One Over Many: The Unitary Pluralism of Plato's World

428 Pages·2021·3.44 MB·English

by  Necip Fikri Alican

ONE
OVER MANY
SUNY series in Ancient Greek Philosophy
——— ———
Anthony Preus, editor
ONE
OVER MANY
The Unitary Pluralism
of Plato’s World
NECİP FİKRİ ALİCAN
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2021 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval
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For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Alican, Necip Fikri, author.
Title: One over many : the unitary pluralism of Plato’s world / Necip Fikri
Alican.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2021] | Series:
SUNY series in ancient Greek philosophy | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021024205 | ISBN 9781438485638 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781438485652 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Plato.
Classification: LCC B395 .A5258 2021 | DDC 184—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021024205
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my wife
Banu Beste Başol Alican

Contents
Foreword: Exploring Plato’s Forms xi
Nicholas D. Smith
Preface xxv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1
Plato’s World: The Standard Model 15
1.1 Introduction 15
1.2 Why Two Worlds? 17
1.3 What Are the Forms? 34
1.4 How Does It All Work? 53
1.5 Conclusion 67
Chapter 2
Rethinking Plato’s Forms 73
2.1 Introduction 74
2.2 Stratification of Reality 77
2.3 A Two-Level Model 80
2.4 Classification of Forms 82
2.5 Terminological Clues and Methodological Observations 86
2.6 Ideal Forms 91
2.7 Conceptual Forms 93
2.8 Relational Forms 99
2.9 First Principles 104
2.10 Negative Forms? 106
2.11 Conclusion 109
viii Contents
Chapter 3
Rethought Forms: How Do They Work? 113
3.1 Introduction 114
3.2 The General Enterprise 114
3.3 The Stratification of Reality 118
3.4 The Classification of Forms 124
3.5 The Continuum of Abstraction 135
3.6 Conclusion 142
Chapter 4
A Horse Is a Horse, of Course, of Course,
but What about Horseness? 145
4.1 Bunny in the Clouds 145
4.2 Horses and Horseness 150
4.3 Modes of Existence 155
4.4 Second Sailing 163
Chapter 5
Ontological Symmetry in Plato: Formless Things and Empty Forms 169
5.1 Introduction 169
5.2 The Evidence 173
5.3 Formless Things 182
5.4 Empty Forms 192
5.5 Conclusion 218
Chapter 6
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:
Does Plato Make Room for Negative Forms in His Ontology? 225
6.1 The Question of Negative Forms in Plato 226
6.2 Embracing Negative Forms with Debra Nails 236
6.3 Rejecting Negative Forms with Holger Thesleff 246
6.4 The Semblance and Structure of Negativity in Plato 254
6.5 The Relevance and Supremacy of the Good in Plato 261
Chapter 7
Between a Form and a Hard Place:
The Problem of Intermediates in Plato 265
7.1 Introduction 266
7.2 Plato through Aristotle 270
7.3 Aristotle as Historian 293
Contents ix
7.4 Discrepancies and Contradictions 304
7.5 Implications for Reliability 326
7.6 Plato through Plato 335
7.7 Conclusion 355
Works Cited 359
Index 387