Plato on Knowledge and Forms: Selected Essays

Plato on Knowledge and Forms brings together a set of connected essays by Fine, written over a period of twenty-five years, on Plato's metaphysics and epistemology. It also includes a previously unpublished introductory essay, which pulls together connected threads, responds to some criticisms of the original essays, and revises or modifies some of her earlier views. The essays cover a broad range of Plato's works, from the Meno to the Theaetetus. Fine discusses his views on the nature of knowledge; on how knowledge differs from belief and from true belief; and on the extent of knowledge (whether, for example, knowledge is restricted to forms ). She also asks whether forms are particulars and/or universals; whether they are separate and/or immanent; and whether they are causes. Several essays consider connections between Plato's metaphysics and epistemology; and some essays compare Plato's metaphysics with Aristotle's. She also addresses some issues in philosophy of language, such as Plato's views on the correctness of names in the Cratylus. The result is a synoptic view of some of Plato's most basic and enduring ideas about knowledge and reality. This volume showcases a quarter century of work by one of the most respected scholars in this field, and will reward the attention of anyone interested in Plato or in ancient metaphysics and epistemology.