Plato's Introduction of Forms

This important book focuses on the arguments of Plato's early and middle dialogues and defends a developmental picture of them.

R. M. Dancy (Author)

9780521838016, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 September 2004

364 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.7 kg

'The great Plato still intrigues contemporary philosophers and, while works devoted to him usually fall in the field of classics, his concepts are often discussed in terms of analytical philosophy. The book by R. M. Dancy is an excellent example of this approach. This form of presentation is convenient for the reader and, thanks to carefully selected examples, is perfectly suitable for didactic purposes. The book is a valuable attempt to show, by means of the analytical method, the development of Platonic thought from the earliest dialogues to the later ones. … an important contribution for those interested in the theory of definitions, while a detailed analysis of the dialogues is a valuable tool for educators and students of Plato.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Scholars of Plato are divided between those who emphasize the literature of the dialogues and those who emphasize the argument of the dialogues, and between those who see a development in the thought of the dialogues and those who do not. In this important book Russell Dancy focuses on the arguments and defends a developmental picture. He explains the Theory of Forms of the Phaedo and Symposium as an outgrowth of the quest for definitions canvassed in the Socratic dialogues, by constructing a Theory of Definition for the Socratic dialogues based on the refutations of definitions in those dialogues, and showing how that theory is mirrored in the Theory of Forms. His discussion, notable for both its clarity and its meticulous scholarship, ranges in detail over a number of Plato's early and middle dialogues, and will be of interest to readers in Plato studies and in ancient philosophy more generally.

Preface
Note on the text
Abbreviations
1. Introduction
Part I. A Socratic Theory of Definition: 2. Socrates' demand for definitions
3. Fixing the topic
4. Socrates' requirements: substitutivity
5. Socrates' requirements: paradigms
6. Socrates' requirements: explanations
7. Socrates' requirements: explaining by paradigms
8. Explaining: presence, participation
the Lysis
Part II. Between Definitions and Forms: 9. The Meno
Part III. Platonic Forms: 10. Phaedo 64–66: enter the forms
11. Phaedo 72–78: the forms and recollection
12. The beautiful in the Symposium
13. Phaedo 95a–107b: forms and causes
14. Conclusion
References
Index of passages cited
General index.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA]