Plato's Forms Varieties of Interpretation [Hardcover]

Plato's Forms: Varieties of Interpretation is an ambitious work that brings together, in a single volume, widely divergent approaches to the topic of the Forms in Plato's dialogues.The theory of forms usually attributed to Plato is one of the most famous of philosophical theories, yet it has engendered such controversy in the literature on Plato that scholars even debate whether or not such a theory exists in his texts. Plato's Forms: Varieties of Interpretation is an ambitious work that brings together, in a single volume, widely divergent approaches to the topic of the forms in Plato's dialogues. With contributions rooted in both Anglo-American and Continental philosophy, the book illustrates the contentious role the forms have played in Platonic scholarship and suggests new approaches to a central problem of Plato studies.Chapter 1 Introduction: Plato's Mysterious Forms Chapter 2 Plato's Dialectic of Forms Chapter 3 Plato's Development and the Development of the Theory of Forms Chapter 4 Plato's Theory of Forms: Recollecting and Recovering the Soul Chapter 5 Metaphysics and Pronouns at Phaedo 74b7-9 Chapter 6 Forms and Flux in the Theaetetus and the Timaeus Chapter 7 Do Forms Have a Role in Plato's Philebus? Chapter 8 Philebean Metaphysics Chapter 9 Fleshing Out the Form of Beauty: Socrates, Dialogue, and the Forms Chapter 10 Against a Platonic Theory of Forms Chapter 11 Plato's Eidetic IntimationsWilliam A. Welton teaches Philosophy at Loyola College in Maryland.