Abstract

Hampton's interpretation of the Philebus attempts to reveal the underlying unity of the dialogue's ethical, ontological, and epistemological arguments while locating them in the more general context of Plato's other works, particularly the Republic. At the same time Hampton resists the temptation to illuminate the Philebus by means of sources external to Plato, including Aristotle and the Neoplatonists, though some of this evidence receives treatment in the appendix. Hampton's most original arguments are to be found in her discussions of the causative role of the Good and the ontological import of truth for the nature of pleasure. There is an occasional glossing over of details, but in most of its general claims the interpretation is convincing.