Forms, dialectics and the healthy community: the British idealists' receptions of Plato

Tyler, Colin

Abstract

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH. All rights reserved. This article counters the dominant misinterpretations of the British idealists' readings of Plato, thereby fundamentally undermining the current historiography of Plato's modern reception in the English-speaking world. Section one introduces the topic, before section two explores the British idealists' celebration of Plato. Section three argues against the fundamental assumption of the current historiography: that the British idealists were dogmatic Neo-Platonic Hegelians. Rather, while the British idealists recognised Plato's sometimes dogmatic formulations of the forms, they saw greater philosophical value in his "searching" texts. They appreciated the provisional, inchoate character of human conceptualisations of the forms and emphasised our responsibility to test them. Section four highlights the British idealists' recognition of Plato's literary turn. Section five demonstrates that, contrary to the received view of Plato scholars, the British idealists themselves were egalitarians who prioritised personal virtue, decentralised debate and local self-determination. I conclude that the British idealists interpreted Plato in ways that differed significantly from Jowett and the current historiography.

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Publication Date: Mar 7, 2018
• Journal: Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie
• Print ISSN: 0003-9101
• Electronic ISSN: 1613-0650
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 100
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 76-105
• APA6 Citation: Tyler, C. (2018). Forms, dialectics and the healthy community: the British idealists' receptions of Plato. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, 100(1), 76-105. doi:10.1515/agph-2018-0004
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/agph-2018-0004
• Keywords: Plato
• Publisher URL: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/agph.2018.100.issue-1/agph-2018-0004/agph-2018-0004.xml
• Copyright Statement: © 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston