Toward a New Interpretation of Plato

by Giovanni Reale, John R. Catan (Editor), Richard Davies (Editor)

Translated from the tenth edition and edited by John R. Catan and Richard Davies

Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, the paradigm that has been widely accepted for interpreting Plato has held that the dialogues are fully understandable on their own terms and that the entirety of Plato's doctrine can be found in his writings. This method of interpretation, which Giovanni Reale calls the "traditional paradigm," upheld the textual integrity and autonomy of the dialogues.

For Reale, who notes that Plato put his greatest seriousness and commitment into oral teaching, this "traditional paradigm" no longer provides satisfactory explanations of the dialogues. He urges that it be replaced with a new interpretive paradigm, one that was first articulated by scholars at the Tübingen School of Platonic Studies. This new paradigm holds that Plato's written dialogues are not self- sufficient but need to be read together with their author's Unwritten Doctrines, which were handed down in the oral tradition and attested to by Plato's disciples. According to this paradigm, we risk greatly misunderstanding Plato unless we employ both the direct tradition of his writings and the indirect tradition of the Unwritten Doctrines to interpret his work.

In the book, Reale sets out the history of Plato studies. He shows not only the way this new interpretation breaks with recent orthodoxy but also how it connects with the earliest understandings of Platonic metaphysics. Drawing on the frequently neglected or misunderstood reports about what Plato divulged to his immediate pupils, he illuminates many otherwise obscure passages of the dialogues; in turn, he uses hints found throughout the dialogues to make sense of testimonies that have often seemed to be unreliable. What emerges from the harmonization of Plato's written thought with his oral teachings is a Theory of Principles.

In just seven years the book has gone through ten editions in Italy. It is the fruit of an ongoing research project, with centers in both Germany and Italy, that seeks to establish a philologically accurate and philosophically satisfying account of Plato. Though aimed at scholars and graduate students in philosophy, Toward a New Interpretation of Plato will be a reference book for anyone interested in the new direction in Plato studies.

Giovanni Reale is director of the Center for Research in Metaphysics and professor of the history of ancient philosophy at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. He is the author of several studies on Plato and on Aristotle, translations of Plato's dialogues into Italian, and the five-volume A History of Ancient Philosophy.
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"This work . . . rereads the writings of Plato in the light and perspective of the paradigm of the Tübingen School, but it does so on the basis of very precise principles of contemporary epistemology which render the undertaking soundly and convincingly scientific and highly, even fascinatingly readable, resolving with apparent ease and clarity . . . so much that was enigmatic in Plato." --Gregorianum

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History

459 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Reale was born in Candia Lomellina, Pavia. He attended the Gymnasium and the Liceo classico of Casale Monferrato, and was then educated at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, where he graduated. He later continued his studies in Marburg an der Lahn and Munich.
After a period of teaching in high schools, he won a professorship at the University of Parma, where he taught courses in moral philosophy and the history of philosophy. He then returned to the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, where he was professor of the history of ancient philosophy for many years, and where he also founded the Centro di Ricerche di Metafisica. In 2005 he moved to teach at the new faculty of philosophy at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University of Milan.

Reviews

[Eduardo Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um dos livros mais aprofundados e inovadores na área do platonismo e da sua interpretação heterodoxa, isto é, da escola de tubingen. Aborda as principais e essenciais temáticas platônicas: a teoria das Ideias(formas), os Princípios(Uno e Díada ilimitada) e o Demiurgo. Recomendo a todos os que procuram descobrir realmente a verdadeira filosofia platônica através das ''doutrinas não-escritas''. O Reale chega a conclusões muito semelhantes às de Mário Ferreira dos Santos, porém com muito mais base textual e histórica, enquanto que o MFS procura a coerência dentro da própria filosofia de Platão. As doutrinas não-escritas eram apenas ''reveladas'' aos alunos da Academia(inclusive Aristóteles), pois, segundo Platão, a forma superior de discurso - discurso vivo -, apenas se encontra através da oralidade, porque só existe uma dialética viva e uma defesa da doutrina na oralidade. Outro ponto é que o conhecimento dos Princípios só deve ser dado de forma explícita aqueles que estão preparados para receber esse conhecimento. quando Platão, certa vez, expos a doutrina do Bem e dos princípios foi ridicularizado por muitos dos que o ouviam e, por esse e outros motivos, Platão não queria que o seu conhecimento fosse usado para o mal nem que fosse ridicularizado. Por causa disso, ele ocultou e fragmentou esses conhecimentos mais elevados da ''segunda navegação'', dentro das temáticas de cada diálogo.

[Leandro Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sola Scriptura cai por terra ao ler este monumental livro. Reale explica como Platão chegou próximo de Deus pela razão. Faltou a Revelação dada ao homem simples chamado Moisés.

O coroamento da razão encontra-se em Timeu. A partir só pela Revelação e Fé. Sensacional.

[Tomas Adamek · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Part I and Conclusion are quite interesting, what falls in between strikes me as a bit tedious sort of argument. True enough, the paradigm change in Platonic studies is long overdue and the unwritten doctrines are to be taken seriously, although I wouldn't separate them from the more trivial stuff. The noble things are easier to swallow with the base.

[Santiago González · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro maravilloso, lectura 100% recomendada. Yo he hecho "trampas" y le he estado dando a chatgpt cada capítulo para un resumen pormenorizado. Ideas frescas y sugestivas, me parece de un alto valor y una teoría que realmente hace a Platón más comprensible. El análisis de diálogos como el Parménides me han parecido muy buenos. Extremadamente recomendado, Reale no defrauda.