Platonic Legacies


Book Description

In Platonic Legacies John Sallis addresses certain archaic or exorbitant moments in Platonism. His concern is to expose such moments as those expressed in the Platonic phrase "beyond being" and in the enigmatic word chora. Thus he ventures to renew chorology and to bring it to bear, most directly, on Platonic political discourse and Plotinian hyperontology. More broadly, he shows what profound significance these most archaic moments of Platonism, which remained largely unheeded in the history of philosophy, have for contemporary discussions of spacings, of utopian politics, of the nature of nature, and of the relation between philosophy and tragedy. Thus addressing Platonism in its bearing on contemporary philosophy, Platonic Legacies engages, in turn, a series of philosophers ranging from Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Arendt to certain contemporary American Continental philosophers. These engagements focus on the way in which these recent and contemporary philosophers take up the Platonic legacies in their own thought and on the way in which the exposure of an archaic Platonism can redirect or supplement what they have accomplished.




The Legacy of Isocrates and a Platonic Alternative


Book Description

Bringing together the history of educational philosophy, political philosophy, and rhetoric, this book examines the influence of the philosopher Isocrates on educational thought and the history of education. Unifying philosophical and historical arguments, Muir discusses the role of Isocrates in raising two central questions: What is the value of education? By what methods ought the value of education to be determined? Tracing the historical influence of Isocrates’ ideas of the nature and value of education from Antiquity to the modern era, Muir questions normative assumptions about the foundations of education and considers the future status of education as an academic discipline.




Plato and His Legacy


Book Description

This volume offers a detailed interpretation of Plato’s texts and Platonic philosophy in its various forms and shapes as a living force in the history of philosophy, from the Hellenistic age, through the Middle Ages and Renaissance Italy, to modern England, America, Japan, and Israel. Most of the contributions here deal with the afterlife and influence of Plato’s dialogues in later Greek philosophy and in various places and periods, and approach a number of dialogues and issues from new perspectives, shedding new light on some ancient problems. These studies represent no single approach, and illustrate, in their various ways, some different methods of approaching the original and ever-surprising author that Plato has always been.




Political Legacy of Plato and Aristotle


Book Description

The political legacy of Plato and Aristotle is one of the greatest intellectual legacies left by an ancient civilisation for posterity. The problems of politics and political science are incomprehensible without some Platonic and Aristotelian background. Modern political philosophy is nothing but a commentary on the political ideas of Plato and Aristotle. Without a Platonic and Aristotelian background, even the first letter of politics cannot be understood. For, very little, if at all, has been said that is new after Plato and Aristotle in the history of political thought. This book deals with the political ideas of Plato and Aristotle from a near and most modern angle. The chapters have been selected methodically so that a comparative study of the two philosophers becomes easy for students. The occasional comparison of the philosophers’ ideas with that of Marx, Laski, Nehru, and with ancient Indian concepts is certainly interesting.




The Platonic Mind


Book Description

Plato is one of the most widely read and studied philosophers of all time. A pivotal figure in the history of philosophy, his work is foundational to the Western philosophical tradition. The Platonic Mind provides an extensive survey of his work, not only placing it in its historical context but also exploring its contemporary significance. Comprising over 30 specially commissioned chapters by an international team of contributors, the volume is divided into three clear parts: Reading Plato’s Dialogues Themes From Plato Plato’s Influences and Significance Within these sections key topics are addressed including the nature of reality and the physical world; human cognition, including knowledge, sense perception, and affective states; society, politics, and law; his method of inquiry and literary style; his influence on subsequent thinkers and traditions; and studies on a wide range of individual Platonic dialogues. Plato’s work is central to the study of ancient philosophy, Greek philosophy, history of philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, political philosophy, epistemology, philosophy of science, ethics, philosophy of language, legal philosophy, and philosophy of religion. As such The Platonic Mind is essential reading for all students and researchers in philosophy. It will also be of interest to those studying Plato in related disciplines such as politics, law, ancient history, literature, and religious studies.




Plato and Modern Law


Book Description

This audacious collection of modern writings on Plato and the Law argues that Plato's work offers insights for resolving modern jurisprudential problems. Plato's dialogues, in this modern interpretation, reveal that knowledge of the functions of law, based upon intelligible principles, can be reformulated for relevance to our age. Leading interpreters of Plato: Vlastos, Hall, Strauss, Weinrib, Annas, and Morrow, are included in the collection. The editor supplies an insightful introduction and extensive bibiography to the collection.




Plato and the Mythic Tradition in Political Thought


Book Description

An ambitious reinterpretation and defense of Plato’s basic enterprise and influence, arguing that the power of his myths was central to the founding of philosophical rationalism. Plato’s use of myths—the Myth of Metals, the Myth of Er—sits uneasily with his canonical reputation as the inventor of rational philosophy. Since the Enlightenment, interpreters like Hegel have sought to resolve this tension by treating Plato’s myths as mere regrettable embellishments, irrelevant to his main enterprise. Others, such as Karl Popper, have railed against the deceptive power of myth, concluding that a tradition built on Platonic foundations can be neither rational nor desirable. Tae-Yeoun Keum challenges the premise underlying both of these positions. She argues that myth is neither irrelevant nor inimical to the ideal of rational progress. She tracks the influence of Plato’s dialogues through the early modern period and on to the twentieth century, showing how pivotal figures in the history of political thought—More, Bacon, Leibniz, the German Idealists, Cassirer, and others—have been inspired by Plato’s mythmaking. She finds that Plato’s followers perennially raised the possibility that there is a vital role for myth in rational political thinking.




Plato's Laughter


Book Description

Plato was described as a boor and it was said that he never laughed out loud. Yet his dialogues abound with puns, jokes, and humor. Sonja Madeleine Tanner argues that in Plato's dialogues Socrates plays a comical hero who draws heavily from the tradition of comedy in ancient Greece, but also reforms laughter to be applicable to all persons and truly shaming to none. Socrates introduces a form of self-reflective laughter that encourages, rather than stifles, philosophical inquiry. Laughter in the dialogues—both explicit and implied—suggests a view of human nature as incongruous with ourselves, simultaneously falling short of, and superseding, our own capacities. What emerges is a picture of human nature that bears a striking resemblance to Socrates' own, laughable depiction, one inspired by Dionysus, but one that remains ultimately intractable. The book analyzes specific instances of laughter and the comical from the Apology, Laches, Charmides, Cratylus, Euthydemus, and the Symposium to support this, and to further elucidate the philosophical consequences of recognizing Plato's laughter.




The Bloomsbury Handbook of Plato


Book Description

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.




The Bloomsbury Companion to Plato


Book Description

Plato, mathematician, philosopher and founder of the Academy in Athens, is, together with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, universally considered to have laid the foundations of Western philosophy. The Bloomsbury Companion to Plato provides a comprehensive and accessible study guide to Plato's thought. Written by a team of leading experts in the field of ancient philosophy, this companion covers five major areas; - Plato's life and his historical, philosophical and literary context - synopses of all the dialogues attributed to Plato - the most important features of the dialogues - the key themes and topics apparent in the dialogues - Plato's enduring influence and the various interpretative approaches applied to his thought throughout the history of philosophy Covering every aspect of Plato's thought in over 140 entries, The Bloomsbury Companion to Plato is an engaging introduction to Plato and an essential resource for anyone working in the field of ancient philosophy.