Divide and Collect: Understanding Method in Plato

Project Information

DICTUM

Grant agreement ID: 750263

DOI

10.3030/750263

Project closed

EC signature date 22 February 2017

Start date 1 June 2017

End date 31 May 2019

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 208 400,40

EU contribution

€ 208 400,40

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN
Norway

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DICTUM (Divide and Collect: Understanding Method in Plato)

Reporting period: 2017-06-01 to 2019-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

DICTUM is a basic research project aimed at reexamining Plato’s ideals of philosophical method and, more specifically, his ideal of dialectical inquiry. Among contemporary Plato scholars there exists a near-universal consensus that Plato’s conception of dialectic changed radically through his philosophical career; according to this view it developed from a Socratic ideal of inquiry conducted through questions and answers that aimed at refuting false beliefs into an ideal of a hypothetical method aimed at disclosing the metaphysical foundation of reality and, finally, into an ideal of methodical inquiry directed at disclosing nature similar to an Aristotelian ideal of scientific procedure. The latter ideal, it is assumed, comes to expression in particular through two procedures commonly referred to as collection and division that supposedly characterize the later Plato’s ideal of rational inquiry.

In contrast, DICTUM has conducted its main inquiry on the basis of three assumptions:
i) Plato has a more or less unified conception of dialectical inquiry.
ii) Dialectical inquiry may be carried out through a number of complementary procedures that are unified by the fact that they are all directed at disclosing the nature of the objects under consideration.
iii) The procedures of collection and division are key to dialectical inquiry in general and throughout Plato’s dialogues, not because they are particularly technical or scientific procedures, as is commonly assumed, but because human reasoning and discourse in general depend on them.

The overall objectives of DICTUM have been to provide a radical re-interpretation of Plato’s ideals of philosophical inquiry and to stimulate fruitful discussion in the scholarly community by challenging widely held convictions about these ideals. Since Plato conceived of dialectic as the highest unfolding of human reason, the reinterpretation of dialectic and, in particular, of collection and division argued for in DICTUM also entails a re-evaluation of Plato’s ideal of reason and rationality. Since Plato’s ideals of reason and rationality have been, and continues to be, a reference point for many philosophical and scientific traditions, a re-interpretation of these ideals also offers the opportunity to reach greater clarity about the lasting importance and relevance of these traditions.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

DICTUM has resulted in five scientific articles, a lecture series, an international conference, two workshops, several lectures presented by DICTUM’s primary investigator, Dr. Kristian Larsen, at various universities, as well as a number of outreach activities.

DICTUM’s first article was submitted in July 2017 and published by *Agora* in December 2017. The second article was submitted in November 2017 and will be published in *Ancient Philosophy* in 2020. The third article was submitted in April 2018 and was published in *Études Platoniciennes* in May 2019. The fourth article was submitted in December 2018 and is currently under review for *Polis*. The fifth article is currently being prepared for submission to *Phronesis*.

The lecture series, which has included 8 lectures, comprised lectures by DICTUM’s primary investigator, Dr. Kristian Larsen, and lectures by Prof. H. Ausland (University of Montana), Dr. J. L. Fink (University of Gothenburg), Dr. Chr. Roser (Humbold University of Berlin), Prof. C. Rowett (University of East Anglia), and Prof. V. Politis (Trinity College Dublin). The lecture series concentrated on Platonic dialectic and its historical context and was held at the University of Bergen.

DICTUM’s conference took place in May/June 2018 (3 days) at the University of Bergen and included 12 presenters from various universities across the world. The group of presenters included both well-established and up-an-coming scholars and was well balanced with regard to gender. The conference addressed the question whether or not a more unified conception of Platonic dialectic could be argued for. Two workshops held at the University of Bergen had served as preparation for the conference.

In addition to several presentations at the University of Bergen, Dr. Larsen has presented various aspects of his research during DICTUM at Södertörn University (Sweden), Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), Loyola University Chicago (USA), and University of Fribourg (Switzerland), and he has presented his project and research in more popular form through various outreach activities such as a radio interview, a presentation at the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions celebration event “20 Years-100 000 Fellows” in Brussels, presentations at Trinity College Dublin, and a MSCA master class at the University of Bergen.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Through its publications, lectures, and international conference, DICTUM has challenged scholars to reconsider Plato’s ideals of dialectical inquiry and, in particular, the role the procedures of collection and division play in such inquiry. Through its scientific articles DICTUM has sought to corroborate the following claims:

i) Collection and division are, according to Plato, central to human thought and discourse in general.

ii) Collection and division are utilized throughout Plato’s dialogues, including dialogues that are now commonly held to be Socratic or early such as the Gorgias.

iii) A specific dialectical use of collection and division is set apart from a more general or common use of them by the fact that it is aimed specifically at revealing the nature of the object sought disclosed through collection and division.

iv) The nature of an object of dialectical inquiry may be explicated in part through collection and division, but it cannot be arrived at exclusively through these procedures.

v) In contrast to what many scholars assume, considerations of worth and value, central to Plato’s conception of philosophy as a way of life directed at securing human happiness and good political rule, are not dismissed in the dialectical use of collection and division, but rather supported by it.

These claims in conjunction challenge scholars working on Plato’s ideals of reason, rationality, and philosophical inquiry to reconsider what these ideals truly entail about Platonic philosophy. Since DICTUM has resulted in several publications in well-esteemed scientific journals as well as in lectures at important scientific institutions and venues, DICTUM is highly likely to have a long-term effect on the scholarly community.

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