A comprehensive discussion of Plato's treatment of techne, which shows that the final goal of Platonic philosophy is nontechnical wisdom. The Greek word "techne," typically translated as "art," but also as "craft," "skill," "expertise," "technical knowledge," and even "science," has been decisive in shaping our "technological" culture. Here David Roochnik comprehensively analyzes Plato's treatment of this crucial word. Roochnik maintains that Plato's understanding of both the goodness of techne, as well as its severe limitations and consequent need to be supplemented (...) by "nontechnical" wisdom, can speak directly to our own concerns about the troubling impact technology has had on contemporary life. For most commentators, techne functions as a positive, theoretical model through which Plato attempts to articulate the nature of moral knowledge. Scholars such as Terence Irwin and Martha Nussbaum argue that Plato’s version of moral knowledge is structurally similar to techne. In arguing thus, they attribute to Plato what Nietzsche called "theoretical optimism," the view that technical knowledge can become an efficient panacea for the dilemmas and painful contingencies of human life. Conventional wisdom has it, in short, that for Plato technical, moral knowledge can solve life's problems. By systematically analyzing Socrates’ analogical arguments, Roochnik shows the weakness of the conventional view. The basic pattern of these arguments is this: if moral knowledge is analogous to techne, then insurmountable difficulties arise, and moral knowledge becomes impossible. Since moral knowledge is not impossible, it cannot be analogous to techne. In other words, the purpose of Socrates' analogical arguments is to reveal the limitations of techne as a model for the wisdom Socrates so ardently seeks. For all the reasons Plato is so careful to present in his dialogues, wisdom cannot be rendered technical; it cannot become techne. Thus, Roochnik concludes, Plato wrote dialogues instead of technical treatises, as they are the appropriate vehicle for his expression of nontechnical wisdom. (shrink)

An urgent, contemporary defense of Aristotle.

The arithmetical -- Tripartite city, tripartite soul -- The one, the two, and the three -- The arithmetical character of Kallipolis -- Eros -- Intimations of Eros -- The three waves -- Kallipolis v. The republic -- Democracy, psychology, poetry -- Democracy -- Narrative psychology -- Psychological narrative -- Appendix -- The meaning of "dialectical" -- The technical meaning of "dialectic" -- The non-technical of "dialectic" -- Dialectic in The republic.

This work makes a case for the Platonic idea of logos as an option for interpreting the role of reason in our lives, as opposed to the roles assigned to reason by Descartes and the Cartesians.

Good teaching requires not only an acute sensitivity to one’s students but also a kind of flexibility enabling one to respond appropriately in concrete situations. This paper analyzes the pedagogical strategy that Socrates employs with Callicles and Theaetetus, arguing that Socrates exhibits the kind of flexibility required of a good teacher. In articulating the pedagogical flexibility that Socrates's exhibits, the paper also provides an overview of the divided line, the mathematical curriculum that Socrates proposes in the “Republic,” and a discussion (...) of how mathematical education relates to philosophy. (shrink)

In Doing What Comes Naturally, Stanley Fish argues on behalf of rhetoric and against philosophy. The latter assumes an independent reality that can be perceived without distortion and then reported in a transparent verbal medium. The former insists that this is impossible. As Fish acknowledges, this debate is a version of the?old quarrel? that has raged since the dialogues of Plato and the orations of the sophists. The present paper first examines how the Greek sophist Isocrates actually formulated the terms (...) of the debate. Then it turns to Plato in order to demonstrate that his treatment of the old quarrel is superior to Fish 's postmodern update. (shrink)

Ronna Burger’s Aristotle’s Dialogue with Socrates argues that the Nicomachean Ethics is a unified whole. Her reading runs against the tide of most contemporary scholarship. In particular, Book X.7–8, Aristotle’s valorization and near apotheosis of the “contemplative life,” has been taken to be a Platonic intrusion in a work otherwise characterized by a resolute “anthropocentrism,” as Nussbaum puts it. To account for such an apparent fracture commentators have attributed both chronological development and later editorship to the corpus. Burger, by contrast, (...) offers a “Talmudic reading.” She treats the Nicomachean Ethics as a work of integrity that dialectically culminates in, rather than is interrupted by, X.7–8. This essay situates her argument in a larger context that explores the nature of philosophical reading as such. (shrink)

In this book philosophers, scholars of religion, and activists address the theme of responsibility. Barbara Darling-Smith brings together an enlightening collection of essays that analyze the ethics of responsibility, its relational nature, and its global struggle.

This latest volume of BACAP Proceedings contains some innovative research by international scholars on Plato, Aristotle, and Sophocles. It covers such themes as Plato on the philosopher ruler, and Aristotle on essence and necessity in science. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.

lecture 1. A dialectical approach to Greek philosophy -- lecture 2. From myth to philosophy, Hesiod and Thales -- lecture 3. The Milesians and the quest for being -- lecture 4. The great intrusion, Heraclitus -- lecture 5. Parmenides, the champion of being -- lecture 6. Reconciling Heraclitus and Parmenides -- lecture 7. The Sophists, Protagoras, the first "humanist" -- lecture 8. Socrates -- lecture 9. An introduction to Plato's Dialogues -- lecture 10. Plato versus the Sophists, I -- lecture (...) 11. Plato versus the Sophists, II -- lecture 12. Plato's Forms, I -- lecture 13. Plato's Forms, II -- lecture 14. Plato versus the Presocratics -- lecture 15. The Republic, the political implications of the Forms -- lecture 16. Final reflections on Plato -- lecture 17. Aristotle, "The" philosopher -- lecture 18. Aristotle's Physics, What is nature? -- lecture 19. Aristotle's Physics, The four causes -- lecture 20. Why plants have souls -- lecture 21. Aristotle's hierarchical cosmos -- lecture 22. Aristotle's teleological Politics -- lecture 23. Aristotle's teleological ethics -- lecture 24. The philosophical life. (shrink)

Minimally, Aristotle's account of the 'city' is isomorphic with his metaphysical doctrine of substance and teleological conception of nature. Maximally, his political theory depends on it. Part I explains what this means. Part II discusses the significant consequences the notion of a 'substantial city' has for Aristotle's political theory. Part III suggests how this notion can be deployed to address the notorious question of whether the Politics forms a unified whole, or whether Books 4, 5 and 6 -- the 'realist' (...) or empirical books -- simply cannot be reconciled with Books 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8, the more 'idealist' or even 'Platonist' side of the work. (shrink)

Techne and praxis are the most useful and appropriate terms with which one can approach the larger question of theory and praxis in the Platonic dialogues, and it is this question which is the principal theme of this dissertation. Since the issue of theory, praxis, and, it must be added, production is made most explicit as a philosophical issue by Aristotle, Chapter II attempts to delineate exactly how he understands and divides these three terms. Particularly, how and why he divides (...) knowledge into three branches, the theoretical, practical, and productive, is discussed. ;Chapter III argues that the Aristotelian division of knowledge is prefigured partially in the Platonic dialogues. An extended series of "division passages" is studied to show that such a division is present in Plato but that a glaring difference obtains between him and Aristotle. For Plato the division is consistently twofold and is between theoretical and productive knowledge, or techne as he will usually call it. There is no mention in these passages of a correlate to Aristotle's practical knowledge, namely an "ethics" or a "politics." ;Chapter IV begins to ask why this is the case and what significance this fact has for Platonic thinking in general. It is argued that there is no possibility of a Platonic version of practical knowledge. There is no possibility, as there is for Aristotle, of a theory of praxis. This is essentially a result of the Platonic conception of both techne, the word in his vocabulary most significant of theory, and praxis. Given the conceptual structure of the former, it is impossible for the latter to become an object of a genuine techne. ;Chaper V discusses portions of the Republic. Here, more than anywhere else, Plato does seem to posit a theory of praxis. That such a theory is present is certainly the basis of many, if not most, of the readings of this dialogue. It cannot be denied that a theory of praxis is, in some sense, put forth in the Republic. It is argued here, however, that it is not present as an actual theoretical accomplishment or even as a projection of a future or possible accomplishment. For reasons discussed at length the thesis is maintained that even in the Republic praxis, despite appearances to the contrary, remains an illegitimate object of techne. ;Throughout Chapters IV and V the implications and significance of this thesis are discussed. There is both a negative and a positive pole to this discussion. As mentioned, it is argued that a theory of praxis is impossible for Plato. More positively, the manner in which praxis is prior to and conditions or "surrounds" techne is considered. Techne emerges and is never fully independent from praxis. (shrink)

Thinking Philosophically: An Introduction to the Great Debates presents a highly accessible introduction to five of the most fundamental debates in world philosophy. Introduces five fundamental philosophical debates in a highly engaging and accessible manner that invites readers to enter the discussion themselves Features chapters that each consider a central philosophical question dialectically by exploring the conflicting approaches of different philosophers Argues that the work of philosophers like Plato and Rousseau is just as relevant today as it was in their (...) own time Provides a structure that encourages readers to apply philosophical principles to their everyday lives. (shrink)

Thinking Philosophically: An Introduction to the Great Debates presents a highly accessible introduction to five of the most fundamental debates in world philosophy. Introduces five fundamental philosophical debates in a highly engaging and accessible manner that invites readers to enter the discussion themselves Features chapters that each consider a central philosophical question dialectically by exploring the conflicting approaches of different philosophers Argues that the work of philosophers like Plato and Rousseau is just as relevant today as it was in their (...) own time Provides a structure that encourages readers to apply philosophical principles to their everyday lives. (shrink)

This paper argues that the account of friendship (philia) present in Plato's dialogue the Lysis is rife with the disruptive and maddening force of eros. By its end it is no longer clear whether the familiar sorts of personal relationships that we typically count as friendships, and which Aristotle discusses with great sensitivity and appreciation in the Nicomachean Ethics, can be meaningfully sustained. To support this thesis, the paper analyzes each of the seven, relatively self-contained arguments Socrates offers. In addition, (...) it shows how the dramatic context in which these arguments are embedded foreshadows the dialogue's principal objective: to blur the distinction between philia and eros by allowing the latter to infect the former. (shrink)

Minimally, Aristotle’s account of the ‘city’ is isomorphic with his metaphysical doctrine of substance and teleological conception of nature. Maximally, his political theory depends on it. Part I explains what this means. Part II discusses the significant consequences the notion of a ‘substantial city’ has for Aristotle’s political theory. Part III suggests how this notion can be deployed to address the notorious question of whether the Politics forms a unified whole, or whether Books 4, 5 and 6 — the ‘realist’ (...) or empirical books—simply cannot be reconciled with Books 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8, the more ‘idealist’ or even ‘Platonist’ side of the work. (shrink)