Did Plato abandon, or sharply modify, the Theory of Forms in later life? In the Phaedo, Symposium, and Republic it is generally agreed that Plato held that universals exist. But in Parmenides, he subjected that theory to criticism. If the criticism were valid, and Plato knew so, then the Parmenides marks a turning point in his thought. If, however, Plato became aware that there are radical differences in the logical behaviour of concepts, and the later dialogues are a record of his attempt to analyse those differences, then Plato’s thought can be said to have moved in a new and vitally important direction after the Parmenides. Studies in Plato’s Metaphysics brings together twenty essays by leading philosophers from the UK and the USA reflecting upon this important issue and upon the questions arising from it.

Contents

Preface. Introduction 1. The Philosophical Economy of the Theory of Ideas H. F. Cherniss 2. Logos and Forms in Plato R. C. Cross 3. Logos and Forms in Plato: a Reply to Professor Cross R. S. Bluck 4. Participation and Predication in Plato’s Middle Dialogues R.E. Allen 5. Mathematics and Dialectic in the Republic VI-VII F. M. Cornford 6. Plato’s Parmenides Gilbert Ryle 7. Plato’s Parmenides W. G. Runciman 8. Knowledge and Forms in Plato’s Theaetetus Winifred F. Hicken 9. Symploke Eidon J. L. Akrill 10. Plato and the Copula: Sophist 251-9 J. L. Akrill 11. Plato’s Description of Division A. C. Lloyd 12. The Third Man Argument in the Parmenides Gregory Vlastos 13 The Third Man Again P. T. Geach 14 Postscript to the Third Man: a Reply to Mr Geach Gregory Vlastos 15 A Proof in the Peri Ideon G.E.L. Owen 16. The Place of the Timaeus in Plato’s Dialogues G. E. L. Owen 17. The Relation of the Timaeus to Plato’s Later Dialogues H. F. Cherniss 18. The Disorderly Motion in the Timaeus Gregory Vlastos 19. Necessity and Persuasion in Plato’s Timaeus Glenn R. Morrow 20. Plato’s Theism R. Hackforth. Index Locorum