Description
Book SynopsisPlato in the Protagoras suggests that the virtues are profoundly unified yet also distinct. In Plato on the Unity of the Virtues: A Dialectic Reading, Rod Jenks argues that the way in which they are both one and many is finally ineffable. He shows how, elsewhere in the corpus, Plato countenances ineffability. Jenks's interpretation of Protagoras accounts for the otherwise-inexplicable inability of both Socrates and Protagoras to identify the bone of contention between them. Not only can the thesis not be argued for; it can't even be properly stated. Jenks shows how the long exegesis on the Simonides poem is philosophically relevant. Further, he shows that both the parts-of-the-face analogy and the gold analogy are inadequate, arguing that Plato intends them to be so. Jenks explains why the unity thesis is supported bywhat most scholars agree areterrible arguments: the virtues are both one and many. He explains why, in spite of the unity claim being profoundly elusive, Plato believes
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Quality of the Unity Arguments
Chapter 3: Unity Passages in the Protagoras
Chapter 4: The Unity Arguments
Chapter 5: Rival Explanations of Unity
Chapter 6: Other Indications of Ineffability
Chapter 7: Meaning and Express-ability
Chapter 8: Socratic Intellectualism
Chapter 9: Indirect Argument in Plato
Chapter 10: The Importance of Unity
Conclusion
Endnotes
Bibliography
Indexes
About the Author
