On the Good Life
eBook - ePub

On the Good Life

Thinking through the Intermediaries in Plato's Philebus

  1. 216 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

On the Good Life

Thinking through the Intermediaries in Plato's Philebus

About this book

Argues that mediation is a central theme in this Platonic dialogue dedicated to the exploration of what it means to live a good life.

Plato's Philebus continues to fascinate us with its reflections on what it means to live a good life by aiming at the right combination of pleasure and knowledge. In this book, Cristina Ionescu argues that mediation is a central theme in the dialogue. Whether we talk about mediating between distinct ontological levels, between steps of reasoning, between pleasure and knowledge, between distinct types of pleasure, or between concrete circumstances and ideals, the steps in between remain essential to a good life. Focusing on ethical, epistemological, and metaphysical aspects of the dialogue, Ionescu occasionally steps beyond the letter of the text, while remaining faithful to its spirit, as she tries to illuminate what is only hinted at.

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Yes, you can access On the Good Life by Cristina Ionescu in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Ancient & Classical Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Index
Aporia, 96–99. See also One-Many
Aristotle, 121–145
Arithmetic, 25–26
Art(s), 5–9; educational, 25–26, 132; productive, 25–26, 102, 132. See also knowledge
Beauty, 3–4, 8–9, 15, 27, 78, 85, 104. See also Good (the)
Becoming (genesis), 26, 73, 82–83, 87, 118, 123–124, 155–156
Being (ousia), 26, 53–54, 73, 141, 155–156
body, 19, 22–24, 37, 40–41, 58–59, 62–64
Cause of the mixture, 12, 13, 32–33, 37–38
Collection and division, method of, xiv–xviii, xx–xxi, 5–8, 14; divine method, 16, 27, 96, 151, 156, 158n9
Comedy, 19, 24, 59–62, 64–66
Cosmological argument, 113, 155. See also Noūs
Desire, 22, 40–43, 104, 130
Dialectic, 9, 25–27, 55, 78, 84; and the aporiai of participation in the Parmenides, 147, 151, 156; and the hierarchy of types of knowledge, 132; and pleasures of learning, 90, 93–96, 100–103, 105
Discovery, 97–98, 108
Disruption: of natural balance, 111; of the normative standard, 142
Divided Line, 26, 156
Due measure, xvii, 6, 86–89, 115–117. See also mean (the)
Education, 67
Emptying, 19, 128
Epistēmē, xvi, 36, 131–132, 156, 173n12. See also knowledge
Fourfold articulation of reality, xiv, 11–17, 23–24, 29–30, 71, 91–92, 149
Forms, xxi, 2–3, 9; and the aporiai of participation in the Parmenides, 73, 86, 145–156, 161; and the Good, 27; and the One-Many puzzles in the Philebus, 28–30; in relation to Limit and the other a...

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Introduction
  7. I. The Unity of the Philebus: Metaphysical Assumptions of the Good Human Life
  8. II. The Placement of Pleasure and Knowledge in the Fourfold Articulation of Reality
  9. III. Hybrid Varieties of Pleasure: True Mixed Pleasures and False Pure Pleasures
  10. IV. The Nature of Pleasure: Absolute Standards of Replenishment and Due Measure
  11. V. Pleasures of Learning and the Role of Due Measure in Experiencing Them
  12. VI. Plato’s Conception of Pleasure Confronting Three Aristotelian Critiques
  13. Appendix. The Philebus’s Implicit Response to the Aporiai of Participation from the Parmenides
  14. Notes
  15. Bibliography
  16. Index
  17. Back Cover