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Rational Spirituality and Divine Virtue in Plato

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Describes a Platonic personal spirituality based on reason that is readily accessible to people today.Michael LaFargue presents an important and accessible aspect of Plato's legacy largely overlook...
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  • 02 January 2017
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Describes a Platonic personal spirituality based on reason that is readily accessible to people today.

Michael LaFargue presents an important and accessible aspect of Plato's legacy largely overlooked today: a variety of personal spirituality based on reason and centered on virtue. Plato's Virtue-Forms are transcendent in their goodness, ideals that Platonists can use to improve character and become like God so far as is humanly possible. LaFargue constructs a model of inductive Socratic reasoning capable of acquiring knowledge of these perfect Virtue-Forms, then scales back claims about these Forms to what can be supported by this kind of reasoning. This is a critical theory, but also a pluralistic one that accommodates modern cultural diversity. A how-to chapter provides detailed descriptions of the rules of Socratic reasoning basic to this spirituality, which any interested individual can practice today. LaFargue supports his interpretation by a close reading of the Greek text of key passages in Plato's dialogues. The work also undertakes a broader philosophical consideration, discussing the philosophical foundations proposed for this Platonism in relation to the thought of G. E. Moore, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Richard Rorty.

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Price: £25.50
Pages: 284
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Imprint: SUNY Press
Publication Date: 02 January 2017
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781438460246
Format: Paperback
BISACs:

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"Readers will find in LaFargue's book both a critical reconstruction of Platonic ethical inquiry, suitable for use today, and a thought-provoking essay into the interpretation of Plato." — International Journal of the Platonic Tradition

Preface
Introduction

1. Overview

2. The Objectivity of the Good

3. Limits

4. Elaborations

5. Rules of Socratic Method

6. Text and Commentary (1): Concrete Reality and Abstract Forms in the Republic

7. Text and Commentary (2): Plato’s Ideal Philosopher

8. Implications and Examples

9. (Mis-)Categorizing Plato

Appendix Sample Paper Assignment for a College Course

Works Cited
Index