Plato's "Theaetetus" Revisited

Description

This book meets the need to revise the standard interpretations of an apparently aporetic dialogue, full of eloquent silences and tricky suggestions, as it explores, among many other topics, the dramatis personae, including Plato's self-references behind the scene and the role of Socrates on stage, the question of method and refutation and the way dialectics plays a part in the dialogue. More especifically, it contains a set of papers devoted to perception and Plato's criticism of Heraclitus and Protagoras. A section deals with the problem of the relation between knowledge and thinking, including the the aviary model and the possibility of error. It also emphasizes some positive contributions to the classical Platonic doctrines and his philosophy of education. The reception of the dialogue in antiquity and the medieval age closes the analysis. Representing different hermeneutical traditions, prestigious scholars engage with these issues in divergent ways, as they shed new light on a complex controversial work. Contents List of Tables Introduction Part I: On Stage and Behind the Scene Plato’s Self-References The Old and the New Socrates in the Theaetetus Part II: Method On Plato’s Methodological Strategy (Theaetetus 151d–186e): From Hypothesis to Self-Refutation Dialectic in the Theaetetus Part III: Subject and Object of Perception in the Flux Heraclitus, Protagoras and Plato: Theaetetus 155d1–160e4 On Socrates’ Manipulative Dealing with Theaetetus’ First Claim about Knowledge Peritrope Once Again Platonic Epistemology and the Internalist-Externalist Debate ‘We Are What We Eat’: The Theaetetus as a Philosophy of Education Part IV: Knowledge and Thinking Soul in the Theaetetus Disposition in the Aviary Model Thinking as Conversation in Plato’s Theaetetus Traces of Euporia in an Aporetic Dialogue: Relational Ontology in Plato’s Theaetetus Part V: The Reception Intra-Socratic Polemics in Plato’s Theaetetus: Antisthenes and the Dream Theory The Theaetetus as a First Step on the Path to a New Academy The Textual Tradition of the Theaetetus from Stobaeus to the Medieval Anthologies Bibliography List of Contributors Index