ΠΑΛΙΝ ἘΞ ἈΡΧΗΣ: Resumption and Recollection in Plato

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

I argue that Plato’s deployment of the resumptive phrase πάλιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς illuminates the philosophical significance of his art of transition in Socratic dialogues. These explicit calls for a new beginning often appear when a conversation fails to account for two particular elements of ordinary experience: assumptions about whole-part relations and about the interlocutor’s self-conception as a being responsive to basic rational and normative distinctions. Returning to the archē is a form of ἀνάμνησις, reminding us that these assumptions constitute true, but inarticulate, opinions of a fundamental kind. They are the preconditions for discourse that philosophical διαλέγεσθαι must preserve and ground.
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)305-321
Number of pages17
JournalEpoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy
Volume23
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 12 Feb 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Philosophy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'ΠΑΛΙΝ ἘΞ ἈΡΧΗΣ: Resumption and Recollection in Plato'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this