“Forming the Soul: Plato and his Opponents”

20~22 April 2018, Taipei

The 2nd Asia Regional Meeting of the International Plato Society

International Conference

One must study the nature of the soul in order to practice true rhetoric, as Plato reveals in the Phaedrus. In 2014, we had the first Asia Regional Meeting of the International Plato Society (IPS) in Yokohama, with the theme “Plato and Rhetoric.”

This time, we move from rhetoric to the soul (ψυχή) and ask: What is the soul? Does the soul take many forms? How does the soul act and how is it acted upon? Which kind of soul is affected by which kind of speech, and in which way? Discussions of the soul are spread throughout Plato’s dialogues. They are concerned not only with the form(s) of the soul but also with ways of forming the soul. This is not only Plato’s concern, but also that of his opponents, such as Isocrates and Aristotle. In this conference, we would like to survey Plato’s psychology (moral or cognitive), including effects of educational or political influences on the soul, and the epistemic or aesthetic capacities of the soul, as well as relevant criticisms from other Greek thinkers.

This is a regional meeting endorsed by the International Plato Society (IPS). However, the conference welcomes submissions from every area of the globe. We invite proposals for papers of approximately 3,000 words in English (20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for discussion). Please submit titles and abstracts to 2018asia.ips@gmail.com by December 10, 2017. Submitters will be notified of the decision around the end of the year.