HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY : PLATO

Department of Philosophy Birkbeck College, London Term 1, 2013/14 Anthony Price

RECOMMENDED TRANSLATION Cooper, J.M. (ed) Plato: Complete Works (1997)

RECOMMENDED COLLECTION OF SECONDARY LITERATURE Fine, G. (ed) Plato 1: Metaphysics & Epistemology (1999)

INTRODUCTORY AND INSPIRATIONAL Williams, B. Burnyeat, M. Vlastos, G. The Great Philosophers: Plato (1998), republished as Plato: The Invention of Philosophy, in his The Sense of the Past (2006) Plato, Proceedings of the British Academy 2000 A Metaphysical Paradox, in his Platonic Studies (1973)

GENERAL Brennan, T. Shields, C. Silverman, A. Forms, Platonic, in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (added 10 December 2002) Plato: Metaphysics, in C. Shields (ed) The Blackwell Guide to Ancient Philosophy (2003) Platos Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology, in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2008), (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-metaphysics/) Platos Epistemology, in G. Fine (ed), The Oxford Handbook of Plato (2008) Platos Metaphysics, in G. Fine (ed), The Oxford Handbook of Plato (2008)

Taylor, C.C.W. Harte, V.

LECTURE TOPICS (1) THE THEORY OF FORMS (start with Phaedo 65d-66a, 74a-75b, 100b-e, Symposium 210e212a) Participation and Predication in Platos Middle Dialogues, Philosophical Review 1960, in Allen (ed) Studies in Platos Metaphysics (1965), G. Vlastos ed Plato I (1971) Nehamas, A. Plato on the Imperfection of the Sensible World, American Philosophical Quarterly 1975, in G. Fine (ed) Plato 1 (1999) Irwin, T.H. Platos Heracleiteanism, Philosophical Quarterly 1977 Bostock, D. Platos Phaedo (1986), ch 10 Anscombe, E. The Early Theory of Forms, in her From Parmenides to Wittgenstein (1981) The Origin of Platos Theory of Forms, in R.W. Sharples (ed) Modern Thinkers and Ancient Thinkers (1993) Fine, G. On Ideas (1993), esp. ch 4, available on Oxford Scholarship Online = OSO Code, A. Vlastos on a Metaphysical Paradox, in T. Irwin and M.C. Nussbaum (eds) Virtue, Love and Form (1993) Devereux, D.T. Separation and Immanence in Platos Theory of Forms, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 1994, in G. Fine (ed) Plato 1 (1999) Irwin, T. Platos Ethics (1995), ch 10, in G. Fine (ed) Plato 1 (1999), OSO Kahn, C.H. Plato and the Socratic Dialogue (1996), ch 11 Gill, M.L. Problems for Forms, in H.H. Benson (ed) A Companion to Plato (2006) Rickless, S. Platos Parmenides, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2011), 4, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-parmenides/ Allen, R.E. What is a Form? Is it (e.g.) a universal, or a paradigm? How does it relate to particulars? Is there a Form for every property? If not, why are there Forms for some properties rather than for others? How is so-called self-predication (e.g., The Form of F is F) best to be understood? (2) THE THIRD MAN ARGUMENT (Parmenides 132a1-b2) The Third Man Argument in the Parmenides, Philosophical Review 1954, in his Studies in Greek Philosophy vol 2 (1995), R.E. Allen (ed) Studies in Platos Metaphysics (1965) Platos Third Man Argument (Parm. 132a1-b2): Text and Logic, Philosophical Quarterly 1969, in his Platonic Studies (1973) Cohen, S.M. The Logic of the Third Man, Philosophical Review 1971, in Meinwald, C.C. Good-bye to the Third Man, in R. Kraut (ed) Cambridge Companion to Plato (1992) Fine, G. On Ideas (1993), chs 15-16, in OSO Sedley, D. Platonic Causes, Phronesis 1998, pp 127-32 Vlastos, G. 2

Rickless, S.

Platos Parmenides, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2011), 4.3, (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-parmenides/)

Is the so-called Third Man Argument (TMA) a record of honest perplexity (Vlastos, 1954)? What are the implicit assumptions of the TMA? How, if at all, might it best be answered on Platos behalf? (See esp. Fine.) (3) KNOWLEDGE and OPINION (Republic v. 475e480a) Fine, G. Knowledge and belief in Republic VVII, in S. Everson (ed.), Companions to Ancient Thought 1: Epistemology (1990), and her Plato on Knowledge and Forms (2003), 1st part Platos Ethics (1995), pp 26471, OSO Propositions or Objects? A Critique of Gail Fine on Knowledge and Belief in Republic 5, Phronesis1996 Platos Epistemology, in G. Fine (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Plato (2008), pp 176-9 Virtue and Reason in Plato and Aristotle (2011), ch C 1 IV, esp. n. 29, OSO

Irwin, T. Gonzalez, F.J. Taylor, C.C.W. Price, A.W.

How lucid and satisfactory is Platos distinction between knowledge and opinion? Can he allow there to be any opinions about the world of Forms, and knowledge about the sensible world? (4) SUN, LINE, and CAVE (Republic vi. 507b511e, vii. 514a518d) Kenny, A. Austin, J.L. Fine, G. Mental health in Platos Republic, in his The Anatomy of the Soul (1973), pp 19-21 The line and the cave in Platos Republic, in his Philosophical Papers, 3rd edn (1979), OSO Knowledge and belief in Republic VVII, in S. Everson (ed.), Companions to Ancient Thought 1: Epistemology (1990), and her Plato on Knowledge and Forms (2003), 2nd part Platos Ethics (1995), pp 27180, OSO Platos Divided Line, Ancient Philosophy 1996 Sun and Line: The Role of the Good, in J. Ferrari (ed) Cambridge Companion to Platos Republic (2007)

Irwin, T. Smith, N.D. Denyer, N.

How closely related are the similes of the Line and the Cave? Its a strange image youre describing, and strange prisoners. Theyre li ke to us. (515a). How so?

(5) MATHEMATICS AND THE FORM OF THE GOOD (pursue references to the Republic) Gosling, J.C.B. Annas, J. Santas, G.X. Plato (1973), ch 7 Aristotle: Metaphysics Books M and N (1976), pp 62-73 The Form of the Good in Platos Republic, in J.P. Anton and A. Preuss (eds) Essays in Ancient Greek Philosophy (1983), in G. Fine (ed) Plato 1 (2000) Mathematical Method and Philosophical Truth, in R. Kraut (ed) Cambridge Companion to Plato (1992) Platos Ethics (1995), ch 16, OSO Plato on Why Mathematics is Good for the Soul, in T. Smiley (ed.) Mathematics and Necessity in the History of Philosophy (2000) Goodness and Justice (2001), ch 5 Plato and Mathematics, in H.H. Benson (ed) Companion to Plato (2006)

Mueller, I. Irwin, T. Burnyeat, M.F. Santas, G. White, M.J.

How should we conceive the nature and role of the Form of the Good? Why is mathematics so important for its understanding? (See esp. Burnyeat.) Platos Idea of the Good is practicall y empty. It gives us no indication of what is good, in a moral sense, i.e. what we ought to do (Sir Karl Popper): is this a fair criticism?

(6) THE SOUL IN THE PHAEDO (esp. 63e-69e) Gallop, D. Bostock, D. Broadie, S. Miller, F.D. Plato: Phaedo (1975), pp 86-103 Platos Phaedo (1986), ch 2 Soul and Body in Plato and Descartes, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 2001 The Platonic Soul, in H.H. Benson (ed), A Companion to Plato (2006), pp 280-6

(7) THE DIVIDED MIND (Republic iv. 434d-441c, viii. 543c - ix. 576b; Phaedrus 246a-257a) Kenny, A. Cooper, J. Mental Health in Platos Republic, Proceedings of the British Academy 1969, in his The Anatomy of the Soul (1973) Platos Theory of Human Motivation, History of Philosophy Quarterly 1984, in his Reason and Emotion (1999), in G. Fine (ed) Plato 2 (1999), in E. Wagner (ed) Essays on Platos Psychology (2001) Platos Theory of Desire, Review of Metaphysics 1987 Platos Ethics (1995), ch 13 Mental Conflict (1995), ch 2 4-8 Simple Souls, in Wagner (ed) Essays on Platos Psychology (2001) Platos Utopia Recast (2002), ch 3 The Truth of Tripartition, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 2006

Kahn, C. Irwin, T. Price, A.W. Shields, C. Bobonich, C. Burnyeat, M.

Lorenz, H.

Price, A.W. Brown, E.

Kamtekar, R.

The Brute Within: Appetitive Desire in Plato and Aristotle (2006), pt 1, OSO Plato on the Soul, in G. Fine (ed), The Oxford Handbook of Plato (2008), pp. 254-63 Are Platos Soul-Parts Psychological Subjects?, Ancient Philosophy 2009 (on moodle) The Unity of the Soul in Platos Republic, in Barney, Brennan, Brittain (eds) Plato and the Divided Self (2012), accessible through Cambridge Books Online = CBO Speaking with Same Voice as Reason: Personification in Platos Psychology, in Barney, Brennan, Brittain (eds), CBO

What does Plato mean by a part of the soul? Is he subdividing the whole soul, or only the soul as subject of belief and desire? Is he right, in his sense of part, to suppose that there are three parts? Is a part of a soul a homunculus (mini-person)? (See contra, Price, 1995: 53-7, 2009; pro, Bobonich, Lorenz.)

(8) THE IMMORTAL SOUL (Republic x. 608c-612a; Phaedrus 245c-250a; Timaeus 69c, 90ad) Guthrie, W.K.C. Platos Views on the Nature of the Soul, in G. Vlastos (ed) Plato II (1971) Rowe, C.J. Plato (1984), ch 7 Bett, R. Immortality and the Nature of the Soul in the Phaedrus, Phronesis1986, in G. Fine (ed) Plato 2 (1999) Price, A.W. Love and Friendship in Plato and Aristotle (1989), pp 68-72, OSO Robinson, J.V. The Tripartite Soul in the Timaeus, Phronesis 1990 Price, A.W. Mental Conflict (1995), pp 73-6 Miller, F.D. The Platonic Soul, in H.H. Benson (ed) A Companion to Plato (2006), esp. pp 289-92 Expound and assess the argument in the Phaedrus that the soul is immortal. (See Bett.) Is the immortal soul simple, or complex? Do the Republic, Phaedrus, and Timaeus say the same? What might explain any divergences? (See esp. Guthrie, Rowe.)

(9) PLATONIC LOVE (Symposium 199c-212c, Phaedrus 250e-256e) Vlastos, G. Price, A.W. Ferrari, G.R.F. The Individual as Object of Love in Plato, in his Platonic Studies, 2nd edn (1981), in G. Fine (ed) Plato 2 (1999) Love and Friendship in Plato and Aristotle (1989), chs 2-3, Afterword (1997 edn), 3-4, OSO Platonic Love, in R. Kraut (ed) Cambridge Companion to Plato (1992)

Nehamas, A.

Kraut. R. Reeve, C.D.C.

Beauty of the Body, Nobility of the Soul: The Pursuit of Love in Platos Symposium, in D. Scott (ed) Maieusis: Essays in Ancient Philosophy in Honour of Myles Burnyeat (2007) Plato on Love, in G. Fine (ed) The Oxford Handbook of Plato (2008) Plato on Friendship and Eros (revised 2011), (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-friendship/)

How, in Platos view, is the lover able to come to possess the good for ever (Symposium 206a)? Does the Platonic lover ultimately love another person, or only the Forms?

(10) PLATO ON ART AND POETRY (Republic x. 595a-608b) Collingwood, R.G. Platos Philosophy of Art, Mind 1925, 154-72. Ferrari, G.R.F. Plato and Poetry, in G. Kennedy (ed) Cambridge History of Literary Criticism vol. i (1989) Janaway, C. Images of Excellence: Platos Critique of the Arts (1995), OSO Pappas, N. Plato and the Republic (1995, & later edns), ch 9 Pappas, N. Platos Aesthetics, in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2012) (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-aesthetics/) Why is Plato so critical of poetry? Discuss how his objections to it relate to the psychology and metaphysics of the earlier books of the Republic.