cover next page > title: Plato. 1, Metaphysics and Epistemology Oxford Readings in Philosophy author: Fine, Gail. publisher: Oxford University Press isbn10 | asin: 0198752067 print isbn13: 9780198752066 ebook isbn13: 9780585220345 language: English subject Plato , Philosophy, Ancient. publication date: 1999 lcc: B395 ddc: 184 subject: Plato , Philosophy, Ancient. cover next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_i next page > Page i Oxford Readings in Philosophy Plato 1 < previous page page_i next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_ii next page > Page ii Published in this series The Problem of Evil, edited by Marilyn McCord Adams and Robert Merrihew Adams The Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, edited by Margaret A. Boden The Philosophy of Artificial Life, edited by Margaret A. 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Moore The Philosophy of Science, edited by David Papineau Political Philosophy, edited by Anthony Quinton Ethical Theory 1 and 2, edited by James Rachels Consequentialism and its Critics, edited by Samuel Scheffler Applied Ethics, edited by Peter Singer Causation, edited by Ernest Sosa and Michael Tooley Theories of Rights, edited by Jeremy Waldron Free Will, edited by Gary Watson Demonstratives, edited by Palle Yourgrau Other volumes are in preparation < previous page page_ii next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_iii next page > Page iii Plato 1 Metaphysics and Epistemology Edited by Gail Fine < previous page page_iii next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_iv next page > Page iv Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris São Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York Introduction and Selection © Oxford University Press 1999 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 1999 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organizations. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Plato / edited by Gail Fine (Oxford readings in philosophy) Includes bibliographical references. Contents: [v.] 1 Metaphysics and epistemology[v.] 2 Ethics, politics, religion & the soul. 1. Plato. 2. Philosophy, Ancient. I. Fine, Gail. II. Series. [B395.P516 1999] 185dc21 99-13233 CIP ISBN 0-19-875206-7 (Pbk) 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Typeset by Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Bookcraft Ltd Midsomer Norton, Somerset < previous page page_iv next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_v next page > Page v Preface This is one of a pair of volumes on Plato: its companion discusses ethics, politics, religion, and the soul. Their aim is to introduce the reader to just some of the important dialogues and issues; I hope the interested reader will be encouraged to pursue the study of Plato further. In keeping with the aims of the Oxford Readings in Philosophy series, all the selections are relatively recent: the earliest appeared in 1970. Though each volume is self-contained, they are closely related. This reflects the fact that Plato believes there are deep connections between areas of philosophy that are sometimes studied in relative isolation. For example, he takes failure in the elenchushis method of cross-examining interlocutorsto indicate not only a failure of knowledge but also a moral failure. He takes the notion of goodness to be central not only to ethics and politics but also to metaphysics and epistemology. His metaphysical and epistemological views, as well as his views of human psychology, ground many of his ethical and political views. Indeed, one might speak of the metaphysical, epistemological, and psychological bases of his ethical and political views. Hence much of the material in Volume 1 grounds the material in Volume 2. But many of the articles in Volume 2 also illuminate issues discussed in Volume 1. Since these volumes are not comprehensive, the Introductions fill in some gaps; hence they discuss some issues to which no article neatly corresponds. They also situate the articles within a broader context. However, space limitations obviously preclude a full and thorough discussion. Footnotes make suggestions for further reading, as does the Bibliography. Though most of the articles are previously published, some of them have been revisedsometimes in minor, sometimes in major, waysfor inclusion in these volumes. I warmly thank those authors who kindly and promptly revised previous work to suit the needs of these volumes. All the articles have been lightly copy-edited so as to bring them more into conformity with OUP house style. For example, in many cases the style of footnote references has been altered; references to ancient texts have been largely brought into conformity with LSJ; American spelling and usage have been changed to British. However, complete conformity to OUP house style has not been attempted or achieved. References to Plato, throughout these two volumes, are to the Stephanus pages (e.g. Apology 29b). This pagination derives from the edition of Plato < previous page page_v next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_vi next page > Page vi published by Henri Estienne in 1578 ('Stephanus' is the Latinization of 'Estienne'). In making my selections, I have had the benefit of advice from many people. I should particularly like to thank Christopher Shields and Christopher Taylor. I have also had helpful advice from Stephen Everson and Lindsay Judson, and from several referees for Oxford University Press. Peter Momtchiloff, of OUP, has been extremely helpful and patient over a long period; and I thank him too for suggesting the project in the first place. Angela Griffin, who joined the project more recently, also deserves thanks. Kate Woolfitt was a gracious and efficient research assistant and prepared the name indexes for the text. Margaret Matthews, of Wadham College, Oxford, and Lisa Patti, of Cornell's Society for the Humanities, provided valuable secretarial assistance. I am especially indebted to Lesley Brown and Terry Irwin, both of whom endured numerous conversations about the tables of contents, and provided helpful comments on the Introductions. Work on these two volumes was partly supported by a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, by a Keeley visiting fellowship from Wadham College, Oxford, and by a fellowship at Cornell's Society for the Humanities. I warmly acknowledge their support. < previous page page_vi next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_vii next page > Page vii Contents Introduction Gail Fine 1 I. The Socratic Elenchus Gregory Vlastos 36 II. Socrates' Disavowal of Knowledge Gregory Vlastos 64 III. Platonic Recollection Dominic Scott 93 IV. Language and Reality in Plato's Cratylus J. L. Ackrill 125 V. The Theory of Forms T. H. Irwin 143 VI. Plato on the Imperfection of the Sensible World Alexander Nehamas 171 VII. Separation and Immanence in Plato's Theory of Forms Daniel T. Devereux 192 VIII. Knowledge and Belief in Republic 57 Gail Fine 215 IX. The Form of the Good in Plato's Republic Gerasimos Santas 247 X. The Logic of the Third Man S. Marc Cohen 275 < previous page page_vii next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_viii next page > Page viii XI. Notes on Ryle's Plato G. E. L. Owen 298 XII. Knowledge is Perception: Theaetetus 151D184A M. F. Burnyeat 320 XIII. Plato on Sense-Perception and Knowledge (Theaetetus 184186) John M. Cooper 355 XIV. Observations on Perception in Plato's Later Dialogues Michael Frede 377 XV. Identity Mistakes: Plato and the Logical Atomists John McDowell 384 XVI. The Double Explanation in the Timaeus Steven K. Strage 397 XVII. Plato on Not-Being G. E. L. Owen 416 XVIII. Being in the Sophist: A Syntactical Enquiry Lesley Brown 455 Notes on the Contributors 479 Selected Bibliography 481 Index of Names 495 < previous page page_viii next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_1 next page > Page 1 Introduction Gail Fine I The Early Dialogues 1.