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The Dialectic of Essence : A Study of Plato's Metaphysics by Allan Jay Silverman is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

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The Dialectic of Essence offers a systematic new account of Plato's metaphysics. Allan Silverman argues that the best way to make sense of the metaphysics as a whole is to examine carefully what Plato says about ousia (essence) from the Meno through the middle period dialogues, the Phaedo and the Republic , and into several late dialogues including the Parmenides , the Sophist , the Philebus , and the Timaeus . This book focuses on three fundamental facets of the metaphysics: the theory of Forms; the nature of particulars; and Plato's understanding of the nature of metaphysical inquiry. Silverman seeks to show how Plato conceives of "Being" as a unique way in which an essence is related to a Form. Conversely, partaking ("having") is the way in which a material particular is related to its properties: Particulars, thus, in an important sense lack essence. Additionally, the author closely analyzes Plato's idea that the relation between Forms and particulars is mediated by form-copies. Even when some late dialogues provide a richer account of particulars, Silverman maintains that particulars are still denied essence. Indeed, with the Timaeus's introduction of the recepta

Who reads The Dialectic of Essence : A Study of Plato's Metaphysics?

Author

Allan Jay Silverman

Publisher

Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press

Published

2002

Language

EN

ISBN

9780691091785

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

Science, Philosophy, History

Rating

3.67 / 5 (3 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14