The Platonic Art of Philosophy

This is a collection of essays written by leading experts in honour of Christopher Rowe, and inspired by his groundbreaking work in the exegesis of Plato. The authors represent scholarly traditions which are sometimes very different in their approaches and interests, and so rarely brought into dialogue with each other. This volume, by contrast, aims to explore synergies between them. Key topics include: the literary unity of Plato's works; the presence and role of his contemporaries in his dialogues; the function of myth (especially the Atlantis myth); Plato's Socratic heritage, especially as played out in his discussions of psychology; and his views of truth and being. Prominent among the dialogues discussed are Euthydemus, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Republic, Theaetetus, Timaeus, Sophist and Laws.

Introduction George Boys-Stones; 1. Macrology and digression Monique Dixsaut; 2. Two conceptions of the body in Plato's Phaedrus María Angélica Fierro; 3. Socrates in the Phaedo Noburu Notomi; 4. Socratic intellectualism in the Republic's central digression David Sedley; 5. Timaeus in the cave Thomas Johansen; 6. Reflective commentary (1): 'Socratic' psychology in the Republic Christopher Gill; 7. Reflective commentary (2): appearance, reality and the desire for the good Dimitri El Murr; 8. Waving or drowning? Socrates and the sophists on self-knowledge in the Euthydemus M. M. McCabe; 9. Why was the Theaetetus written by Euclides? Michel Narcy; 10. The wooden horse: the Cyrenaics in the Theaetetus Ugo Zilioli; 11. The wax tablet, logic and Protagoreanism Terry Penner; 12. A form that 'is' of what 'is not': existential einai in Plato's Sophist Denis O'Brien; 13. Truth and story in the Timaeus-Critias Sarah Broadie; 14. The Atlantis-poem in the Timaeus-Critias Mauro Tulli; 15. Friendship and justice in the Laws Malcolm Schofield.

George Boys-Stones is Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Durham University.
Dimitri El Murr is Lecturer in Ancient Philosophy at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
Christopher Gill is Professor of Ancient Thought at the University of Exeter.