Plato and the Art of Philosophical Writing

Rowe, Christopher

Abstract

Plato's dialogues are usually understood as simple examples of philosophy in action. In this book Professor Rowe treats them rather as literary-philosophical artefacts, shaped by Plato's desire to persuade his readers to exchange their view of life and the universe for a different view which, from their present perspective, they will barely begin to comprehend. What emerges is a radically new Plato: a Socratic throughout, who even in the late dialogues is still essentially the Plato (and the Socrates) of the Apology and the so-called 'Socratic' dialogues. This book aims to understand Plato both as a philosopher and as a writer, on the assumption that neither of these aspects of the dialogues can be understood without the other. The argument of the book is closely based in Plato's text, but should be accessible to any serious reader of Plato, whether professional philosopher, classicist, or student. • Radical reassessment of Plato by a senior scholar • Integrates literary and philosophical approaches • Demonstrates hitherto unnoticed continuity between the earlier and the late dialogues

Citation

Rowe, C. (2007). Plato and the Art of Philosophical Writing. Cambridge University Press

• Book Type: Authored Book
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2007
• Deposit Date: Jan 22, 2008
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 8, 2010
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1126142
• Publisher URL: http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521859325