Back
phd_tusij.pdf
Doctoral thesis

Sophistry and Eleaticism in Plato's Dialogues

BHAP-PH

  • [2020]

1 Online-Ressource (217 Seiten)

PhD: Université de Fribourg, 20.03.2020

Plato
Dialogues
Sophist
Sophists
Eleatics
Greek Philosophy
Platon
Dialogue
Le Sophiste
Sophistes
Éléates
Philosophie grecque
English This study examines the systematic relationship between sophistry and Eleaticism in Plato’s dialogues. While previous research has often focused on individual sophists or ignored the philosophical foundations of their programs, this dissertation fills that gap by analyzing how the sophistical movement appropriated Eleatic thought.The first part analyzes five earlier dialogues—"Protagoras", "Euthydemus", "Hippias Minor", "Hippias Major", and "Gorgias". It argues that Protagoras inverts Parmenides’ "Way of Truth" into a celebration of 'doxa', while the eristics in the "Euthydemus" rely on the Parmenidean denial of Non-Being to claim that false speaking is impossible.The second part investigates the method of 'antilogikē' in the "Parmenides" and "Phaedrus". It claims that Plato portrays contradiction as inherently folded within Eleatic philosophy, where Zeno’s rejection of plurality is used to justify deceptive rhetoric.The final part engages in a close reading of the "Sophist". It relates the initial divisions of the sophist to the results of the earlier dialogues and argues that the final, successful definition depends on the Stranger’s critique of Parmenidean Being and Non-Being. By introducing the 'Form of Difference' ('megista genē'), Plato demonstrates how falsehood is possible, thereby anchoring the sophist’s nature in a coherent framework. The study concludes that the "Sophist" provides an adequate, rather than aporetic, definition of the sophist.
Faculty
Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines
Department
Département de Philosophie
Language
  • English
Classification
Philosophy, psychology
Notes
  • Bibliographie
License
CC BY-ND
Open access status
diamond
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/334612
Statistics
Document views: 12 File downloads:
  • phd_tusij.pdf: 7