Plato’s Pragmatism: Rethinking the Relationship between Ethics and Epistemology

Description

Plato’s Pragmatism offers the first comprehensive defense of a pragmatist reading of Plato. According to Plato, the ultimate rational goal is not to accumulate knowledge and avoid falsehood but rather to live an excellent human life. The book contends that a pragmatic outlook is present throughout the Platonic corpus. The authors argue that the successful pursuit of a good life requires cultivating certain ethical commitments, and that maintaining these commitments often requires violating epistemic norms. In the course of defending the pragmatist interpretation, the authors present a forceful Platonic argument for the conclusion that the value of truth has its limits, and that what matters most are one’s ethical commitments and the courage to live up to them. Their interpretation has far-reaching consequences in that it reshapes how we understand the relationship between Plato’s ethics and epistemology. Plato’s Pragmatism will appeal to scholars and advanced students of Plato and ancient philosophy. It will also be of interest to those working on current controversies in ethics and epistemology Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Translations and Abbreviations Prelude 1 The Alethic Interpretation 2 Summary 3 Methodology Notes Part I: Virtue, Veracity, and Noble Lies Chapter 1: Beneficial Falsehoods in the Republic : The Priority of the Practical 1.1 Genuine Falsehoods and Falsehood in Words 1.2 Reality and Matters of Fact 1.3 The Most Authoritative Things 1.3.1 Ethical Matters 1.3.2 The Forms 1.4 Ethical Commitments 1.5 The Priority of the Practical Notes Chapter 2: Ethical Commitments and Persuasion in the Laws 2.1 Preludes, Persuasion, and Medicine 2.2 Scholarly Impasse 2.3 On the Weakness of Moral Motivation 2.4 Religion for the Unsophisticated 2.5 Ignorance, Vice, and Motivation 2.6 Summary Notes Chapter 3: The Ring of Gyges and the Nature of Ethical Commitments 3.1 The Compatibility Thesis 3.2 Normative Objects and the Limiting Requirement 3.3 Intrinsic Valuing within a Eudaimonist Framework 3.4 The Importance of Ethical Commitments 3.5 Justified Lying and Ethical Commitments 3.6 Summary Notes Part II: Courage, Caution, and Faith Chapter 4: Charming Away the Fear of Death in the Phaedo 4.1 The Phaedo Anomaly 4.2 “The Best of Men” 4.3 The Phaedo Anomaly Redux 4.4 The Limits of Truth 4.5 Summary Notes Chapter 5: Better, Braver, and Less Idle: Faith and Inquiry in the Meno 5.1 Obstacles to Inquiry 5.2 Virtue as a Reason for Belief 5.3 Intellectual Courage 5.3.1 Courage 5.3.2 Courage vs. Recklessness 5.3.3 Against Abstinence 5.4 Summary Notes Chapter 6: Absurdity and Speciousness in the Protagoras and the Euthydemus 6.1 The Puzzle 6.1.1 Recommendation to the Young 6.1.2 Inquiry 6.2 Truthfulness and Absurdity 6.2.1 Intention 6.2.2 Content 6.2.3 Method 6.2.4 Interlocutor’s Psychological State 6.2.5 Position of Power 6.3 The Norms of Inquiry 6.3.1 The Dichotomy of Circumspection Principle 6.3.2 Benefits of Absurdity 6.3.3 Abusing Arguments and Bad Reputations 6.4 Summary Notes Part III: Commoners, Rulers, and Gods Chapter 7: Philosophers, Soul Parts, and False Beliefs in the Republic 7.1 Belief and Control 7.1.1 Belief 7.1.2 Early Childhood Education 7.2 Dyed Wool and the Bent Stick 7.2.1 Preliminary Argument 7.2.2 The Limits of the Non-Reasoning Part of the Soul 7.3 Objections 7.3.1 Too Strong 7.3.2 Too Weak 7.3.3 Inconsistent 7.4 Summary Notes Chapter 8: Truthful Gods and the Limits of Divine Assimilation 8.1 The Platonic Divine Deception Puzzle 8.2 Candidate Solutions 8.3 Soul-Building 8.4 Friendship and Self-Sufficiency 8.5 Friends to the Gods 8.6 The Merits of Plato’s Views 8.7 Summary Notes Coda 1 Synthesizing Plato’s Pragmatism 2 Counterevidence 2.1 Truth and Rationality 2.2 Metaphysics 3. The Philosophical Merits of Plato’s Pragmatism 3.1 Authoritative Deception 3.2 Epistemic Risk 3.3 The Human Condition Notes Acknowledgments Bibliography Historical Sources Contemporary Sources Index