University of Georgia
Department of Philosophy
PhD, 2001
CV
Arlington, Texas, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy
  •  24
    Standing in the Vestibule
    Ancient Philosophy 39 (2): 451-467. 2019.
    Proclus, an early figure in the tradition ascribing mathematical intermediates to Plato, has been neglected by more recent proponents of this interpretation. We argue that Proclus’ position should be reconsidered, for he anticipated significant problems arising from what has come to be the typical view of intermediates. To address these concerns, Proclus distinguishes between the intermediates studied in mathematics and the objects described by mathematical theorems.
  •  2
    The Socratic Method
    In Jeff Herr & Twyla Miranda (eds.), The Value of Academic Discourse, Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 3-22. 2017.
    The Socratic method has long been venerated for its ability to produce insightful and engaging academic discourse in the classroom. It has also been criticized, however, for encouraging an overly aggressive and, perhaps, combative teaching style, as well as for its potential stultifying and manipulative effect on students. Assessing its merits, though, is a difficult task, as there is little consensus as to what constitutes a successful application of the Socratic method. Addressing this issue r…Read more
  •  65
    Mathematics, Mental Imagery, and Ontology: A New Interpretation of the Divided Line
    International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 12 (2): 111-131. 2018.
    This paper presents a new interpretation of the objects of dianoia in Plato’s divided line, contending that they are mental images of the Forms hypothesized by the dianoetic reasoner. The paper is divided into two parts. A survey of the contemporary debate over the identity of the objects of dianoia yields three criteria a successful interpretation should meet. Then, it is argued that the mental images interpretation, in addition to proving consistent with key passages in the middle books of the…Read more
  •  1
    Dialectic in Plato's "Phaedo"
    Dissertation, University of Georgia. 2001.
    In this dissertation I propose a new method of interpreting Plato's Phaedo based upon Socrates' description of the "summoner" at Republic 522e--525a. I elucidate the summoner paradigm as a four step process in which one notices an apparent contradiction in perception, separates two opposites from one mixed perception, realizes the priority of the opposites, and recognizes their transcendence. In the Republic , its primary purpose is to move the subject from pistis to dianoia and from dianoia to …Read more
  •  1064
    Colloquium 6: When The Middle Comes Early: Puzzles And Perplexeties In Plato’s Dialogues
    Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium of Ancient Philosophy 28 (1): 187-209. 2013.
    In this paper I focus on the problem of accounting for apparent inconsistencies between Plato’s early and middle works. Developmentalism seeks to account for these variances by differentiating a Socratic philosophy in the early dialogues from a Platonic philosophy in the middle. In opposition to this position, I propose an alternative explanation: differences between these two groups are due to Plato’s depiction and use of middle period epistemology. I argue that, in the early dialogues, Plato d…Read more
  •  88
    The summoner approach: A new method of Plato interpretation
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 45 (3): 365-381. 2007.
    : The traditional "doctrinal" approach to interpreting Plato's dialogues has been criticized in recent literature on grounds that it can neither account for the structural complexities of the dialogues nor resolve conflicts within or between dialogues. Accordingly, a non-doctrinal, dramatic approach has been offered in its place. In response to this literature, I argue that, though the doctrinal approach is flawed, the non-doctrinal, dramatic approach does not provide a viable alternative. Inste…Read more