Through Pleasure to the Human Good: A Critical Study of the Platonic Dialogues
- New Delhi Christian World Imprints 2023
- 129p
Chapter 1: Plato: A Journey into his Life 1.1. The Biography of Plato 1.2. Factors Influencing Plato’s Philosophy 1.3. The Academy in Athens 1.4. Writings of Plato: Dialogues Chapter 2: A Review of Pleasure vs. Knowledge Leading to the Good in Plato’s Dialogues 2.1. The Protagoras on Pleasure 2.2. The Gorgias 2.3. The Phaedo 2.4. The Republic 2.5. The Laws Chapter 3: Arriving at a Good Human Life: Knowledge vs. Pleasure in the Philebus 3.1. Discussion of the Candidates for the Good Life 3.2. Socrates’ First Response: Divine Method of Dialectical Division (of One and Many) 3.3. Socrates’ Second Response: A Compromise Solution 3.4. Socrates’ Third Response: Fourfold Ontological Classification 3.5. Application of the Fourfold Ontology 3.6. Classification of False Pleasures 3.7. Purpose of the Classification of False Pleasures 3.8. Indispensable Ingredients of the Good Human Life 3.9. Difference between False and True or Pure Pleasures 3.10. Admission of Different Kinds of Knowledges in the Human Good Chapter 4: Realization of Good Human Life: A Critical Appreciation 4.1. Metaphysical Approach of the Philebus and its Apparent Difficulties 4.2. Plato’s Socrates’ Dreamlike Insight of the Divine: A Systematic Strategy 4.3. Candidates for the Good Human Life 4.4. Constitution of the Human Good 4.5. Questions on the Title Character of the Dialogue: A Real Difficulty 4.6. Decisive Role of Protarchus 4.7. Philosophical Clarity of the Philebus 4.8. Importance of the Dialogue Philebus in the Philosophy of Plato 4.9. Scepticism: An Inevitable Consequence of Plato’s Dialogues