Blake D. Dutton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452932
- eISBN:
- 9781501703553
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452932.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
Among the most important, but frequently neglected, figures in the history of debates over skepticism is Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE). His early dialogue, Against the Academics, together with ...
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Among the most important, but frequently neglected, figures in the history of debates over skepticism is Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE). His early dialogue, Against the Academics, together with substantial material from his other writings, constitutes a sustained attempt to respond to the tradition of skepticism with which he was familiar. This was the tradition of Academic skepticism, which had its home in Plato's Academy and was transmitted to the Roman world through the writings of Cicero (106–43 BCE). This book is the first comprehensive treatment of Augustine's critique of Academic skepticism. The book presents that critique as a serious work of philosophy and engages with it precisely as such. While the book provides an extensive review of Academic skepticism and Augustine's encounter with it, its primary concern is to articulate and evaluate Augustine's strategy to discredit Academic skepticism as a philosophical practice and vindicate the possibility of knowledge against the Academic denial of that possibility. In doing so, considerable light is shed on Augustine's views on philosophical inquiry and the acquisition of knowledge.Less
Among the most important, but frequently neglected, figures in the history of debates over skepticism is Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE). His early dialogue, Against the Academics, together with substantial material from his other writings, constitutes a sustained attempt to respond to the tradition of skepticism with which he was familiar. This was the tradition of Academic skepticism, which had its home in Plato's Academy and was transmitted to the Roman world through the writings of Cicero (106–43 BCE). This book is the first comprehensive treatment of Augustine's critique of Academic skepticism. The book presents that critique as a serious work of philosophy and engages with it precisely as such. While the book provides an extensive review of Academic skepticism and Augustine's encounter with it, its primary concern is to articulate and evaluate Augustine's strategy to discredit Academic skepticism as a philosophical practice and vindicate the possibility of knowledge against the Academic denial of that possibility. In doing so, considerable light is shed on Augustine's views on philosophical inquiry and the acquisition of knowledge.
Lloyd P. Gerson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452413
- eISBN:
- 9780801469183
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452413.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
Was Plato a Platonist? While ancient disciples of Plato would have answered this question in the affirmative, modern scholars have generally denied that Plato's own philosophy was in substantial ...
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Was Plato a Platonist? While ancient disciples of Plato would have answered this question in the affirmative, modern scholars have generally denied that Plato's own philosophy was in substantial agreement with that of the Platonists of succeeding centuries. This book argues that the ancients are correct in their assessment. The conclusion is reached through challenging fundamental assumptions about how Plato's teachings have come to be understood. The book shows that Platonism, broadly conceived, is the polar opposite of naturalism and that the history of philosophy from Plato until the seventeenth century was the history of various efforts to find the most consistent and complete version of “anti-naturalism.” The book contends that the philosophical position of Plato—Plato's own Platonism, so to speak—was produced out of a matrix he calls “Ur-Platonism.” Ur-Platonism is the conjunction of five “antis” that in total arrive at anti-naturalism: anti-nominalism, anti-mechanism, anti-materialism, anti-relativism, and anti-skepticism. Plato's Platonism is an attempt to construct the most consistent and defensible positive system uniting the five “antis.” It is also the system that all later Platonists throughout Antiquity attributed to Plato when countering attacks from critics including Peripatetics, Stoics, and Sceptics. In conclusion, the book shows that Late Antique philosophers such as Proclus were right in regarding Plotinus as “the great exegete of the Platonic revelation.”Less
Was Plato a Platonist? While ancient disciples of Plato would have answered this question in the affirmative, modern scholars have generally denied that Plato's own philosophy was in substantial agreement with that of the Platonists of succeeding centuries. This book argues that the ancients are correct in their assessment. The conclusion is reached through challenging fundamental assumptions about how Plato's teachings have come to be understood. The book shows that Platonism, broadly conceived, is the polar opposite of naturalism and that the history of philosophy from Plato until the seventeenth century was the history of various efforts to find the most consistent and complete version of “anti-naturalism.” The book contends that the philosophical position of Plato—Plato's own Platonism, so to speak—was produced out of a matrix he calls “Ur-Platonism.” Ur-Platonism is the conjunction of five “antis” that in total arrive at anti-naturalism: anti-nominalism, anti-mechanism, anti-materialism, anti-relativism, and anti-skepticism. Plato's Platonism is an attempt to construct the most consistent and defensible positive system uniting the five “antis.” It is also the system that all later Platonists throughout Antiquity attributed to Plato when countering attacks from critics including Peripatetics, Stoics, and Sceptics. In conclusion, the book shows that Late Antique philosophers such as Proclus were right in regarding Plotinus as “the great exegete of the Platonic revelation.”
Roslyn Weiss
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801449741
- eISBN:
- 9780801466052
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801449741.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
In Plato's Republic, Socrates contends that philosophers make the best rulers because only they behold with their mind's eye the eternal and purely intelligible Forms of the Just, the Noble, and the ...
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In Plato's Republic, Socrates contends that philosophers make the best rulers because only they behold with their mind's eye the eternal and purely intelligible Forms of the Just, the Noble, and the Good. When they are endowed with an array of moral, intellectual, and personal virtues and appropriately educated, surely no one could doubt the wisdom of entrusting to them the governance of cities? Although it is widely assumed that all the Republic's philosophers are the same, the Republic actually contains two distinct portrayals of the philosopher. According to the book, Plato's two paradigms of the philosopher are the “philosopher by nature” and the “philosopher by design.” Philosophers by design, as the allegory of the Cave vividly shows, must be forcibly dragged from the material world of pleasure to the sublime realm of the intellect, and from there back down again to the “Cave” to rule the beautiful city envisioned by Socrates and his interlocutors. Yet philosophers by nature, are distinguished by their natural yearning to encounter the transcendent realm of pure Forms, as well as by a willingness to serve others—at least under appropriate circumstances. In contrast to both sets of philosophers stands Socrates, who represents a third paradigm, one that is only hinted at in the Republic. As a man who not only loves “what is” but is also utterly devoted to the justice of others, Socrates surpasses both the philosophers by design and the philosophers by nature. This book aims to challenge Plato scholars to revisit their assumptions about Plato's moral and political philosophy.Less
In Plato's Republic, Socrates contends that philosophers make the best rulers because only they behold with their mind's eye the eternal and purely intelligible Forms of the Just, the Noble, and the Good. When they are endowed with an array of moral, intellectual, and personal virtues and appropriately educated, surely no one could doubt the wisdom of entrusting to them the governance of cities? Although it is widely assumed that all the Republic's philosophers are the same, the Republic actually contains two distinct portrayals of the philosopher. According to the book, Plato's two paradigms of the philosopher are the “philosopher by nature” and the “philosopher by design.” Philosophers by design, as the allegory of the Cave vividly shows, must be forcibly dragged from the material world of pleasure to the sublime realm of the intellect, and from there back down again to the “Cave” to rule the beautiful city envisioned by Socrates and his interlocutors. Yet philosophers by nature, are distinguished by their natural yearning to encounter the transcendent realm of pure Forms, as well as by a willingness to serve others—at least under appropriate circumstances. In contrast to both sets of philosophers stands Socrates, who represents a third paradigm, one that is only hinted at in the Republic. As a man who not only loves “what is” but is also utterly devoted to the justice of others, Socrates surpasses both the philosophers by design and the philosophers by nature. This book aims to challenge Plato scholars to revisit their assumptions about Plato's moral and political philosophy.
Mary P. Nichols
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801453168
- eISBN:
- 9780801455582
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801453168.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This book argues for the centrality of the idea of freedom in Thucydides's thought. Through a close reading of his History of the Peloponnesian War, the book explores the manifestations of this ...
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This book argues for the centrality of the idea of freedom in Thucydides's thought. Through a close reading of his History of the Peloponnesian War, the book explores the manifestations of this theme. Cities and individuals in Thucydides's history take freedom as their goal, whether they claim to possess it and want to maintain it or whether they desire to attain it for themselves or others. Freedom is the goal of both antagonists in the Peloponnesian War, Sparta and Athens, although in different ways. One of the fullest expressions of freedom can be seen in the rhetoric of Thucydides's Pericles, especially in his famous funeral oration. More than simply documenting the struggle for freedom, however, Thucydides himself is taking freedom as his cause. On the one hand, he demonstrates that freedom makes possible human excellence, including courage, self-restraint, deliberation, and judgment, which support freedom in turn. On the other hand, the pursuit of freedom, in one's own regime and in the world at large, clashes with interests and material necessity, and indeed the very passions required for its support. Thucydides's work, which he himself considered a possession for all time, therefore speaks very much to our time, encouraging the defense of freedom while warning of the limits and dangers in doing so.Less
This book argues for the centrality of the idea of freedom in Thucydides's thought. Through a close reading of his History of the Peloponnesian War, the book explores the manifestations of this theme. Cities and individuals in Thucydides's history take freedom as their goal, whether they claim to possess it and want to maintain it or whether they desire to attain it for themselves or others. Freedom is the goal of both antagonists in the Peloponnesian War, Sparta and Athens, although in different ways. One of the fullest expressions of freedom can be seen in the rhetoric of Thucydides's Pericles, especially in his famous funeral oration. More than simply documenting the struggle for freedom, however, Thucydides himself is taking freedom as his cause. On the one hand, he demonstrates that freedom makes possible human excellence, including courage, self-restraint, deliberation, and judgment, which support freedom in turn. On the other hand, the pursuit of freedom, in one's own regime and in the world at large, clashes with interests and material necessity, and indeed the very passions required for its support. Thucydides's work, which he himself considered a possession for all time, therefore speaks very much to our time, encouraging the defense of freedom while warning of the limits and dangers in doing so.
