Review of The Platonic Art of Philosophy. Edited by George Boys-Stones, Dimitri El Murr and Christopher Gill (original) (raw)
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is is a collection of essays written by leading experts in honour of Christopher Rowe, and inspired by his groundbreaking work in the exegesis of Plato. e authors represent scholarly traditions which are very di erent in their approaches and interests, and rarely brought into dialogue with each other. is volume, by contrast, aims to explore synergies between them. Key topics include: the literary and philosophical unity of Plato’s works; the presence and role of his contemporaries in his dialogues; the function of myth (especially the Atlantis myth); Plato’s Socratic heritage, especially as played out in his discussions of psychology; his views on truth and being. Prominent among the dialogues discussed are Euthydemus, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Republic, eaetetus, Timaeus, Sophist and Laws. George Boys-Stones is Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Durham University. Dimitri El Murr is lecturer in Ancient Philosophy at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Junior member of the institut Universitaire de France. Christopher Gill is Professor of Ancient ought at the University of Exeter.
Gail Fine, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Plato . Reviewed by
Philosophy in Review, 2010
Professor Fine's book (hereafter: OHP) is an intelligent contribution to the scores of team-written philosophy handbooks, guides and companions that have appeared in the last two decades. Like many of its closest counterparts-The Cambridge Companion to Plato (1992), The Blackwell Guide to Ancient Philosophy (2003), A Companion to Socrates (2006), The Blackwell Guide to Plato's Republic (2006)-OHP features newlycommissioned work by leading specialists. It comprises 21 essays examining Plato's contributions to each of ethics, metaphysics and epistemology, as well as to topics of more special concern (love, language, politics, art, education). Some essays focus upon particular dialogues (all, appropriately, from the Plato's 'middle' and 'late' periods, as opposed to his 'Socratic' period), while others are concerned with cultural and historical matters, e.g., Malcolm Schofield's, 'Plato in His Time and Place,' and Charles Brittain's account of Platonism as it emerged and developed from the period c. 100-600 AD. Fine includes a comprehensive introduction, an extensive bibliography arranged according to topics and dialogues, indexes locorum and nominum, and a subject index. In addition, each essay includes its proper bibliography.
Méthexis, 2022
The importance of this volume goes far beyond the field of Platonic studies: it deals with the question of authority and thus has a direct bearing on what is to count as philosophy as such. There is a long-standing tradition that philosophers present themselves as reluctant to recognize any authority except for that of rational argumentation itself. Bertrand Russell memorably censured Aquinas for having "little of the true philosophic spirit",1 while Etienne Gilson felt the need to defend the same "spirit" of Mediaeval philosophy.2 The "authority vs. autonomy" dichotomy explains why authority and allegiance had long remained of little interest to the historians of ancient philosophy. Over the last four decades, though, authority has ceased to be a bogeyman. Pierre Hadot connected the rise of the exegetical method in philosophy to Sulla's sack of Athens during the First Mithridatic War.3 David Sedley questioned the traditional contrast between "well-regimented Epicureans, all but enslaved to their sect's official doctrines," on the one hand, and "the emancipated Stoics" and Academic philosophers, on the other.4 He later drew on papyrological evidence to show that the linguistic factor was at play in fostering the rise of the commentary format.5 Opsomer and Ulacco offered a descriptive model of different types of epistemic authority in antiquity.6 Michael Erler traced the "competitive relationship" between auctoritas and philosophia until the two
The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 2009
For more detailed descriptions of undergraduate and graduate courses offered during a given semester or summer session, visit the University's MyUI website before early registration. Graduate-level courses are numbered from 4000 to 6000. Philosophy Courses PHIL:1010 First-Year Seminar 1 s.h. Small discussion class taught by a faculty member; topics chosen by instructor; may include outside activities (e.g., films, lectures, performances, readings, visits to research facilities). PHIL:1033 The Meaning of Life 3 s.h. Philosophical investigation of the nature of human life and of what makes human life valuable and/or meaningful. GE: Historical Perspectives. PHIL:1034 Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness 3 s.h. Examination of conflict between state power and individual liberty; philosophical and historical examination of theories from Plato through today. GE: Historical Perspectives. PHIL:1401 Matters of Life and Death 3 s.h. Contemporary ethical controversies with life and death implications; topics may include famine, brain death, animal ethics, abortion, torture, terrorism, capital punishment. GE: Values and Culture. PHIL:1636 Principles of Reasoning: Argument and Debate 3 s.h. Critical thinking and its application to arguments and debates. GE: Quantitative or Formal Reasoning. PHIL:1861 Introduction to Philosophy 3 s.h. Varied topics; may include personal identity, existence of God, philosophical skepticism, nature of mind and reality, time travel, and the good life; readings, films. GE: Values and Culture.