Trials of Reason

Plato and the Crafting of Philosophy

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Ancient & Classical
Cover of the book Trials of Reason by David Wolfsdorf, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Wolfsdorf ISBN: 9780190296216
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: January 22, 2008
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: David Wolfsdorf
ISBN: 9780190296216
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: January 22, 2008
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Scholarship on Plato's dialogues persistently divides its focus between the dramatic or literary and the philosophical or argumentative dimensions of the texts. But this hermeneutic division of labor is naïve, for Plato's arguments are embedded in dramatic dialogues and developed through complex, largely informal exchanges between literary characters. Consequently, it is questionable how readers can even attribute arguments and theses to the author himself. The answer to this question lies in transcending the scholarly divide and integrating the literary and philosophical dimensions of the texts. This is the task of Trials of Reason. The study focuses on a set of fourteen so-called early dialogues, beginning with a methodological framework that explains how to integrate the argumentation and the drama in these texts. Unlike most canonical philosophical works, the early dialogues do not merely express the results of the practice of philosophy. Rather, they dramatize philosophy as a kind of motivation, the desire for knowledge of goodness. They dramatize philosophy as a discursive practice, motivated by this desire and ideally governed by reason. And they dramatize the trials to which desire and reason are subject, that is, the difficulties of realizing philosophy as a form of motivation, a practice, and an epistemic achievement. In short, Trials of Reason argues that Plato's early dialogues are as much works of meta-philosophy as philosophy itself.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Scholarship on Plato's dialogues persistently divides its focus between the dramatic or literary and the philosophical or argumentative dimensions of the texts. But this hermeneutic division of labor is naïve, for Plato's arguments are embedded in dramatic dialogues and developed through complex, largely informal exchanges between literary characters. Consequently, it is questionable how readers can even attribute arguments and theses to the author himself. The answer to this question lies in transcending the scholarly divide and integrating the literary and philosophical dimensions of the texts. This is the task of Trials of Reason. The study focuses on a set of fourteen so-called early dialogues, beginning with a methodological framework that explains how to integrate the argumentation and the drama in these texts. Unlike most canonical philosophical works, the early dialogues do not merely express the results of the practice of philosophy. Rather, they dramatize philosophy as a kind of motivation, the desire for knowledge of goodness. They dramatize philosophy as a discursive practice, motivated by this desire and ideally governed by reason. And they dramatize the trials to which desire and reason are subject, that is, the difficulties of realizing philosophy as a form of motivation, a practice, and an epistemic achievement. In short, Trials of Reason argues that Plato's early dialogues are as much works of meta-philosophy as philosophy itself.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book God Knows There's Need by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Reading 1922 by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Giorgio Vasari by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Flat Broke with Children by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Patient Care and Professionalism by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Global Good Samaritans by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Mirror Worlds by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Titulos y operaciones de crédito. Análsis teórico-práctico de la Ley General de Titulos y Operaciones de Crédito y temas afines by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Social Injustice and Public Health by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Context Counts by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book The Philosophical Parent by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Identify and Sort by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Unwanted Visionaries by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Tolerating Intolerance by David Wolfsdorf
Cover of the book Africa, Its Geography, People and Products and Africa-Its Place in Modern History (The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois) by David Wolfsdorf
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy