The Ascent from Nominalism: Some Existence Arguments in Plato's Middle Dialoguesdivisibility in Physics VI. I had been assuming at that time that Aristotle's elimination of reference to the infinitely large in his account of the potential inf inite--like the elimination of the infinitely small from nineteenth century accounts of limits and continuity--gave us everything that was important in a theory of the infinite. Hilbert's paper showed me that this was not obviously so. Suddenly other certainties about Aristotle's (apparently) judicious toning down of (supposed) Platonic extremisms began to crumble. The upshot of work I had been doing earlier on Plato's 'Third Man Argument' began to look different from the way it had before. I was confronted with a possibility I had not till then so much as entertained. What if the more extreme posi tions of Plato on these issues were the more likely to be correct? The present work is the first instalment of the result ing reassessment of Plato's metaphysics, and especially of his theory of Forms. It has occupied much of my teaching and scholarly time over the past fifteen years and more. The central question wi th which I concern myself is, "How does Plato argue for the existence of his Forms (if he does )7" The idea of making this the central question is that if we know how he argues for the existence of Forms, we may get a better sense of what they are. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
The quasitheological predicates of the Forms The Forms | 7 |
Logical Form of the Proposition p 4 A further appar | 8 |
logues p 12 Remarks on the structure of the rest of this | 16 |
antideflationary argu | 22 |
Anachronistic character of the possible charge that Platos | 28 |
The FregeQuine Objections p | 33 |
Platos other main Middle Period Argument for the Exis | 40 |
The way in which sensible particulars fall short of | 188 |
Why is the Object of Know | 206 |
solution p 209 C A first approximation to Platos view | 216 |
temporal identity in the Timaeus p 221 H Some interim | 226 |
Other Middle Period Passages with the Formula The | 232 |
the lovers of sights and sounds identify beauty with are | 242 |
The Argument from the Sciences p 246 The One over Many | 250 |
A Vlastoss 1954 analysis and the later introduction | 257 |
Largeness was literally a large object p 44 and with | 48 |
The Recollection argument of the Phaedo commonly | 57 |
Various difficulties for the existence argument of | 69 |
Incorrigible conceptual states and Moores argument | 78 |
Forms of opposites as the opposites themselves How | 86 |
certain sorts of psychological states to objects of those | 139 |
Intensional objects extensional objects and the | 148 |
and a difficulty for this viewAristotles endorsing of | 153 |
we are unable in clear cases to confuse equality with | 160 |
Intensionalextensional and the taking of equal sticks | 164 |
The idea of a science of logic that is neutral on mat | 166 |
How Frege violates his own inferential restrictionsin | 174 |
CLARIFICATIONS | 181 |
over Many p 263 the use of sets in formulating the argu | 279 |
1967 p 279 H Further reflections on how Vlastos got | 291 |
planatory and epistemological regress we have been examin | 298 |
Synonymous and paronymous predication in Aristotles logical | 306 |
A preview of problems to be discussed in the second instal | 317 |
to The Nominalist p | 362 |
to Aristotles Dilemma p | 382 |
to Clarification Two p | 394 |
to Clarification Six p | 404 |
to Clarification Seven p | 421 |
440 | |
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The Ascent from Nominalism: Some Existence Arguments in Plato’s Middle Dialogues Terry Penner No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
abstract objects anti-nominalist appear argue Aristotelian Aristotle Aristotle's ASPM assumption attributing beautiful sights believe claim Clarification committed confuse contrast dialogues entities epistemological equal sticks existence of Forms explain F-ness fact false Frege Fregean Gottlob idea identity incorrigible conceptual inequality inference interpretation intuitive knowledge large things literal self-predication logical form logical types look lovers of sights mean metaphysical middle period mind Moore Moore's argument Morning Star Naturalistic Fallacy nominalist non-identity notion object of thought ontological opposites paradox parallel Parmenides passage perception philosophical Plato Platonic Forms Platonist predicated properties psychological contexts Quine real nature reference regress Russell Russell paradox Ryle Santa Claus sense sights and sounds Simmias Socrates sort soul sticks and stones suggestion suppose theory of Forms theory of logical Third Man Argument tion true truth ugly unequal sticks universals Vlastos Vlastos's Wittgenstein word