion, this paper lacks a central thesis but embarks on a journey to delve into Heidegger's relentless pursuit of novel modes of thought. (...) Along this path, it also addresses the enduring bias within the realm of philosophy towards non-Western philosophies, specifically those rooted in the Indic tradition. This inquiry encompasses three essential facets: Andrea Nightingale's examination of Plato's role in shaping the philosophical discipline, Steven Burik's exploration of the link between early and later Heidegger's assertions about the culmination of philosophy and comparative philosophical thought, and Mehta's illuminating juxtaposition of Heideggerian Being with the concept of Vedāntic Brahman. (shrink)

This essay offers an original interpretation and defense of the doctrine of flux, as it is presented in Plato’s Theaetetus. The methodology of the paper’s analysis is in the style of rational reconstruction, and it is highly analytic in scope, in the sense that I will focus on the text itself, and only on certain parts of it too, while ignoring the rest of Plato’s extensive corpus, and without worrying about whether, how, and to what extent the interpretation of the (...) view coheres well with the other elements of the secret doctrine view discussed in the dialogue, as well. In the first part of the essay, I’ll offer my interpretation of the doctrine. Then, in the second part of the essay, I’ll examine two potential criticisms of the doctrine, including Socrates’s infamous linguistic paradox, and show how my interpretation of Heraclitean flux metaphysics is able to circumvent both. (shrink)

Special volume of "Thaumàzein - Rivista di Filosofia" dedicated to the theme of Socratic Eudaimonia and care for others. It is a multilingual volume comprising twenty papers divided into six sections with an introduction by Linda Napolitano. Edited by Santiago Chame, Donald Morrison, and Linda Napolitano. -/- Despite the appearances given by certain texts, the moral psychology of Socrates needs not imply selfishness. On the contrary, a close look at passages in Plato and Xenophon (see Plato, Meno 77-78; Protagoras 358; (...) Gorgias 466-468; Euthydemus 278; Lysis 219; Xenophon, Memorabilia III 9, 4-5) suggests that the “egoist”’s welfare depends upon the welfare of others (i.e. family, friends or the whole city). Since the welfare of his family, friends and city is part of his own eudaimonìa, the “egoist” (phìlautos) has a direct and intrinsic motive to promote the welfare of these others. -/- This multilingual issue explores the role that other peoples’ welfare plays in Socratic ethics. Special attention is paid to test-cases in which the principle that moral action is always good only for the agent seems to have no validity. I.e., under which circumstances is the self-sacrifice for the sake of others (such as the soldier’s self-sacrifice on the battlefield) good for the agent (as in Alcibiades I 115a-116d)? Essays deal with contradictions or tensions of this sort, and relate them to more general views on eudaimonìa held within Socratic literature. Comparison between different Socratic authors is used as a means to identify the distinctive features of Socratic eudaimonìa if compared to other Greek theories of happiness, such as the Aristotelian theory of philautìa (NE IX, 1166a-1166b; 1168a-1169b). (shrink)