Pursuing the Good: Ethics and Metaphysics in Plato's RepublicDouglas Cairns This volume, the fourth in the Edinburgh Leventis Studies series, comprises a selection of papers from the conference held in Edinburgh March 2005 in conjunction with Professor Terry Penner's tenure of the A. G. Leventis Visiting Research Chair in Greek. It brings together contributions from leading Plato scholars from Britain, Europe and North America on a closely defined topic central to Plato's thought and to Ancient Philosophy--Plato's Form of the Good. The importance of the collection lies in the combination and presentation in one place of a range of different approaches to the good in Plato's Republic, and different solutions to the problems posed and proposed by these approaches. The two central issues, which form an underlying thread throughout the collection, are: first whether Plato's Republic is centred on what is good for individual humans, or on some quasi-moral good; and secondly, what the Form of the Good is. Pursuing the Good goes beyond recent studies in the field, and will appeal to classicists and philosophers alike. To the advanced student, it represents a wide-ranging introduction to central issues of Plato's philosophy; for the academic it will provide stimulus through antithetical and controversial solutions to questions old and new. |
Contents
1 | |
15 | |
42 | |
61 | |
4 Neutralism in Book I of the Republic | 76 |
How Continuous with Socratic Ethics is Platonic Ethics? | 93 |
6 The Form of the Good and the Good in Platos Republic | 124 |
The Central Concept of Practical Thought | 154 |
10 The Idea of the Good and the Other Forms in Platos Republic | 202 |
11 The Aporia in the Charmides about Reflexive Knowledge and the Contribution to its Solution in the Sun Analogy of the Republic | 231 |
12 The Good and Mathematics | 251 |
Does the Republic Display an Analogy Between a Science of Ethics and Mathematics? | 275 |
14 Inquiry and Justification in the Search for the Highest Good in Plato and Aristotle | 279 |
15 The Carpenter and the Good | 293 |
16 Conversion or Conversation? A Note on Platos Philosophical Methods | 320 |
Index | 328 |
8 Is Platos Conception of the Form of the Good Contradictory? | 168 |
9 The Good Essences and Relations | 197 |
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Common terms and phrases
according action actually advantage answer argues argument Aristotle beautiful believe benefit Book called cause chapter claim clear conception concerning conclusion consider context course craft desire determine dialectic dialogues discussion distinction especially essences ethical example existence expert expertise explain fact Form further give given hand happiness highest human idea important individual interpretation justice kind knowledge least Line logical mathematical matter means moral motive nature norm objects one’s Oxford paronymous particular passage Penner person Phaedo philosophers Plato position possession possible practical precisely present Press principle provides question rational reason reference reflexive relation Republic role rule ruler seeks seems sense simply Socrates sort soul speaking structure suggest supposed talk theory things thought Thrasymachus tion true truth understanding University virtue wise