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258Forgiveness: A Philosophical ExplorationCambridge University Press. 2007.Nearly everyone has wronged another. Who among us has not longed to be forgiven? Who has not struggled to forgive? Charles Griswold has written the first comprehensive philosophical book on forgiveness in both its interpersonal and political contexts, as well as its relation to reconciliation. Having examined the place of forgiveness in ancient philosophy and in modern thought, he discusses what forgiveness is, what conditions the parties to it must meet, its relation to revenge and hatred, when…Read more
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123Debating Forgiveness: A Reply to My Critics (review)Philosophia 38 (3): 457-473. 2010.In this essay I offer a detailed reply to three critics (whose commentaries are included in this issue of Philosophia) of my Forgiveness: a Philosophical Exploration (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007). The topics explored include the nature and limits of forgiveness; its unconditional or conditional character; the problem of distinguishing between central and marginal cases; the analysis of political apology; and questions of philosophical methodology
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116The ideas and the criticism of poetry in Plato'sJournal of the History of Philosophy 19 (2): 135-150. 1981.
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108Self-Knowledge in Plato's PhaedrusPennsylvania State University Press. 1986.In this award-winning study of the _Phaedrus_, Charles Griswold focuses on the theme of "self-knowledge." Relying on the principle that form and content are equally important to the dialogue's meaning, Griswold shows how the concept of self-knowledge unifies the profusion of issues set forth by Plato. Included are a new preface and an updated comprehensive bibliography of works on the _Phaedrus_
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86Happiness, tranquillity, and philosophyCritical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society 10 (1): 1-32. 1996.Despite the near universal desire for happiness, relatively little philosophy has been done to determine what “happiness” means. In this paper I examine happiness (in the long‐term sense), and argue that it is best understood in terms of tranquillity. This is not merely “contentment.” Rather, happiness requires reflection—the kind of reflection characteristic of philosophy. Happiness is the product of correctly assessing its conditions, and like any assessment, one can be mistaken, and thus mist…Read more
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83The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Washington Mall: Philosophical Thoughts on Political IconographyCritical Inquiry 12 (4): 688-719. 1986.My reflections on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial were provoked some time ago in a quite natural way, by a visit to the memorial itself. I happened upon it almost by accident, a fact that is due at least in part to the design of the Memorial itself . I found myself reduced to awed silence, and I resolved to attend the dedication ceremony on November 13, 1982. It was an extraordinary event, without question the most moving public ceremony I have ever attended. But my own experience of the Memorial …Read more
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78Reading and writing PlatoPhilosophy and Literature 32 (1). 2008.In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reading and Writing PlatoCharles L. GriswoldThe Play of Character in Plato's Dialogues, by Ruby Blondell; 452 pp. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, $55.00Plato's Dialectic at Play: Argument, Structure, and Myth in theSymposium, by Kevin Corrigan and Elena Glazov-Corrigan; 266 pp. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2004, $25.00Questioning Platonism: Continental Interpretations of Plato, by Drew Hyland; ix…Read more
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76Irony in the Platonic DialoguesPhilosophy and Literature 26 (1): 84-106. 2002.In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Literature 26.1 (2002) 84-106 [Access article in PDF] Irony in the Platonic Dialogues Charles L. Griswold, Jr. I INTERPRETERS OF PLATO have arrived at a general consensus to the effect that there exists a problem of interpretation when we read Plato, and that the solution to the problem must in some way incorporate what has tendentiously been called the "literary" and the "philosophical" sides of Plato's writing. The p…Read more
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61Relying on Your Own VoiceReview of Metaphysics 53 (2): 283-307. 1999.PLATO’S Protagoras is composed of three distinct frames. The outer frame consists in Socrates’ brief discussion with an unnamed companion. The remainder of the Protagoras is willingly narrated by Socrates to the companion, from memory of course, and apparently right after the main action. The inner frame consists in Socrates’ dialogue with Hippocrates. Roused before dawn by the impetuous young man, Socrates leads Hippocrates to reflect on the wisdom of his enthusiastic desire to study with Prota…Read more
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58Platonic Writings/Platonic Readings (edited book)Pennsylvania State University Press. 1988.Originally published by Routledge in 1988, this pioneering collection of essays now features a new preface and updated bibliography by the editor, reflecting the most significant developments in Plato scholarship during the past decade
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49Soul, Form, and Indeterminacy in Plato’s Philebus and PhaedrusProceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 55 (n/a): 184-194. 1981.
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46Genealogical narrative and self-knowledge in Rousseau's Discourse on the Origin and the Foundations of Inequality among MenHistory of European Ideas 42 (2). 2016.SUMMARYWhy did Rousseau cast the substance of the Second Discourse in the form of a genealogy? In this essay the author attempts to work out the relation between the literary form of the Discourse's two main parts and the content. A key thesis of Rousseau's text concerns our lack of self-knowledge, indeed, our ignorance of our ignorance. The author argues that in a number of ways genealogical narrative is meant to respond to that lack. In the course of his discussion he comments on Rousseau's pu…Read more
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43Religion and community: Adam Smith on the virtues of libertyJournal of the History of Philosophy 35 (3): 395-419. 1997.Religion and Community: Adam Smith on the Virtues of Liberty CHARLES L. GRISWOLD, JR. The good temper and moderation of con- tending factions seems to be the most es- gential circumstance in the publick morals of a free people. Adam Smith' THE ARCHITECTS of what one might call "classical" or "Enlightenment" liberal- ism saw themselves as committed to refuting the claims to political sovereignty by organized religion. ~ The arguments against the legitimacy of a state- supported religion, and, in …Read more
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42Reflections on ‘Dialectic’ in Plato and HegelInternational Philosophical Quarterly 22 (3): 115-130. 1982.
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38Ancient Forgiveness: Classical, Judaic, and Christian (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2011.In this book, eminent scholars of classical antiquity and ancient and medieval Judaism and Christianity explore the nature and place of forgiveness in the pre-modern Western world. They discuss whether the concept of forgiveness, as it is often understood today, was absent, or at all events more restricted in scope than has been commonly supposed, and what related ideas may have taken the place of forgiveness. An introductory chapter reviews the conceptual territory of forgiveness and illuminate…Read more
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38Platon. Phèdre (suivi de La Pharmacie de Platon de Jacques Derrida), and: Plato. Phaedrus (review)Journal of the History of Philosophy 29 (3): 481-483. 1991.
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36Liberty and Compulsory Civil Religion in Rousseau’s Social ContractJournal of the History of Philosophy 53 (2): 271-300. 2015.
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31The Autonomous Male of Adam Smith, and: Adam Smith in His Times and Ours: Designing the Decent Society, and: Adam Smith: International PerspectivesJournal of the History of Philosophy 35 (4): 629-632. 1997.
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30Science and the Sciences in Plato (review)Review of Metaphysics 36 (2): 441-442. 1982.Almost everyone believes that the sciences have progressed tremendously since antiquity. It thus seems that only devout classicists would bother with the study of ancient science, not to mention with the study of ancient science as transfigured by characters in a Platonic dialogue. However, this transfiguration already mitigates the charge of irrelevance. For what may be true of empirical science is not necessarily true of the philosophy of science. Many of the same problems which preoccupy cont…Read more
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25Rhetoric and Ethics: Adam Smith on Theorizing about the Moral SentimentsPhilosophy and Rhetoric 24 (3). 1991.
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