I develop a form of explanation that justifies exegetic monism, Viz., The view that the platonic dialogue as work of philosophy and as artwork are in essence one. The explanation is developed in four stages: plato's conception of products of image-Craft, Plato's uses of models in philosophical inquiry, Micro-Dialogues within the finished macro-Dialogues, And the emergence of the macro-Dialogue itself as a model and a constraining frame. I further argue that no weaker explanation than the one offered could justify exegetic (...) monism. (shrink)

The Minos is one of thirty-five dialogues that ancient editors and commentators regarded as one of the authentic works of Plato. Although it is now regarded as spurious, in both the classical and modern eras, the Minos was treated as a suitable problematic introduction to Plato's Laws. The co-authors (Houlgate and Hathaway) believe that it is still an excellent introduction to the Laws. It has philosophical significance whether or not it is authentic. It is the philosophical significance that is discussed (...) in this article. (shrink)