Gorgias's Thought: An Epistemological Reading

Description

Gorgias’s Thought: An Epistemological Reading is the first monograph published in English entirely devoted to Gorgias’s epistemological thought and provides a new perspective on Gorgias’s thought more broadly. The book aims to undermine the common idea that Gorgias is either an orator uncommitted to any conception of truth, or a thinker whose interest is confined to the philosophy of language. It considers his major texts—On What is Not, or On Nature, The Apology of Palamedes and The Encomium of Helen—emphasising the originality and specificity of Gorgias’ thought. In combining a philological analysis with substantive use of contemporary epistemological approaches, Di Iulio shows that Gorgias is to be considered first and foremost an epistemologist. Gorgias’s Thought: An Epistemological Reading is of interest to students, scholars and specialists in ancient thought, epistemology, history of philosophy and rhetoric. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Notes Bibliography 1 The First Thesis of the Treatise: Gorgias On What There Is The ‘Particular Proof’: General Remarks The Verb ‘To Be’ and the ‘Ontological Commitment’ What-is-not and the ‘Einai of Whatness’ Any ‘It Is’ Entails an ‘It Is Not’ The ‘Particular Proof’: Concluding Remarks Notes Bibliography 2 The Second Thesis of the Treatise: Gorgias On Epistemology and Scepticism ‘Chariots Running On the Sea’: Gorgias On (Not) Thinking of What-Is-Not Gorgias and Parmenides On Thinking and Knowing Sextus’s Version Anonymous’s Epistemic Argument: Gorgias On Perceiving and Hallucinating Concluding Remarks Notes Bibliography 3 The Apology of Palamedes: Gorgias On Foundationalism, Eyewitnessing and True Speech The Palamedes: General Remarks On the Jurors’ Point of View Pal. 5 and 24 On Knowledge and Opinion as an Either/or Matter Pal. 22 and 15, the Palamedes’s Epistemological Core: Gorgias’s Foundationalism True Speech Is Experience-Dependent One Last Objection Appendix Notes Bibliography 4 The Encomium of Helen: The Epistemology of Persuasion ‘Logos Is a Powerful-Not-Truth-Evaluable Master’ Hel. 11: Gorgias On Ineffability, Coherentism and Scepticism Hel. 13: Gorgias’s Account of Opinion Gorgias On Truth and Likelihood What Is the Meaning of the Helen? Notes Bibliography 5 The Third Thesis of the Treatise: The Epistemic Root of Gorgias’s Philosophy of Language Opening Lines The Categorial Argument: the Knowledge–language Gap Conceptual Vs. Non-Conceptual Content The Inter-Subjective and the Intra-Subjective Arguments Objection 1: Gorgias Is Not Speaking of Meanings After All. Objection 2: the Speaker and the Hearer Do Not Share the Same Epistemic Status After All. Objection 3: Rejecting Objection 1 and Objection 2 Would Make the Third Thesis as a Whole Inconsistent. Concluding Remarks Notes Bibliography Conclusions Notes Bibliography Index