Description
Book SynopsisRelativism, the position that things are for each as they seem to each, was first formulated in Western philosophy by Protagoras, the fifth-century BC Greek orator and teacher. Mi-Kyoung Lee examines the challenge to the possibility of expert knowledge posed by Protagoras, together with responses by the three most important philosophers of the next generation, Plato, Aristotle, and Democritus. In his book Truth, Protagoras made vivid use of two provocative but imperfectly spelled out ideas: first, that we are all ''measures'' of the truth and that we are each already capable of determining how things are for ourselves, since the senses are our best and most credible guides to the truth; second, given that things appear differently to different people, there is no basis on which to decide that one appearance is true rather than the other. Plato developed these ideas into a more fully worked-out theory, which he then subjected to refutation in the Theaetetus. In his Metaphysics Aristotle
Trade ReviewReview from previous edition Anyone interested in those texts will learn something from this book and, it is to be hoped, will be encouraged to consider their place in a wider philosophical discussion. * James Warren, The Classical Review *
a balanced book, well-argued, rich in references to the secondary literature, with fresh and challenging readings of important issues in Greek epistemology * Damir Maric, Rhizai ' *
Table of Contents1. Introduction ; 2. Protagoras' Aletheia ; 3. Protagoras and relativism ; 4. Self-refutation and contradiction ; 5. The Secret Doctrine in Plato's Theaetetus ; 6. Aristotle on Protagoras and the Theaetetus ; 7. Aristotle on Protagoras and early conceptions of thinking and perceiving ; 8. Democritus on appearances and perception: the early sources ; 9. Democritus on knowledge and the senses: the late sources ; 10. Conclusion
