Review of Frisbee C. C. Sheffield, Plato’s Symposium: The Ethics of Desire (Oxford University Press, 2006)
Ancient Philosophy 29:208–212 (2009)
| Abstract | The purpose of Sheffield’s careful study is to increase scholarly appreciation of the Symposium as a ‘substantive work in Platonic ethics’ (3). Among the book’s highlights are a persuasive response to Vlastos’ criticism of Plato on love for individuals, an eminently reasonable assessment of the evidence for and against the presence of tripartite psychology in the Symposium, and a delightful interpretation of Alcibiades’ speech at the dialogue’s end—one that reveals elements of satyr play and corroborates rather than undermines Diotima’s account of erôs. My review focuses on Sheffield’s account of Socrates’ speech. She devotes four of seven chapters to it. After summarizing her main argument, I raise two concerns: one about her account of immortality, the other about her interpretation of Plato as a rational eudaimonist. | |||||||||
| Keywords | Plato's Symposium Plato's ethics ancient ethics | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,679 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesH. J. Easterling (1971). Plato's Symposium Stanley Rosen: Plato's Symposium. Pp. Xxxviii+346. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1968. Cloth, £4·50. [REVIEW] The Classical Review 21 (03):362-364.
P. Christopher Smith (2005). Poetry, Socratic Dialectic, and the Desire of the Beautiful in Plato's Symposium. Epoché 9 (2):233-253.
Ralph Wedgwood (2009). Diotima's Eudaemonism: Intrinsic Value and Rational Motivation in Plato's Symposium. Phronesis 54 (4):297-325.
J. H. Lesher, Debra Nails & Frisbee C. C. Sheffield (eds.) (2006). Plato's Symposium: Issues in Interpretation and Reception. Distributed by Harvard University Press.
Frisbee C. C. Sheffield (2006). The Role of the Earlier Speeches in Thesymposium : Plato's Endoxic Method? In J. H. Lesher, Debra Nails & Frisbee C. C. Sheffield (eds.), Plato's Symposium: Issues in Interpretation and Reception. Distributed by Harvard University Press.
Frisbee Sheffield (2012). The Symposium and Platonic Ethics: Plato, Vlastos, and a Misguided Debate. Phronesis 57 (2):117-141.
Frisbee C. C. Sheffield (2011). BeyondEros: Friendship in thePhaedrus. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 111 (2pt2):251-273.
Robin Waterfield (2008). Plato's Symposium: The Ethics of Desire. By Frisbee C.C. Sheffield. Heythrop Journal 49 (3):476–477.
Suzanne Obdrzalek (2008). Sheffield (F.C.C.) Plato's Symposium: The Ethics of Desire. Pp. X + 252. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Cased, £50. ISBN: 978-0-19-928677-. [REVIEW] The Classical Review 58 (01).
Frisbee C. C. Sheffield (2006/2009). Plato's Symposium: The Ethics of Desire. Oxford University Press.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2010-08-16Total downloads33 ( #36,559 of 549,087 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,317 of 549,087 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
