Editors:

Rachel Barney, University of Toronto
Tad Brennan, Cornell University, New York
Charles Brittain, Cornell University, New York

format : pdf retail
Publisher: Cambridge University Press 2013 (ebooks version)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0521899664
ISBN-13: 978-0521899666


Plato's account of the tripartite soul is a memorable feature of dialogues like the Republic, Phaedrus and Timaeus: it is one of his most famous and influential yet least understood theories. It presents human nature as both essentially multiple and diverse – and yet somehow also one – divided into a fully human 'rational' part, a lion-like 'spirited part' and an 'appetitive' part likened to a many-headed beast. How these parts interact, how exactly each shapes our agency and how they are affected by phenomena like eros and education is complicated and controversial. The essays in this book investigate how the theory evolves over the whole of Plato's work, including the Republic, Phaedrus and Timaeus, and how it was developed further by important Platonists such as Galen, Plutarch and Plotinus. They will be of interest to a wide audience in philosophy and classics.


Reviews & endorsements

"...This excellent volume, which was edited by Rachel Barney, Tad Brennan, and Charles Brittain... usefully includes an index locorum, footnotes, and an extensive bibliography.... This volume represents an invaluable contribution to the field of Platonic moral psychology. The essays it contains are filled with fresh ideas, insights, and challenges, and they are sure to stimulate new debates in the ongoing scholarly discussion of Plato’s views on the soul.... worthwhile for anyone with an interest in Platonic psychology.... This collection is, as already indicated, outstanding, and it will undoubtedly become necessary reading for anyone considering Platonic moral psychology for years to come."
--Joshua Wilburn, University of Victoria, Philosophy in Review