Gregory Vlastos (; ; July 27, 1907 – October 12, 1991) was a preeminent scholar of ancient philosophy, and author of many works on Plato and Socrates. He transformed the analysis of classical philosophy by applying techniques of modern

analytic philosophy Analytic philosophy is a broad movement within Western philosophy, especially English-speaking world, anglophone philosophy, focused on analysis as a philosophical method; clarity of prose; rigor in arguments; and making use of formal logic, mat ...

to restate and evaluate the views of Socrates and Plato.

Life and career

Vlastos was born in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, to a Scottish mother and a Greek father, where he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from Robert College before moving to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where he received a PhD in 1931. After teaching for several years at Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, Canada, he moved to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1948. He was Stuart Professor of Philosophy at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

between 1955 and 1976. Upon his retirement from Princeton, he became Mills Professor of Philosophy at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

until 1987. He received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1990. He was twice awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, was a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, a corresponding fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

, and a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

.An ''In memoriam'' essay
In 1988 he gave the British Academy's Master-Mind Lecture. Vlastos died in 1991, before finishing a new compilation of essays on Socratic philosophy.

Philosophical work

Vlastos is credited with bringing about a renaissance of interest in

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

among philosophers throughout the world. Many of Vlastos' students have become important scholars of ancient philosophy, including Terence Irwin, Richard Kraut, Paul Woodruff, and Alexander Nehamas.

Theory of Socratic philosophy

In his work ''The Philosophy of Socrates: a Collection of Critical Essays'' (UNDP 1971), Vlastos advanced the idea "that one can identify in certain Platonic dialogues a philosophical method and a collection of philosophical theses which may properly be attributed to

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

." He suggested a plausible modern analytic framework for Socratic philosophy as a pursuit distinct from Platonic philosophy. The dialogues of Plato’s Socratic period, called " elenctic dialogues" for Socrates’s preferred method of questioning, are ''Apology'', ''Charmides'', ''Crito'', ''

Euthyphro ''Euthyphro'' (; ), is a philosophical work by Plato written in the form of a Socratic dialogue set during the weeks before the trial of Socrates in 399 BC. In the dialogue, Socrates and Euthyphro attempt to establish a definition of '' piet ...

'', ''Gorgias'', '' Hippias Minor'', ''Ion'', ''Laches'', ''Protagoras'' and book 1 of the ''Republic''. The idea remains controversialAristotle, ''Metaphysics'', 1.98

/ref> John_M._Cooper_(philosopher), Cooper, John M.; Hutchinson, D.S., eds. (1997): "Introduction", pp.xv-xvi,
Plato: Complete Works
/ref> and those who agree with his position are referred to as Vlastosians.

Works

* ''Christian Faith and Democracy'', Association Press, 1939. * ''The Philosophy of Socrates: A Collection of Critical Essays'', University of Notre Dame Press, 1971. * ''Platonic Studies'', Princeton University Press, 1973,
1981, 2nd edition, pbk
* ''Plato's Universe'', Claredon Press, 1975. * ''Socrates, Ironist and Moral Philosopher'', Cornell University Press, 1991, * ''Socratic Studies'', Cambridge University Press, 1994,
1995 pbk reprint
* ''Studies in Greek Philosophy Volume I: the Presocratics'', Princeton University Press, 1995, * ''Studies in Greek Philosophy; Volume II: Socrates, Plato, and Their Tradition'', Princeton University Press, 1995,

Edited

* ''Towards the Christian Revolution'' - with R.B.Y. Scott, Willett, Clark & Company, 1936. * ''Plato, a Collection of Critical Essays'': ''I, Metaphysics and Epistemology''; ''II, Ethics, Politics, and Philosophy of Art and Religion''. Anchor Books / Doubleday and Company, 1971 * ''The Philosophy of Socrates: a Collection of Critical Essays'', Anchor, 1971. New ed., (Modern Studies in Philosophy), University of Notre Dame Press, 1980,

References

External links

*
Princeton University Department of Philosophy - Gregory Vlastos

Works of Gregory Vlastos on Philpapers.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlastos, Gregory 1907 births 1991 deaths Greek classical scholars Turkish emigrants to the United States MacArthur Fellows Turkish people of Greek descent Robert College alumni Harvard University alumni Cornell University faculty Princeton University faculty University of California, Berkeley faculty Plato scholars Christian philosophers 20th-century American historians Academics from Istanbul Canadian Christian socialists Corresponding fellows of the British Academy Members of the American Philosophical Society Constantinopolitan Greeks