Gail Fine's excellent book is a rich and sophisticated examination of an ancient epistemological puzzle first stated in Plato's Meno. ... This book is an example of philosophically informed scholarship at its very best. It is essential reading for anyone with interests in any aspect of ancient epistemology.
David Bronstein, Mind
Gail Fine presents an original interpretation of a compelling puzzle in ancient philosophy. Meno's Paradox, which is first formulated in Plato's Meno, challenges the very possibility of inquiry. Plato replies with the theory of recollection, according to which we all had prenatal knowledge of some range of things, and what we call inquiry involves recollecting what we previously knew; he also illustrates this with his famous cross-examination of an untutored slave about a geometry problem, whose solution the slave is able to discover through inquiry. Hence, contrary to the paradox, inquiry is possible after all. Plato is not the only philosopher to grapple with Meno's Paradox: so too do Aristotle, the Epicureans, the Stoics, and Sextus. How do their various replies compare with one another, and with Plato's? How good are any of their replies? In a fascinating fragment preserved in Damascius' Commentary on the Phaedo, Plutarch briefly considers these questions (though for obvious chronological reasons he doesn't discuss Sextus). But Fine's book is the first full-length systematic treatment of the paradox and responses to it. Among the topics discussed are the nature of knowledge; how knowledge differs from mere true belief; the nature of inquiry; varieties of innatism; concepts and meaning; the scope and limits of experience. The Possibility of Inquiry will be of interest to anyone interested in ancient epistemology, in ancient philosophy, or in epistemology.
Les mer
Gail Fine presents the first full-length study of Meno's Paradox, a challenge to the possibility of inquiry that was first formulated in Plato's Meno. She compares the responses of Plato, Aristotle, the Epicureans, the Stoics, and Sextus to the paradox, and considers a series of key questions concerning the nature of knowledge and inquiry.
Les mer
1. Introduction ; PART I: PLATO'S MENO ; 2. The Origins of the Problem ; 3. Meno's Questions and Socrates' Dilemma ; 4. Socrates' Three-Stage Reply: the First and Second Stages ; 5. The Third Stage: the Second Statement of The Theory of Recollection ; PART II: ARISTOTLE AND AFTER ; 6. Aristotelian Inquiry ; 7. Epicurean Inquiry ; 8. Stoic Inquiry ; 9. Plutarch's Account ; 10. Sceptical inquiry: Sextus and the Stoics ; 11. Sceptical Inquiry: Sextus and the Epicureans ; Bibliography ; Index Locorum ; Index Nominum ; General Index
Les mer
`The Possibility of Inquiry stands out for its philosophical rigour, attention to detail and unity of purpose. Inquiry on this issue will continue for many more years to come, not least because Fine has given it such a boost.'
Dominic Scott, Phronesis
`Gail Fines philosophical and scholarly rigor are on full display in this work. As its title indicates, it is a comprehensive examination of philosophical engagement with Menos Paradox in antiquity ... The book will undoubtedly become an indispensable touchstone for any future thinker who wishes to discuss the problems for the possibility of inquiry first raised in Platos Meno'
Whitney Schwab, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
Les mer
The first book to be devoted to the subjectA masterful study by an eminent scholarIlluminates the relevance of ancient philosophy to contemporary debates
Gail Fine earned her BA from the University of Michigan, and her PhD from Harvard University. Since 1975, she has been a professor in the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University. Since 2008, she has also been a Senior Research Fellow in Merton College, Oxford, and a Visiting Professor of Ancient Philosophy in the University of Oxford. She is the author of On Ideas: Aristotle's Criticisms of Plato's Theory of Forms (Clarendon Press, 1993); of Plato on Knowledge and Forms: Selected Essays (Clarendon Press, 2003); and of many articles in various areas of ancient philosophy. She is also the editor of Plato 1 and 2 in the Oxford Readings in Philosophy series (OUP, 1999), and of the Oxford Handbook of Plato (OUP USA, 2008).
Les mer
The first book to be devoted to the subjectA masterful study by an eminent scholarIlluminates the relevance of ancient philosophy to contemporary debates
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780199577392
Publisert
2014
Utgiver
Oxford University Press
Vekt
760 gr
Høyde
241 mm
Bredde
162 mm
Dybde
30 mm
Aldersnivå
UP, UU, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
416
Forfatter