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6 - The Philebus

To Stand in the Porches of the Good and the Dwelling of the Such

from Part II - Introduction to the Republic and Philebus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2023

Kevin Corrigan
Affiliation:
Emory University, Atlanta
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Summary

The Philebus is an important commentary upon the Republic, not simply because it features the question of the Good but more precisely because it answers questions that must have been asked by Plato’s readers. I see it therefore as a companion piece to the Republic. The Philebus is to be dated after the Parmenides, and it has thus often been read after the critique of Forms in the first part of the Parmenides as reflecting Plato’s rejection of a theory of Forms or at least as holding a different view of Forms from that expressed in earlier dialogues such as the Phaedo, Republic, Symposium, and Phaedrus. Since I do not believe that Plato held a systematic “Theory of Forms” that could be thoroughly unpacked by discursive means (as is a typical modern view) and since I also believe that the second part of the Parmenides shows in practice the necessity for Forms, I see the Philebus not as rejecting Forms or developing a new mathematical approach to the One and the Many but rather as returning to an old problem that requires reexamination in a new way continuous with the concerns of Plato’s earlier works. The reason I need to treat the Philebus at this point (before coming explicitly to the Symposium and Phaedrus) is not only because of its clear connection with the Republic and the reappearance of Socrates but also because it is one of Plato’s most revolutionary works that shows, I think, a new way of reunderstanding the Republic.

Type
Chapter
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A Less Familiar Plato
From Phaedo to Philebus
, pp. 165 - 196
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • The Philebus
  • Kevin Corrigan, Emory University, Atlanta
  • Book: A Less Familiar Plato
  • Online publication: 26 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009324885.009
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  • The Philebus
  • Kevin Corrigan, Emory University, Atlanta
  • Book: A Less Familiar Plato
  • Online publication: 26 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009324885.009
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Philebus
  • Kevin Corrigan, Emory University, Atlanta
  • Book: A Less Familiar Plato
  • Online publication: 26 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009324885.009
Available formats
×