Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Plato and his Predecessors
  • Cited by 36
      • Show more authors
      • Access check Access
      You have digital access to this book
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      15 December 2009
      15 August 2000
      ISBN:
      9780511552601
      9780521653060
      9780521033794
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511552601
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.57kg, 328 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.492kg, 328 Pages
      • Series:
      The W. B. Stanford Memorial Lectures
      Subjects:
      Classical Studies, Classical Philosophy, Classical Studies (General), Ancient Philosophy, Philosophy
    Access check Access
    You have digital access to this book
    Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Series:
    The W. B. Stanford Memorial Lectures
    Subjects:
    Classical Studies, Classical Philosophy, Classical Studies (General), Ancient Philosophy, Philosophy
    Information

    Book description

    How does Plato view his philosophical antecedents? Plato and his Predecessors considers how Plato represents his philosophical predecessors in a late quartet of dialogues: the Theaetetus, the Sophist, the Politicus and the Philebus. Why is it that the sophist Protagoras, or the monist Parmenides, or the advocate of flux, Heraclitus, are so important in these dialogues? And why are they represented as such shadowy figures, barely present at their own refutations? The explanation, the author argues, is a complex one involving both the reflective relation between Plato's dramatic technique and his philosophical purposes, and the very nature of his late philosophical views. For in these encounters with his predecessors we see Plato develop a new account of the principles of reason, against those who would deny them, and forge a fresh view of the best life - the life of the philosopher.

    Reviews

    ‘… wonderfully rich book …’

    Stephen Makin Source: The Times Literary Supplement

    'McCabe proves herself once again to be at the forefront in working out a new hermeneutic method within the analytical tradition of Platonic interpretation.'

    Source: Hermathena

    ‘This is a rich and complex book, addressing a series of interlocking issues in four of Plato’s later dialogues … Scholars will find plenty to get their teeth into. McCabe supports her theses by a combination of close analysis of texts and sweeping argumentation. At both levels there are occasional moments of hesitation, but there is no doubt that she has opened up a rich new approach to the later dialogues. And the complexity of the work is nicely offset by a pleasing writing style.’

    Source: The Heythrop Journal

    '… a splendid book, sometimes difficult, never dull, attractively written, a triumph of philosophical scholarship and philosophical imagination. No student of the later Plato can afford - or could wish - to neglect it.'

    Source: International Journal of Philosophy

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents
    • Frontmatter
      pp i-iv
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • Contents
      pp v-vi
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • Preface
      pp vii-viii
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • 1 - Introduction
      pp 1-22
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • PART I - THE OPPONENTS
      pp 23-24
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • 2 - Measuring sincerity
      pp 25-59
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • 3 - Missing persons
      pp 60-92
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • 4 - Can the Heraclitean live his Heracliteanism?
      pp 93-138
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • PART II - TELEOLOGY
      pp 139-140
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • 5 - Myth and its end
      pp 141-164
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • 6 - Outwitting the cunning man
      pp 165-194
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • PART III - REASON AND THE PHILOSOPHER
      pp 195-196
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • 7 - Tracking down the philosopher
      pp 197-229
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • 8 - The sufficiency of reason
      pp 230-262
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • 9 - Meeting Socrates' challenge
      pp 263-290
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • Bibliography
      pp 291-300
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • General index
      pp 301-310
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation
    • Index locorum
      pp 311-318
        • You have access
      • PDF
      • Export citation

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.