MIDTERM MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL PLATO SOCIETY

EMORY UNIVERSITY ATLANTA, GEORGIA,
USA MARCH 13-15, 2015

PLATONIC MORAL REALISM

The committee invites papers on Plato’s and the Platonic tradition’s positions on the philosophical thesis that values—such as goodness or justice—are objective. The metaphysical thesis that such “Forms” as the Good or the Just enjoy an existence independent of human opinions or social arrangements is generally taken to entail the objectivity of certain human values. Possible paper topics include the metaphysical grounding for these values or for the virtues, method(s) of discovering and explicating the nature of moral values and virtues, and the means of coming to possess or partake in them. Further, was Plato able to answer the Sophists’ arguments for moral relativism? Does he have conceptual resources to answer the arguments of contemporary relativists? We construe the subject broadly and will consider papers on any Platonic dialogue or any work from the Platonic tradition. We hope to receive submissions from a wide variety of philosophical perspectives.

Plenary speaker: Luc Brisson, Sarah Waterlow Broadie, John M. Rist.

Parallels Sessions : Papers of 30 minutes, followed by discussion of 15 minutes.

Abstracts of no more than 500 words to be sent to Richard D. Parry, P.O.Box 1111, Agnes Scott College, Decatur GA 30030 USA. Email: rparry[at]agnesscott.edu

Deadline: september 1, 2014 // Expected notification of acceptance: december 1, 2014.

Institutional sponsors: Emory University, University of Georgia, Agnes Scott College.

Other conference organizers: Richard Patterson, Emory University; Edward Halper, University of Georgia.