•  65
    The Problem of Motion in Plato's "Phaedo"
    Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy 17 (2): 275-300. 2013.
    This paper examines the relationship between participation and motion with respect to the natural philosophy of the "Phaedo". Aristotle’s criticism of participation and its failure to account for motion shows the relevance of the dialogue to this problem. Challenging Aristotle’s critique, I interpret the "Phaedo" as offering a possible solution to the question of how forms cause motion in material beings. The verb ὀρέγεσθαι at 65c8, 75a2, and 75b1, together with the active ὀρέγειν at 117b2, grou…Read more
  •  40
    Madness, Art, and the End of History
    Philosophy Today 52 (Supplement): 158-167. 2008.
  •  33
    Aither and the Four Roots in Empedocles
    Research in Phenomenology 44 (2): 170-193. 2014.
    This paper surveys the meaning of aither in Empedocles. Since Aristotle, Empedoclean aither has been generally considered synonymous with air and understood anachronistically in terms of its Aristotelian conception as hot and wet. In critiquing this interpretation, the paper first examines the meaning of “air” in Empedocles, revealing scant and insignificant use of the term. Next, the ancient controversy of Empedocles’ “four roots” is recast from the perspective that aither, rather than air, des…Read more
  •  18
    Colloquium 3 Unqualified Generation in Aristotle’s Natural Philosophy
    Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium of Ancient Philosophy 29 (1): 77-106. 2014.
    This paper examines the divergent accounts of generation in Physics I and On Generation and Corruption. While the former concerns an unqualified and absolute generation of substance from not-substance, the latter describes the unqualified and simple generation of the elements from each other. In each of these texts, an unusual instance of ὀρέγεσθαι appears in Aristotle’s analysis, regarding the unqualified generation of substance at Phys. I 9, 192a18 and 19, and the cyclical transformation of th…Read more
  •  16
    Parataxis in Anaxagoras
    Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy 21 (2): 273-288. 2017.
    This paper examines parataxis and ring composition in Anaxagoras Fragment B4a, arguing that this ostensibly prose philosopher employs these poetic techniques to capture his thought. Comparing the fragment with Homeric similes and his description of Achilles’s Shield from Ililad XVIII reveals an immanent poetics within the Anaxagorean text. Lying between two instances of "πολλά τε καὶ παντοῖα" (many things of all kinds) most of fragment constitutes a single sentence. Such ring composition advises…Read more
  •  12
    Madness and Politeia
    Philosophy Today 50 (Supplement): 12-21. 2006.
  •  10
    Madness and Politeia
    Philosophy Today 50 (Supplement): 12-21. 2006.