Interpreting Plato Socratically

J. Angelo Corlett¿s new book, Interpreting Plato Socratically continues the critical discussion of the Platonic Question where Corlett¿s book, Interpreting Platös Dialogues concluded. New arguments in favor of the Mouthpiece Interpretation of Platös works are considered and shown to be fallacious, as are new objections to some competing approaches to Platös works. The Platonic Question is the problem of how to approach and interpret Platös writings most of which are dialogues. How, if at all, can Platös beliefs, doctrines, theories and such be extracted from dialogues where there is no direct indication from Plato that his own views are even to be found therein? Most philosophers of Plato attempt to decipher from Platös texts seemingly all manner of ideas expressed by Socrates which they then attribute to Plato. They seek to ascribe to Plato particular views about justice, art, love, virtue, knowledge, and the like because, they believe, Socrates is Platös mouthpiece through the dialogues. But is such an approach justified? What are the arguments in favor of such an approach? Is there a viable alternative approach to Platös dialogues? In this rigorous account of the dominant approach to Platös dialogues, there is no room left for reasonable doubt about the problematic reasons given for the notion that Platös dialogues reveal either Platös or Socrates¿ beliefs, doctrines or theories about substantive philosophical matters. Corlett¿s approach to Platös dialogues is applied to a variety of passages throughout Platös works on a wide range of topics concerning justice. In-depth discussions of themes such as legal obligation, punishment and compensatory justice are clarified and with some surprising results. Platös works serve as a rich source of philosophical thinking about such matters. A central question in today¿s Platonic studies is whether Socrates, or any other protagonist in the dialogues, presents viewsthat the author wanted to assert or defend. Professor Corlett offers a detailed defense of his view that the role of Socrates is to raise questions rather than to provide the author¿s answers to them. This defense is timely as intellectual historians consider the part played by Academic scholars centuries after Plato in systematizing Platonism. J. J. Mulhern, University of Pennsylvania