Companion to Plato

Hugh H. Benson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma. He is the editor of Essays on the Philosophy of Socrates (1992) and author of Socratic Wisdom (2000) as well as various articles on the philosophy of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

• Notes on Contributors viiiPreface xiiAbbreviations xiv1 The Life of Plato of Athens 1DEBRA NAILS2 Interpreting Plato 13CHRISTOPHER ROWE3 The Socratic Problem 25WILLIAM J. PRIORPart I PLATONIC METHOD AND THE DIALOGUE FORM 374 Form and the Platonic Dialogues 39MARY MARGARET MCCABE5 The Socratic Elenchus 55CHARLES M. YOUNG6 Platonic Definitions and Forms 70R. M. DANCY7 Plato’s Method of Dialectic 85HUGH H. BENSONPart II PLATONIC EPISTEMOLOGY 1018 Socratic Ignorance 103GARETH B. MATTHEWS9 Plato on Recollection 119CHARLES KAHN10 Plato: A Theory of Perception or a Nod to Sensation? 133DEBORAH K. W. MODRAK11 Knowledge and the Forms in Plato 146MICHAEL FEREJOHNPart III PLATONIC METAPHYSICS 16312 The Forms and the Sciences in Socrates and Plato 165TERRY PENNER13 Problems for Forms 184MARY LOUISE GILL14 The Role of Cosmology in Plato’s Philosophy 199CYNTHIA FREELAND15 Plato on Language 214DAVID SEDLEY16 Plato and Mathematics 228MICHAEL J. WHITE17 Platonic Religion 244MARK L. MCPHERRANPart IV PLATONIC PSYCHOLOGY 26118 The Socratic Paradoxes 263THOMAS C. BRICKHOUSE and NICHOLAS D. SMITH19 The Platonic Soul 278FRED D. MILLER, JR.20 Plato on Eros and Friendship 294C. D. C. REEVE21 Plato on Pleasure as the Human Good 308GERASIMOS SANTASPart V PLATONIC ETHICS, POLITICS, AND AESTHETICS 32322 The Unity of the Virtues 325DANIEL DEVEREUX23 Plato on Justice 341DAVID KEYT24 Plato’s Concept of Goodness 356NICHOLAS WHITE25 Plato on the Law 373SUSAN SAUVÉ MEYER26 Plato and the Arts 388CHRISTOPHER JANAWAYPart VI PLATONIC LEGACY 40127 Learning about Plato from Aristotle 403CHRISTOPHER SHIELDS28 Plato and Hellenistic Philosophy 418A. A. LONG29 Plato’s Influence on Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Philosophy 434SARA AHBEL-RAPPEIndex 452

"This compendium of 29 essays by leading scholars, on every aspect of Plato from his biography and literary style to his metaphysics and politics to his reception by later philosophical and religious traditions, is a welcome addition to the resources available to students of Plato. A number of essays distill cutting-edge research developed in greater detail in the authors’ monographs. The result is a book every student of Plato will want to consult."Rachana Kamtekar, University of Arizona "This is a valuable collection of essays from a distinguished cast of contributors. It should prove useful to a wide variety of readers."Chris Bobonich, Stanford University "This hefty volume differs from many anthologies on Plato in its comprehensiveness...The essays represent recent scholarship on Plato, with bibliographical references at the end of each essay to literature almost exclusively within the last 50 years...To a lover of Plato, another volume of essays on his thought is always welcome."Choice "A work avowedly for the philosopher and the student philosopher, but accessible too by other students, this will be a welcome addition in a wide range of libraries from undergraduate level upwards."Reference Reviews