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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
This Strange Creature: Plato And Conversion Experiences, Joe Cimakasky, Joseph J. Romano, Kristian Sheeley
This Strange Creature: Plato And Conversion Experiences, Joe Cimakasky, Joseph J. Romano, Kristian Sheeley
Philosophy Graduate Research
In Plato’s corpus, the Greek word ἐξαίφνης appears precisely thirty-six times. Translated generally as “all of a sudden” or “the instant” in his Parmenides, ἐξαίφνης emerges in some of the most significant passages of Plato’s dialogues. Put simply, ἐξαίφνης connotes illumination of the highest realities and philosophical conversion experience. In addition to providing a review of Plato’s conception and use of ἐξαίφνης in Parmenides, Republic, Symposium, and the Seventh Letter, our paper brings an ancillary link to light. Namely, the appearance of ἐξαίφνης as a mark for conversion experiences in the New Testament’s Acts …
Moral Virtue As A Requisite For Illumination In The Platonic Tradition, Kristian Sheeley
Moral Virtue As A Requisite For Illumination In The Platonic Tradition, Kristian Sheeley
Philosophy Graduate Research
This paper traces the development of the idea that we must cultivate moral virtue in order to attain some degree of illumination regarding the nature of reality. I use the term “illumination” to cover a range of meanings intended by the philosophers I discuss, such as the “acquisition of wisdom” (Phaedo, 65a), the “sight” of divine beauty (Symposium, 210d–212b), or a mystical experience involving God or divine reality. Although this theme appears in many texts from the Platonic tradition, I focus on three major stages of its development. First, I show how Plato provides the basic …