Originally published in 1955, this book presents a detailed discussion regarding aspects of Plato's ethics. The text is divided into three main parts, covering 'The Personal Ideal', 'The Ethical Society' and 'The Growth of a Reality Principle'. It was based upon the author's Fellowship Dissertation for a position at Christ Church College, Oxford. A bibliography is also included and detailed notes are incorporated throughout. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Plato and his ethical standpoint.

Sight, and its object light, appear to be universal metaphors in human language, both for intellectual apprehension or activity and its objects and also for the experience of aesthetic and moral values. The figure is applied equally to the course or end of a rational approach to knowledge, giving scarcely-felt imagery like ‘I see’, ‘look into’, etc., or to a pictorially described ‘illumination’ or ‘vision’ that lies beyond the range of reason. Some phrases are applicable in both senses; to ‘see (...) the light’ may connote either logical grasp of a fact or religious conversion. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage de Victor Goldschmidt, pour la première fois en édition de poche, est le seul consacré à une notion centrale de la philosophie platonicienne, le paradigme, à la fois exemple, comparaison et modèle.En prenant comme fil conducteur la définition donnée dans le Politique, l’auteur commence par étudier le rôle joué par « ce procédé privilégié » dans la méthode dialectique des derniers Dialogues. S’exercer sur une réalité banale permet de découvrir la structure d’un « grand sujet », plus difficile (...) à définir, comme le sophiste ou l’art politique. Cependant la réussite d’une démarche en saurait en fonder la légitimité. En s’interrogeant sur son fondement, Victor Goldschmidt montre que l’usage d’un paradigme « obéit à un mouvement profond de la pensée platonicienne, il nous mène du visible à l’invisible ». (shrink)

Of all the dialogues that may be said to be in Plato's normal style, the Republic seems to be the richest in imagery. The Phaedrus may contain more of such figurative language, but its whole atmosphere and style are so artificial as to place it outside comparison. The Republic stands, in this respect as in philosophic content, between the relative plainness of the earlier works and the didactic heaviness of the Laws, which is relieved by proverbial, rather than by imaginative, (...) illustration. (shrink)

Spatial asymmetries are an intriguing feature of directed attention. Recent observations indicate an influence of temperament upon the direction of these asymmetries. It is unknown whether this influence generalises to visual orienting behaviour. The aim of the current study was therefore to explore the relationship between temperament and measures of spatial orienting as a function of target hemifield. An exogenous cueing task was administered to 92 healthy participants. Temperament was assessed using Carver and White's (1994) Behavioural Inhibition System and Behavioural (...) Activation System (BIS/BAS) scales. Individuals with high sensitivity to punishment and low sensitivity to reward showed a leftward asymmetry of directed attention when there was no informative spatial cue provided. This asymmetry was not present when targets were preceded by spatial cues that were either valid or invalid. The findings support the notion that individual variations in temperament influence spatial asymmetries in visual orienting, but only when lateral targets are preceded by a non-directional (neutral) cue. The results are discussed in terms of hemispheric asymmetries and dopamine activity. (shrink)

At the end of the dialogue Theages, after a general review of the prophetic power given by Socrates quotes the words of Aristides to himself—130 d—e: The extravagant claim here made for the influence of Socrates as conveyed through physical proximity and contact is one of the chief reasons for regarding the dialogue as spurious, giving as it does a later and a distorted development from suggestions made by Plato and Xenophon themselves.

Plato's use of illustrative material, in the widest sense, is very varied. Parts of the field have had some study—his use of metaphor and simile and his use of proverbs, at least as regards subject-matter and sources. The object of the present article is to consider in general what may already have been catalogued somewhere—his quotations from other writers and his references to myths and to other stories.

The study of Plato's style as a writer has hardly kept pace with the study of his thought as a philosopher. Obviously he stands apart as the one original thinker in classical antiquity who also gives expression to his thought in a finished literary prose; and obviously his prose is worth studying for its own sake. What I would here suggest is that the close and continual relationship between the style and the content of his work may serve, in various (...) aspects, to elucidate his argument; and, further, that at certain points his style itself has a direct connexion with his philosophic thought. (shrink)

The basis of Plato's style being for the most part informal conversation, certain elements natural and appropriate to this atmosphere may be looked for and found. These include: colloquialisms in the accepted sense—short phrases, or special uses of words, associated with informal or comic style; phrases of poetic type, probably quotations or adaptations, used frequently with burlesque effect; proverbial or semi-proverbial matter; word-play of various types. The above groups overlap at certain points, but the classification may serve fairly well to (...) set forth the material in question. (shrink)

THE following further instances and parallels, and additional usages, may supplement the colloquialisms, &c, in Plato's dialogues which were listed and studied in a former article. 1. Colloquialisms More examples and parallels for usages previously noted: Charm. 154 b 4, Crat. 418 b 8, Phaedo 92 d 4, Parm. 126 c 6, 127 b 1, Polit. 290 d 7, Laws 630 b 7.