Kenneth Dorter

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Georgia College & State University

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National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

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Papers by Kenneth Dorter

Three Disappearing Ladders in Plato

Philosophy and Rhetoric, 1996

... the opening distinctions of the "shep-herd division'* at the beginning of the dialo... more

Form and good in Plato's Eleatic dialogues : the Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, and Statesman

University of California Press eBooks, 1994

... Form and good in Plato's Eleatic dialogues: The Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, and Sta... more

Being and Logos. The Way of Platonic Dialogue. By John Sallis. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press (distributed by Humanities Press). 1975. Pp. xvii, 544. $20

Dialogue, Sep 1, 1977

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Nussbaum on Transcendence in Plato and Aristotle

Dialogue, 1993

Martha Nussbaum's The Fragility of Goodness is an ambitious, imaginative and wide-ranging study (... more Martha Nussbaum's The Fragility of Goodness is an ambitious, imaginative and wide-ranging study (from classical antiquity to contemporary moral theory), one which has understandably received considerable attention. It comprises studies of the five authors that are arguably the greatest interpretive thinkers of classical antiquity whose works have come down to us: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Plato and Aristotle. Nussbaum's project is to contrast what might be called the rational and pluralistic (the anachronism 'existential' would be appropriate) approaches to life and happiness. The hallmark of rationalistic ethics is an attempt to overcome contingency (the book is subtitled Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy), so that we become masters of our own capacity for happiness. On the other side are those who believe that such mastery is not possible even in principle. Values cannot, they feel, be ordered in a non-arbitrary, hierarchical way, and therefore when we achieve one kind of goodness it may have to be at the expense of another goodness of equal worth. This gives life a pluralistic richness which, Nussbaum argues, is absent from rationalism; but at the same time it leaves us vulnerable to genuine loss and suffering. At this level of feeling, a kind of knowing is possible which escapes rationalism: "There is a kind of knowing that works by suffering because suffering is the appropriate acknowledgement of the way human life, in these cases, is. And in general: to grasp either a love or a tragedy by intellect is not sufficient for having real human knowledge of it" (p. 45).

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The Divided Line and the Structure of Plato's "Republic

History of Philosophy Quarterly, 2004

The Republic is organized in concentric pairings: the &quot;ineffability&quot; of 533a is... more The Republic is organized in concentric pairings: the &quot;ineffability&quot; of 533a is flanked on both sides by the metaphysics of books 5-7, then by the study of the rise and decline of cities (2-4, 8-9), and, finally, by examples of &quot;mere persuasiveness&quot; (the polemics of book 1, the poetry and art criticized in book 10). The Republic&#39;s appearance of being cobbled together from different sources is not because different parts were written at different times, but because the paired strata are illustrations of the stages of the divided line: 1 and 10 display eikasia, 2-4 and 8-9 pistis, 5-7 dianoia, and 533a the culmination of noesis.

Science and Religion in Descartes’ Meditations

Thomist, 1973

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Free Will, Luck, and Happiness in the Myth of Er

Journal of Philosophical Research, 2003

According to the &quot;Myth of Er&quot; we are responsible for our character because we c... more According to the &quot;Myth of Er&quot; we are responsible for our character because we chose it before birth. But any choice is determined by our present character, so there is an indefinite regress and we cannot be entirely responsible for our character. The &quot;Myth of Er&quot; can be seen as the first formulation of the problem of free will, which Aristotle demythologizes in Nicomachean Ethics III.5. Plato&#39;s solution is that freedom is compatible with causal determinism because it does not mean indeterminism but rationality.

Form and good in Plato's Eleatic dialogues

Form and Good in Plato's Eleatic Dialogues: The Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman, 1994

Preferred Citation: Dorter, Kenneth. Form and Good in Plato&#x27;s Eleatic Dialogues: The Par... more

The Reciprocity Argument and the Structure of Plato's Phaedo

Journal of the History of Philosophy, 1977

THERE IS A CURIOUS AMBIGUITY in the attitude generally taken toward the Phaedo. While it remains ... more THERE IS A CURIOUS AMBIGUITY in the attitude generally taken toward the Phaedo. While it remains one of Plato's most popular dialogues, its ostensible theme-the arguments for the immortality of the soul-is given relatively little serious attention. It is often held that they are not only invalid if taken at face value, but were recognized as such by Plato, ~ for he makes Socrates call attention to the inconclusiveness, or need for more thorough examination, of all of them? No doubt it is largely as a result of this belief that we are often urged to turn our attention from the logic of the arguments to the example of Socrates and his unshakable courage in the face of death. When serious attention is paid to the reasonings of the dialogue, it is generally with reference not to the doctrine of immortality but to the epistemological discussions that support it. The question naturally arises why Plato would bother knowingly to propound inconclusive or invalid arguments, and in answer it is usually suggested that he is aiming to produce "a series of 'aggressions' to the solution" of thc problem? demonstrating a certain probability or clarifying the issues involved. Yet it is left vague how this is accomplished in particular cases 4 or, more importantly, how Plato can have hoped to accomplish such goals by means of invalid arguments. If Plato recognized the first three arguments to be invalid, or at least inconclusive, it is worth asking whether their value is merely to serve as stepping stones to the final argument, or whether they contain intrinsic merit as well. And if one believes that Plato regarded even the final proof as fallacious or inconclusive, the discovery of intrinsic merit in such arguments becomes the only alternative to seeing them as pointless. In what follows, I shall try to show that the first argument, which is most widely regarded as fallacious or inadequate in Plato's own eyes, not only serves as an

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The Quarrel between Philosophy and Poetry

Routledge eBooks, Jun 3, 2014

Alan Blum and Peter McHugh , Self-reflection in the Arts and Sciences . Reviewed by

Philosophy in review, 1986

Philosopher-Rulers

Ancient Philosophy, 2001

Technics and Praxis. By Don Ihde. Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel Publishing Company. 1979. Volume XXIV of Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Pp. xxviii, 151

Dialogue, Sep 1, 1981

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The Problem of Evil in Heraclitus

Catholic University of America Press eBooks, Sep 7, 2017

Plato’s Sophist

International Studies in Philosophy, 2001

Acastos

Teaching Philosophy, 1989

Epistemology and Ontology

Dialogue, Mar 1, 1974

I would like to comment on A. W. J. Harper's note to my article on first philosophy. In that ... more I would like to comment on A. W. J. Harper's note to my article on first philosophy. In that article I argued for two general points: first, that Descartes' influence has been so pervasive that nearly all post-Cartesian philosophers share certain Cartesian characteristics that set them apart from classical (pre-Cartesian) philosophers and, second, that the classical approach to philosophy has been abandoned without sufficient reason, it being as compatible with the facts of perception and empirical science as the modern, and needs to be re-evaluated, as it can deal more successfully with some philosophical issues than can its post-Cartesian counterpart. In the course of this argument I pointed out some of the limitations of the Kantian position and Mr. Harper has sought to extend this line of argument into a refutation of Kant, but he underestimates the strength of the Kantian position.

The Phaedo's Final Argument

Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 1976

<jats:p>If one includes the methodological preface the final argument of the <jats:itali... more <jats:p>If one includes the methodological preface the final argument of the <jats:italic>Phaedo</jats:italic> is by far the longest, as well as the one Socrates' audience and Plato's readers are most ready to accept, and is often regarded as the one argument in the <jats:italic>Phaedo</jats:italic> that Plato himself accepted. Nevertheless it is also the most obscure, elusive, and frustrating of the arguments, whose intention as well as validity are in continual dispute. It has aptly been compared to an intricate maze, and while it is perhaps appropriate that Socrates, who is portrayed in the dialogue as a kind of Theseus battling the Minotaur of fear of death, should finally pick his way through a labyrinth of distinctions, it is exceptionally difficult for the reader to find the thread and follow it.</jats:p>

A Dialectical Reading of the Bhagavadgita

Asian Philosophy, Nov 1, 2012

The Gita at first appears to be a series of explanations of various kinds of yoga strung together... more The Gita at first appears to be a series of explanations of various kinds of yoga strung together in no apparent order, and several of its claims and arguments seem to contradict one another. I argue that the apparent contradictions disappear if we see the arguments as related to one another dialectically rather than analytically. From an analytic perspective contradictions are either merely verbal and can be disambiguated by a conceptual distinction, or else they render the statement meaningless. A dialectical resolution, in the sense I am using the term, requires a change of perspective rather than a simple terminological clarification. A dialectical reading can also show that the appearance of randomness in the order of presentation follows from an organizing principle that is hierarchical rather than linear.

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Equality, Recollection, and Purification

Phronesis, 1972

... be equal in length but not breadth. This is certainly a possible reading, and it does establi... more

Three Disappearing Ladders in Plato

Philosophy and Rhetoric, 1996

... the opening distinctions of the "shep-herd division'* at the beginning of the dialo... more

Form and good in Plato's Eleatic dialogues : the Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, and Statesman

University of California Press eBooks, 1994

... Form and good in Plato's Eleatic dialogues: The Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, and Sta... more

Being and Logos. The Way of Platonic Dialogue. By John Sallis. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press (distributed by Humanities Press). 1975. Pp. xvii, 544. $20

Dialogue, Sep 1, 1977

Download

Nussbaum on Transcendence in Plato and Aristotle

Dialogue, 1993

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The Divided Line and the Structure of Plato's "Republic

History of Philosophy Quarterly, 2004

Science and Religion in Descartes’ Meditations

Thomist, 1973

Download

Free Will, Luck, and Happiness in the Myth of Er

Journal of Philosophical Research, 2003

Form and good in Plato's Eleatic dialogues

Form and Good in Plato's Eleatic Dialogues: The Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman, 1994

Preferred Citation: Dorter, Kenneth. Form and Good in Plato&#x27;s Eleatic Dialogues: The Par... more

The Reciprocity Argument and the Structure of Plato's Phaedo

Journal of the History of Philosophy, 1977

Download

The Quarrel between Philosophy and Poetry

Routledge eBooks, Jun 3, 2014

Alan Blum and Peter McHugh , Self-reflection in the Arts and Sciences . Reviewed by

Philosophy in review, 1986

Philosopher-Rulers

Ancient Philosophy, 2001

Technics and Praxis. By Don Ihde. Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel Publishing Company. 1979. Volume XXIV of Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Pp. xxviii, 151

Dialogue, Sep 1, 1981

Download

The Problem of Evil in Heraclitus

Catholic University of America Press eBooks, Sep 7, 2017

Plato’s Sophist

International Studies in Philosophy, 2001

Acastos

Teaching Philosophy, 1989

Epistemology and Ontology

Dialogue, Mar 1, 1974

The Phaedo's Final Argument

Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 1976

A Dialectical Reading of the Bhagavadgita

Asian Philosophy, Nov 1, 2012

Download

Equality, Recollection, and Purification

Phronesis, 1972

... be equal in length but not breadth. This is certainly a possible reading, and it does establi... more

Form and Good.in Plato's Eleatic Dialogues

Form and Good in Plato's Eleatic Dialogues: The Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, and Statesman, 1994

An exploration of Plato's tetralogy - Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman - showing how th... more An exploration of Plato's tetralogy - Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman - showing how the inconclusiveness of each of the first three points us to the next. The Parmenides sets up the problematic by apparently refuting the theory of forms, but then going on to say, "But if anyone ... will not permit the existence of forms of things ... he will not have anything on which to fix his thoughts ... and in this way he will utterly destroy the power of discourse" (134e-135c). Thus the trilogy that follows attempts to rehabilitate the theory of forms by showing that knowledge is not possible in the absence of the theory's two main features - universals and natural value. The Theaetetus fails to account for knowledge because it's approach is exclusively empirical and never recognizes the role of universals. The Sophist restores universals (kinds) but in the continued absence of any concept of goodness it too ends in an unsatisfactory way. It is left to the Statesman to reintroduce the concept of goodness as the mean between too much and too little. With this, the essential principles of the theory of forms - reality of universals, objectivity of goodness - are restored.

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Phaedo's Phaedo: An Interpretation

Phaedo's Phaedo: An Interpretation, 1982

A book length commentary on the Phaedo, discussing what is accomplished by the arguments and myt... more

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Kenneth Dorter

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