Psychology and Ontology in Plato, 1st ed. 2019 Philosophical Studies Series, Vol. 139

This edited volume brings together contributions from prominent scholars to discuss new approaches to Plato?s philosophy, especially in the burgeoning fields of Platonic ontology and psychology. Topics such as the relationship between mind, soul and emotions, as well as the connection between ontology and ethics are discussed through the analyses of dialogues from Plato?s middle and late periods, such as the Republic, Symposium, Theaetetus, Timaeus and Laws. These works are being increasingly studied both as precursors for Aristotelian philosophy and in their own right, and the analyses included in this volume reveal some new interpretations of topics such as Plato?s attitude towards artistic imagination and the possibility of speaking of a teleology in Plato.

Focusing on hot topics in the area, Psychology and Ontology in Plato provides a good sense of what is happening in Platonic scholarship worldwide and will be of interest to academic researchers and teachers interested in ancient philosophy, ontology and philosophical psychology.

Chapter 1. Imagination for Philosophical Exercise in Plato’s Republic: The Story of   Gyges’ ring and the Simile of the Sun.- Chapter  2. Dionysian Plato in the Symposium.- Chapter 3. Separation of Body and Soul in Plato's Phaedo: an Unprecedented Ontological Operation in the Affinity Argument.- Chapter 4. Plato and the ‘Internal Dialogue’: An Ancient Answer for a New Model of the Self.- Chapter 5. Pathos in the Theaetetus.- Chapter 6. The Analogy between Vice and Disease from the Republic to the Timaeus.- Chpater 7. Why is the World Soul Composed by Being, Sameness and Difference?.- Chpater 8. Can One Speak of Teleology In Plato?.- Chpater 9. Nomos: Logismós ton Epithymion. Plato’s Laws and the (De)formation of Desires.

Luca Pitteloud is professor of ancient philosophy at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC) in São Paulo, Brazil. He did his undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Between 2013 and 2016, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Brasília (UnB), at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) in Belém (Amazonia) and at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). 

Discusses new approaches to Plato’s philosophy, especially in the burgeoning fields of Platonic ontology and psychology Provides a good sense of what is happening in Platonic scholarship worldwide Combines contributions from distinguished senior scholars and young Platonists, bringing novel and insightful interpretations of Plato's work