Form and Argument in Late Plato

by Gill, Christopher; McCabe, Mary Margaret

• ISBN13: 9780199241422
• ISBN10: 0199241422
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-11-16
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

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 clarity in favour of seducing his readers with fine words, or is there a philosophicalreason behind the form of his argument? 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 therea 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 latedialogues are richly rewarding to study, and that doing so is of deep importance for Plato's philosophical project.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors	ix
Note on Conventions	xi
Introduction	1	(4)
Christopher Gill
Margaret Mccabe
Unity in the Parmenides: The Unity of the Parmenides	5	(44)
Mary Margaret McCabe
Likeness and Likenesses in the Parmenides	49	(30)
Malcolm Schofield
Three Platonist Interpretations of the Theatetus	79	(26)
David Sedley
Conflicting Appearances: Theatetus 153d-154b	105	(30)
Gail Fine
The Literary Form of the Sophist	135	(18)
Michael Frede
The Politicus: Structure and Form	153	(26)
Christopher Rowe
Space, Time, Shape, and Direction: Creative Discourse in the Timaeus	179	(34)
Catherine Osborne
The Hedonist's Conversion: The Role of Socrates in the Philebus	213	(36)
Dorothea Frede
Reading the Laws	249	(34)
Christopher Bobonich
Afterword: Dialectic and the Dialogue Form in Late Plato	283	(30)
Christopher Gill
Bibliography	313	(12)
Index of Ancient Passages	325	(12)
General Index	337