The Onto-Epistemological Principles of Plato’s Early Dialogues

Ghomi, Mohammad Bagher

doi:10.22096/ek.2015.26266

The Onto-Epistemological Principles of Plato’s Early Dialogues

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Mohammad Bagher Ghomi

Ph.D. in Philosophy, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22096/ek.2015.26266

Abstract

This article intends to draw out the ontological as well as epistemological principles of Plato’s early dialogues specially Laches, Euthyphro, Euthydemus and Hippias Major, based on three elements that I call 'Socratic circle', namely Socratic question, his disavowal of knowledge and elenchus. Those principles are enumerated as knowledge of what X is, bipolar epistemology, bipolar ontolgy, split knowledge, split being and knowledge of being. This article tries to show that these principles are consistent . The parallelism of the epistemological principles with the ontological ones and their similarity in some specifications, like their being absolute and split, are taken as evidence for such claim.

Keywords

Plato

being

Knowledge

Early Dialogues

Allen, R. E; 1959, Anamnesis in Plato’s "Meno and Phaedo", The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 13, No. 1.
Benson, Hugh H; 2002, problems with Socratic Method, in: Scott Gary Alan (ed.), Does Socrates Have a Method? Rethinking the Elenchus in Plato’s Dialogues and Beyond, Pennsylvania State University.
Bett, Richard; 2011, Socratic Ignorance, in: Morrison, Ronald (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Socrates, Cambridge University Press.
Brickhouse, Thomas C. & Smith, Nicholas D; 1994, Plato’s Socrates, Oxford New York.
____________________________________ ; 2002, The Socratic Elenchos?, in: Scott Gary Alan (ed.), Does Socrates Have a Method? Rethinking the Elenchus in Plato’s Dialogues and Beyond, Pennsylvania State University.
Carpenter, Michelle & Polansky, Ronald M; 2002, Variety of Socratic Elenchi, in: Scott Gary Alan (ed.), Does Socrates Have a Method? Rethinking the Elenchus in Plato’s Dialogues and Beyond, Pennsylvania State University.
Cooper, J. M., & Hutchinson, D.S; 1997, PLATO Complete Works, USA: Hacket Publishing.
Fine, Gail; 1993, "Vlastos on Socratic and Platonic Forms", Apeiron, Vol. 26, No. 3/4.
________ ; 2003, Plato on knowledge and Forms, Oxford University Press.
Irwin, Terence; 1977, Plato’s Moral Theory, The early and Middle Dialogues, Oxford: Clarendin Press.
Gonzalez, Francisco J; 2002, Elenchus as Constructive Protreptic, in: Scott Gary Alan (ed.), Does Socrates Have a Method? Rethinking the Elenchus in Plato’s Dialogues and Beyond, Pennsylvania State University.
Kahn, Charles H; 1996, Plato and the Socratic Dialogues, Cambridge University Press.
Kerferd, G. B; 1981, The Sophistic Movement, Cambridge University Press.
Kirkland, Sean D; 2012, The Ontology of Socratic Questioning in Plato’s Early Dialogues, State University of New York.
Mackey, D. S; 1928, "On the order of Plato’s Writings", The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 25, No.1.
Matthews, Gareth B; 2006, Socratic Ignorance, in: Benson, Hugh H. (ed.), A Companion to Plato, Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
________________ ; 2008, The Epistemology and Metaphysics of Socrates, in: Fine, Gail (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Plato, Oxford New York.
Meyer, Michel, Jamison, David & Hart, Alan (translators); 1995, Of Problematology: Philosophy, Science and Language, The University of Chicago Press, London.
Platonis; 1578, Πλατωνος άπαντα τα σωζομενα = Platonis Opera quæ extant omnia, Henri Estienne and Jean de Serres (ed.) Genevæ?: excvdebat Henr. Stephanvs.
Rankin, H.D; 1983, Sophists, Socrates and Cynics, Croom Helm Ltd.
Taylor, C. C. W; 2008, Plato’s Epistemology, in: Fine, Gail (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Plato, Oxford New York.
1. Vlastos, Gregory; 1957, Socratic knowledge and Platonic "Pessimism", The Philosophical Review, Vol. 66, No. 2.
2. ______________ ; 1985, "Socrates' Disavowal of Knowledge", The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 138.
3. ______________ ; 1994, Socratic Studies, Burnyeat Myles (ed.), Cambridge University Press.
4. Weiss, Roslyn; 2009, Socrates: Seeker or Preacher? in: Ahbel-Rappe, Sara & Kamtekar, A Companion to Socrates, Rachana, Blackwell.
5. Wolfsdorf, David; 2005, "Euthyphro" 10a2-11b1: A Study in Platonic Metaphysics and its Reception Since 1960, Apeiron, Vol. 38, No. 1.
6. Woodruff, Paul; 1978, Socrates and Ontology: The Evidence of the "Hippias Major", Phronesis, Vol. 23, No. 2.
7. ____________ ; 1988, Reply to Ronald Polansky, in: Griswoold, Charles L. (ed.), 1988, Platonic Writings, Platonic Readings, Routledge.
8. ____________ ; 1995, Plato’s Early Epistemology, Michigan State University.