Description
Book SynopsisThis 1995 study investigates how Plato 'invented' the discipline of philosophy. In order to define and legitimise philosophy, Dr Nightingale maintains, Plato had to match it against genres of discourse that had authority and currency in democratic Athens.
Trade Review'… [a] brilliantly suggestive book, giving us … ways of locating the dialogues in their 'socio-political' context, and of thinking about Plato as a philosophical writer.' Phronesis
'The merits of Nightingale's book are considerable. It deals with many questions of language and discourse that are dear to postmodernists, but it treats them with clarity which an analytic philosopher will appreciate.' Review of Metaphysics
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Abbreviations and texts; Introduction; 1. Plato, Isocrates and the property of philosophy; 2. Use and abuse of Athenian tragedy; 3. Eulogy, irony, parody; 4. Alien and authentic discourse; 5. Philosophy and comedy; Conclusion; Bibliography; General index; Index of passages from Plato.
