Plato's Anti-hedonism and the Protagoras

Plato's Anti-hedonism and the Protagoras
Author: J. Clerk Shaw
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2015-04-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107046653

"In this book, Clerk Shaw removes this apparent tension by arguing that the Protagoras as a whole actually reflects Plato's anti-hedonism"--

Plato's Anti-hedonism and the Protagoras

Plato's Anti-hedonism and the Protagoras
Author: J. Clerk Shaw
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2015-04-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1316240207

Plato often rejects hedonism, but in the Protagoras, Plato's Socrates seems to endorse hedonism. In this book, J. Clerk Shaw removes this apparent tension by arguing that the Protagoras as a whole actually reflects Plato's anti-hedonism. He shows that Plato places hedonism at the core of a complex of popular mistakes about value and especially about virtue: that injustice can be prudent, that wisdom is weak, that courage is the capacity to persevere through fear, and that virtue cannot be taught. The masses reproduce this system of values through shame and fear of punishment. The Protagoras and other dialogues depict sophists and orators who have internalized popular morality through shame, but who are also ashamed to state their views openly. Shaw's reading not only reconciles the Protagoras with Plato's other dialogues, but harmonizes it with them and even illuminates Plato's wider anti-hedonism.

Plato’s Protagoras

Plato’s Protagoras
Author: Olof Pettersson
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2016-11-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3319455850

This book presents a thorough study and an up to date anthology of Plato’s Protagoras. International authors' papers contribute to the task of understanding how Plato introduced and negotiated a new type of intellectual practice – called philosophy – and the strategies that this involved. They explore Plato’s dialogue, looking at questions of how philosophy and sophistry relate, both on a methodological and on a thematic level. While many of the contributing authors argue for a sharp distinction between sophistry and philosophy, this is contested by others. Readers may consider the distinctions between philosophy and traditional forms of poetry and sophistry through these papers. Questions for readers' attention include: To what extent is Socrates’ preferred mode of discourse, and his short questions and answers, superior to Protagoras’ method of sophistic teaching? And why does Plato make Socrates and Protagoras reverse positions as it comes to virtue and its teachability? This book will appeal to graduates and researchers with an interest in the origins of philosophy, classical philosophy and historical philosophy.