Myth and Metaphysics in Plato's Phaedo

Myth and Metaphysics in Plato's Phaedo

Author: David A. White

Publisher: Susquehanna University Press

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 9780945636014

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This study intends principally to isolate and describe the function of myth in the Phaedo in order to show its effect on the complex metaphysics developed throughout the dialogue. It further illustrates how these metaphysical concepts structure the dialogue's concluding eschatological myth.


Myth and Philosophy in Plato's Phaedrus

Myth and Philosophy in Plato's Phaedrus

Author: Daniel S. Werner

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-07-09

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 1107021286

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Examines the role of myth in Plato's Phaedrus, arguing that it leads readers to participate in Plato's dialogues and to engage in self-examination.


Myth, Metaphysics and Dialectic in Plato's Statesman

Myth, Metaphysics and Dialectic in Plato's Statesman

Author: David A. White

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-29

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1317090853

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Plato's dialogue The Statesman has often been found structurally puzzling by commentators because of its apparent diffuseness and disjointed transitions. In this book David White interprets the dialogue in ways which account for this problematic structure, and which also connect the primary themes of the dialogue with two subsequent dialogues The Philebus and The Laws. The central interpretive focus of the book is the extended myth, sometimes called the 'myth of the reversed cosmos'. As a result of this interpretative approach, White argues that The Statesman can be recognized (a) as both internally coherent and also profound in implication-the myth is crucial in both regards - and (b) as integrally related to the concerns of Plato's later dialogues.


The Method of Hypothesis and the Nature of Soul in Plato's Phaedo

The Method of Hypothesis and the Nature of Soul in Plato's Phaedo

Author: John Palmer

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-02-11

Total Pages: 122

ISBN-13: 110894423X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This study of Plato's Phaedo promotes better understanding of its arguments for the soul's immortality by showing how Plato intended them, not as proofs, but as properly dialectical arguments functioning in accordance with the method of hypothesis. Unlike the argument for the soul's immortality in the Phaedrus, which does seem intended as a proof, the Phaedo arguments are proceeding toward the first principles that could serve as the basis for a proof - the most important being an account of the soul's own essential nature. This study attends to the substantial progress the Phaedo makes toward such an account. It also considers Socrates' epistemic situation in the dialogue and the problem of whether his confidence in the face of death is misplaced if his arguments have not been proofs before considering how the concluding myth draws together several of the dialogue's main themes.


Myth and Philosophy from the Presocratics to Plato

Myth and Philosophy from the Presocratics to Plato

Author: Kathryn A. Morgan

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2000-08-17

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1139427520

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book explores the dynamic relationship between myth and philosophy in the Presocratics, the Sophists, and in Plato - a relationship which is found to be more extensive and programmatic than has been recognized. The story of philosophy's relationship with myth is that of its relationship with literary and social convention. The intellectuals studied here wanted to reformulate popular ideas about cultural authority and they achieved this goal by manipulating myth. Their self-conscious use of myth creates a self-reflective philosophic sensibility and draws attention to problems inherent in different modes of linguistic representation. Much of the reception of Greek philosophy stigmatizes myth as 'irrational'. Such an approach ignores the important role played by myth in Greek philosophy, not just as a foil but as a mode of philosophical thought. The case studies in this book reveal myth deployed as a result of methodological reflection, and as a manifestation of philosophical concerns.


Plato: Meno and Phaedo

Plato: Meno and Phaedo

Author: David Sedley

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-11-25

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 9780521859479

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Plato's Meno and Phaedo are two of the most important works of ancient western philosophy and continue to be studied around the world. The Meno is a seminal work of epistemology. The Phaedo is a key source for Platonic metaphysics and for Plato's conception of the human soul. Together they illustrate the birth of Platonic philosophy from Plato's reflections on Socrates' life and doctrines. This edition offers new and accessible translations of both works, together with a thorough introduction that explains the arguments of the two dialogues and their place in Plato's thought.


Explorations in Ancient and Modern Philosophy

Explorations in Ancient and Modern Philosophy

Author: M. F. Burnyeat

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-06-14

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 0521750725

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The first of two volumes collecting the published work of one of the greatest living ancient philosophers, M.F. Burnyeat.