•  261
    Interpreting Plato’s Republic: Knowledge and Belief
    Philosophy Compass 5 (10): 854-864. 2010.
    A distinction between knowledge and belief is set out and justified at the end of Book V of Plato’s Republic. The justification is intended to establish the claim of the philosophers to rule in an ideal state. I set out the argument and explain why considerable disagreement remains about the nature of the distinction and the assumptions on which it rests. I discuss the main options for interpreting the justification, briefly assessing their strengths and weaknesses. I conclude with comments on r…Read more
  •  2
  • Dialectic and Disagreement in the Hippias Major
    Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 38 1-35. 2010.
    There are two different approaches to the Hippias Major. The first emphasises its conformity to a pattern, with the aim of uncovering a single argumentative structure common to several ‘Socratic’ dialogues. The second approach emphasises elements specific to the Hippias Major, including dramatic features such as character, with the aim of finding the best reading of the dialogue taken individually. I make use of the second approach to show that a careful reading of the dialogue by itself does no…Read more