Metaphysics and Method in Plato's Statesman by Kenneth M. Sayre

by Kenneth M. Sayre

At the beginning of his Metaphysics, Aristotle attributed several strange-sounding theses to Plato. Generations of Plato scholars have assumed that these could not be found in the dialogues. In heated arguments, they have debated the significance of these claims, some arguing that they constituted an ‘unwritten teaching’ and others maintaining that Aristotle was mistaken in attributing them to Plato. In his previous book-length study on Plato’s late ontology, Kenneth Sayre demonstrated that, despite differences in terminology, these claims correspond to themes developed by Plato in the Parmenides and the Philebus. In this study, he shows how this correspondence can be extended to key, but previously obscure, passages in the Statesman. He also examines the interpretative consequences for other sections of that dialogue, particularly those concerned with the practice of dialectical inquiry.

Paperback

First published July 1, 2006