Socrates and Philosophy in the Dialogues of Plato

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 13
Abbreviations......Page 16
Preface......Page 17
1.1 A datum: the two different modes of speaking of plato’s socrates......Page 19
1.2 Two hypotheses to explain the datum......Page 21
1.3 More on the grand hypothesis and my alternative......Page 23
1.4 One approach that leads naturally to my alternative hypothesis......Page 25
1.5 A second approach to my hypothesis from four observations......Page 26
1.6 This book’s plan to discuss the socrates of plato’s dialogues......Page 30
1.7 The author plato and the character socrates......Page 32
1.8 Plato and the reader......Page 33
2.1 Looking for the socrates of the apology......Page 35
2.2 The label “wise” is a terrible slander......Page 37
2.3 Socrates is neither an investigator of nature nor a sophist......Page 42
2.4 Socrates is not a sage......Page 45
2.5 The thoughtfulness (phronêsis) that socrates considers so important......Page 48
2.6 The “greatest things”......Page 50
2.7 Why the label “wise” is a terrible slander......Page 51
2.8 Socrates in the apology sometimes echoes his accusers......Page 54
2.9 While knowing nothing big, socrates does know some things......Page 60
2.10 Socrates’ knowledge that the god orders him to test people is not big......Page 65
2.11 The socrates of the apology......Page 74
3.1 The digression and its setting......Page 77
3.2 The first part of the digression......Page 79
3.3 An acute interpretative problem......Page 80
3.4 Theodorus......Page 84
3.5 Extraction by declaration......Page 85
3.6 Reflections on the extraction from theodorus......Page 89
3.7 The second half of the digression: homoiôsis theô(i)......Page 92
3.8 The solution to our problems about the digression......Page 103
3.9 Conclusion: theodorus again, and theaetetus......Page 104
4.1 Strangeness and discontinuity......Page 108
4.2 Question and answer discussion in book 1......Page 111
4.3 A different kind of conversation in books 2–10: speech against speech......Page 116
4.4 A question about glaucon and a temporary puzzle about socrates......Page 119
4.5 Jostling conventions: question-and-answer conversation within persuasive speech......Page 121
4.6 Glaucon and adeimantus require of socrates a made-to-order speech......Page 123
4.7 The city of books 2--10 is glaucon’s, built under a condition he imposes......Page 125
4.8 The “best” city socrates describes in the timaeus......Page 133
4.9 Three reasons against finding socrates committed to his proposals in books 2–10......Page 136
5.1 When can we say that socrates does not believe proposals he makes in books 2–10?......Page 138
5.2 Socrates’ depiction of the philosopher......Page 139
5.3 Glaucon’s agreements about forms in books 5–7 do not survive examination......Page 143
Remark 1......Page 144
Remark 2......Page 145
Remark 4......Page 146
Remark 6......Page 147
Remark 9......Page 148
Remark 10......Page 149
Remark 11......Page 150
Remark 12......Page 151
Remark 13......Page 152
Remark 14......Page 153
5.4 What adeimantus accepts concerning philosophers does not survive examination......Page 154
Remark 3......Page 156
Remark 4......Page 157
Remark 7......Page 158
Remark 8......Page 160
Remark 9......Page 161
Remark 11......Page 162
Remark 13......Page 163
5.5 What can we conclude from the description of the philosopher for adeimantus?......Page 164
5.6 The effect of distancing socrates from the content of his speech in books 2–10......Page 165
5.7 The characters of glaucon and adeimantus......Page 167
5.8 The socrates of the republic......Page 178
5.9 The piety of socrates’ speech to plato’s brothers and its worth for plato’s readers......Page 181
6.2 Setting and participants......Page 184
6.3 The emphasis on persuasion......Page 190
6.4 Remarks on the logical structure of socrates’ persuasive argument......Page 194
6.5 “True philosophers”......Page 200
6.6 Socrates is not among the “true philosophers” he describes......Page 208
6.7 Why is socrates not more straightforward?......Page 211
7.1 Comparison of some accounts of philosophy......Page 214
7.2 The conception of philosophy of an unnamed observer in the euthydemus......Page 216
7.3 The lovers as a compendium of current conceptions of philosophy......Page 219
7.4 The setting of the sophist......Page 223
7.5 The eleatic visitor's conception of philosophy......Page 225
7.6 Why does the eleatic visitor not count socratic cleansing refutation as philosophy?......Page 228
8.1 Socrates in plato’s dialogues......Page 234
8.2 What does socrates believe?......Page 236
8.3 Socrates and plato according to kahn......Page 237
8.4 The delphic oracle and a problem for two views about plato’s development......Page 238
8.5 Development and plato’s creativity......Page 239
8.6 The testimony of aristotle about doctrines of plato......Page 242
8.7 More about plato......Page 247
8.8 Something else to explain and a pure speculation......Page 248
8.9 A possible objection: the traditional interpretation of plato......Page 249
8.10 Plato’s doctrines......Page 251
8.11 The argument of love; plato and the historical socrates......Page 252
9.1 Which of plato's dialogues call socrates a philosopher?......Page 254
9.2 Classification of previously considered passages......Page 255
9.3 Some more statements from observers......Page 256
9.4 More passages in which socrates suggests a conception of the philosopher......Page 258
9.5 Passages of socrates’ self-description......Page 260
9.6 Why did socrates, as depicted, call his activity “philosophizing”?......Page 262
9.7 One possible reason why socrates calls his own activities “philosophizing”......Page 264
9.8 Another possible reason why socrates calls his activities “philosophizing”......Page 266
9.9 Plato and philosophy: one view......Page 268
9.10 Plato and philosophy: a second view......Page 272
9.11 Socrates, philosophy, and plato......Page 277
Bibliography......Page 280
Index of passages cited......Page 295
General index......Page 304