The Heirs of Plato A Study of the Old Academy (347-274 BC)

by Dillon, John

• ISBN13: 9780199279463
• ISBN10: 0199279462
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-30
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

The Heirs of Plato is the first book exclusively devoted to an in-depth study of the various directions in philosophy taken by Plato's followers in the first seventy years or so following his death in 347 BC - the period generally known as 'The Old Academy'. Speusippus, Xenocrates, andPolemon, the three successive heads of the Academy in this period, though personally devoted to the memory of Plato, were independent philosophers in their own right, and felt free to develop his heritage in individual directions. This is also true of other personalities attached to the school, suchas Philippus of Opus, Heraclides of Pontus, and Crantor of Soli. After an introductory chapter on the school itself, and a summary of Plato's philosophical heritage, John Dillon devotes a chapter to each of the school heads, and another to the other chief characters, exploring both what holds them together and what sets them apart. There is a final short chapterdevoted to the turn away from dogmatism to scepticism under Arcesilaus in the 270s, and some reflections on the intellectual debt of Stoicism to the thought of Polemon, in particular.Dillon's clear and accessible book fills a significant gap in our understanding of Plato's immediate philosophical influence, and will be of great value to scholars and historians of ancient philosophy.

Table of Contents

1. The Riddle of the Academy	1	(30)
The Physical Structure of the Academy	2	(14)
Plato's Intellectual Legacy	16	(15)
2. Speusippus and the Search for an Adequate System of Principles	31	(58)
Life and Works	31	(10)
Philosophy	41	(48)
3. Xenocrates and the Systematization of Platonism	89	(67)
Life and Works	89	(9)
Philosophy	98	(58)
4. Polemo, Champion of Ethical Praxis	156	(22)
Life and Works	156	(1)
Philosophy	156	(22)
5. Minor Figures	178	(56)
Philippus of Opus	179	(19)
Hermodorus of Syracuse	198	(6)
Heraclides of Pontus	204	(12)
Crantor of Soli	216	(15)
Conclusion	231	(3)
6. Epilogue: Arcesilaus and the Turn to Scepticism	234	(5)
References	239	(6)
General Index	245	(4)
Index of modern authorities quoted	249	(1)
Index of passages quoted	250