Well, I disagree. The Stranger is talking about dividing things by classes or genera. Here is Jowett’s translation (p. 179): And it doesn't say that F...
What "Socratic dialogue"? You were talking about The Sophist just a minute ago. In the Sophist, the Stranger identifies the Socratic school as the "fr...
The misconception of Forms as “kinds” or even “universals” is a standard device employed by anti-Platonists who use Aristotle to attack Plato. Lloyd G...
Correct. There is no doubt that “good” (kalon or agathon) was central to Greek thought, together with truth, justice, and beauty. Hence “good and beau...
I think places like China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey are definitely far-right. The picture in the West is a bit more complex. BLM, Extinctio...
Of course it is the whole dialogue that matters. The question as to who the philosopher or sophist is is secondary, especially in view of the fact tha...
I think it would depend on the degree to which you are prepared to take "contentment" and the extent it is applied to the whole of mankind. It may hav...
I never said it was. That's exactly what I'm saying. This would be part of the "economic measures" I am talking about. The world doesn't always work o...
As shown by the Sophist, among standard elements in the anti-Platonist method, we find the tendency to deliberately misinterpret statements, exaggerat...
If the question of who the philosopher is, is answered, then the question of who the sophist is no longer arises. And since you have not answered the ...
The Stranger identifies the Socratic, i.e. the genuine philosophical school, as the "friends of the Forms" (oi philoi ton eidon) (Sophist 248a). Obvio...
Correct. This is how the sophist is easily identified and exposed. Plato states that the greatest lesson (megiston mathema) is the Idea of the Good (R...
Absolutely. As clearly indicated by the title, the Sophist is about sophistry. The serious reader of Plato should by now have sufficiently refined his...
I see your point. However, China has been an evil dictatorship from the day the Maoists seized power in 1949. So, I would say that China (i.e. the pol...
Though anti-Platonists like to claim that Plato “doesn’t have a system”, the fact of the matter is that he does have a teaching or doctrine (dogma in ...
That’s a very good point. I think it is instructive to note that Plato’s detractors often resort to arguments that Plato himself would have rejected a...
I agree that we should not agree with things that are confused and incoherent. However, the critical question is how the world of multiplicity, expres...
You seem to be very fond of the word “indeterminate” even though it is very rarely used by Plato. And you still haven’t explained what your actual poi...
I understand your concern. However, the issue arose from your previous objection: "One" as unit, i.e, one among other units, is indeed limited. "One" ...
Plotinus may say whatever he pleases. It does not mean that Plato says it. It is important not to confuse one author with another. Besides, according ...
That's a very good point. As Plato says, the ignorant multitude just can't think of anything outside the cave and insist on staying inside their littl...
I think another possibility is that there are similarities between Platonism and Christianity just as there are similarities between Platonism and Bud...
Correct. A lot of Chinese goods are made in prisons and concentration camps. I've always wondered how anyone can trust a bloodthirsty dictatorship lik...
As usual, you are not paying attention. It isn't Gerson, it's Aristotle I am talking about. You started quoting him, did you not? What I said is this:...
Not necessarily. There is a difference between "unit" and "unity". The former refers to one among many, the latter to something that is one in the sen...
It's hard to know who to believe these days, but something doesn't seem right there. These are supposed to be "reputable" and "trustworthy" scientists...
You guys are obviously a different generation. So, sorry to disappoint you, but Kubrick says nothing to me. I can only go by what I read in online sou...
Well, you guys gave me a big laugh too. :grin: Of course there is nothing offensive about a marble statue. But I think the likes of Harvey Weinstein a...
I’ve just read the whole Wikipedia article and to be quite honest, Kubrick sounds a bit dodgy to me. For starters, he looks crazy. Just look at his ey...
Apophaticism is definitely one way of approaching the issue. And it actually makes a lot of sense, especially in the context of later Platonists like ...
I actually had to look it up on Wikipedia. If it's about "nuclear militarism" then it definitely sounds like propaganda to me. I'm not a movie person ...
What would life be without surprises, huh. Dr Strangelove? Produced by Hawk Films? I’m not into Soviet era propaganda movies (or movies in general) to...
I would start by removing “the United States”. This is something that concerns the whole international community and I think we should take as broad a...
The temptation to Straussianize, Maimonidize, or Farabize Plato is understandable. But I think it must be resisted. I believe that Plato should be rea...
It does tend to lead to disaster when not Justice but hidden agendas or mere political expediency are the real motivation. However, is the argument th...
Correct. It is absolutely imperative to understand that, as stated in the Republic, the purpose of mathematics as applied by Plato is not to lose ours...
Neither do I. I am saying that China is, though. Stalinist Russia also had concentration camps. But it was not National Socialist, it was Marxist and ...
Plato’s statements should not be taken out of context. Of course there is an openness to things that are beyond our limits of comprehension. The whole...
Which is absolutely right. Unfortunately, there is a growing tendency for universities and research centers to accept funding from Middle Eastern and ...
I agree. But the problem tends to be exacerbated by the issue of funding. As in any other field, whoever provides the cash gains the ability to exert ...
Correct. But the original article that the Sun also refers to is from the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/09/10/revealed-scientists-d...
Charlemagne’s Palatine Chapel at Aachen (Germany), which incidentally, is just a small part of the original royal palace, has a plan and decoration ba...
IMO China is run by brutal dictators with an appalling human-rights record and a very long history of suppressing ethnic and religious minorities. But...
The issue was not the action taken but the action suggested, which was "bashing them on the snout". The pandemic has done serious damage across the wo...
I think universals are a very interesting aspect of cognition, of the way we perceive the world and make sense of it or make it “intelligible”. We see...
I think it is obvious that in the Philebus Socrates (or Plato) simply introduces the principles of Unlimited or Infinite (apeiron) and Limited or Fini...
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