Plato on the Human Paradox

Front Cover
Fordham University Press, 1997 - Philosophy - 162 pages

A great thinker once said that "all philosophy is merely footnotes to Plato."

Through Plato, Father O'Connell provides us here with an introduction to all philosophy. Designed for beginning students in philosophy, Plato on the Human Paradox examines and confronts human nature and the eternal questions concerning human nature through the dialogues of Plato, focusing on the Apology, Phaedo, Books III-VI of the Republic, Meno, Symposium, and O'Connell presents us here with an introduction to Plato through the philosopher's quest to define "human excellence" or arete in terms of defining what "human being" is body and soul, focusing on Plato's preoccupations with the questions of how and what it means to have a "good life" in relation to or as opposed to a "moral life."

From inside the book

 

Contents

Aretê or Human Excellence
1
Teleologism Reconciles Eudaemonism
18
From Belief and Opinion to Knowledge
41
Copyright

9 other sections not shown

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Plato on the Human Paradox
Robert J. O'Connell
No preview available - 1997

Common terms and phrases

accusers Achilles Adeimantus admit Aeschylus aidôs Alcibiades Anaxagoras Apology APOLOGY Plato appetites aretê argue argument Aristotle atheism Athenians Athens attain beautiful become belief bodily body claim command components concrete contemplative conviction convinced courage death deontological deontologist dialogues divine duty eidos embodied emotions ethical eudaemonism eudaemonistic Euthyphro evil exist express fellow-Athenians freedom genuine gods Greek Grube happiness harmonization Hence Heraclitus higher world Homer human excellence idea Ideal world implies important individual instances justice kind knowledge live meaning Meletus metaphysical mind mind-soul moral cosmos nature never notion objection once Parmenides passion perfect perfectly equal person Phaedo Phaedrus physical philosophers Plato seems pleasure poets polis portrays question reasoning Republic Republic Plato self-control sense sense-world shameful Simmias Simmias's Socrates Socrates's Sophists soul soul's spiritedness style of thinking suggests teleological term theory of Forms theory of Ideals things thinkers thought tion true truly truth universe virtues wisdom world of Ideals

About the author (1997)

Robert J. O'Connell, S. J. was a Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University. His has five publications on St. Augustine, as well as several studies of Plato, William James, and Teilhard de Chardin. In 2015 he established the O'Connell established the O'Connell Initiative at Fordham, a forum for intellectual exploration, that brought together scholars of every aspect of capitalism.

Bibliographic information

TitlePlato on the Human Paradox
AuthorRobert J. O'Connell
Edition2, revised
PublisherFordham University Press, 1997
ISBN0823217574, 9780823217571
Length162 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Philosophy / General
Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical
Philosophy / Metaphysics
Philosophy / Religious
Religion / Philosophy
  
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