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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Interpreting Karl Jaspers' "Phenomenological" Plato Transcending The Bounds Of The Doctrinal Scholarly Tradition, James Magrini
Interpreting Karl Jaspers' "Phenomenological" Plato Transcending The Bounds Of The Doctrinal Scholarly Tradition, James Magrini
Philosophy Scholarship
Focusing on Karl Jaspers' important reading of Plato, I make the case for the re-conceptualization of Plato as a non-doctrinal philosopher, by means of phenomenological-existential readings of his dialogues related to contemporary Continental thought. The essay builds upon Jaspers' largely overlooked phenomenological-existential readings of both Plato and Socrates in relation to Platonic scholarship emerging from the contemporary phenomenological tradition. I focus on a speculative interpretation of Jaspers' non-doctrinal Plato by analyzing four components of his prescient reading, which is an invaluable historical and philosophical document of Platonic scholarship that precedes contemporary Continental phenomenological approaches to Platonic interpretation by a span …
Plato's Machiavelli: Reconsidering Callicles' Speech In Plato's Gorgias, Steven Thomason
Plato's Machiavelli: Reconsidering Callicles' Speech In Plato's Gorgias, Steven Thomason
Presentations and Lectures
Although often dismissed as a villain, Callicles’ views about philosophy, politics, and human nature expressed in his speech in Plato’s Gorgias criticizing Socrates turn-out to be similar to Socrates’ own thoughts about philosophy, politics, and human nature when compared to Socrates’ arguments in other dialogues such as the Republic. However, Socrates obfuscates these similarities through his use of rhetoric in the latter part of the dialogue in order to conceal a more fundamental disagreement about the priority and relationship of philosophy and politics. This similarity and obfuscation constitutes an important and overlooked teaching of Plato’s Gorgias.
The Form Of Politics: Aristotle And Plato On Friendship By John Von Heyking, Nalin Ranasinghe
The Form Of Politics: Aristotle And Plato On Friendship By John Von Heyking, Nalin Ranasinghe
Philosophy Department Faculty Works
Heyking’s ascent from Aristotle to Plato implies that something Platonic was lost in Aristotle’s accounts of friendship and politics. Plato’s views on love and soul turn out to have more in common with early Christianity. Stressing differences between eros and thumos, using Voegelin’s categories to discuss the Platonic Good, and expanding on Heyking’s use of Hermes, I show how tragic culture and true politics can be further enhanced by refining erotic friendship, repudiating Augustinian misanthropy, positing minimum doctrines about soul and city, and basing reason on Hermes rather than Apollo.