Symposium Platonicum XIII: The Sophist
July 18-22, 2022 | Athens, GA, USA
The Venue
The International Plato Society organizes a symposium on a single Platonic dialogue every three years. We are pleased to announce the XIII Symposium Platonicum: Plato’s Sophist.
The Symposium will take place July 18–22, 2022, at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, USA. Submissions on any aspect of the dialogue, including its Presocratic sources and later reception, will be considered.
Plato’s Sophist was, arguably, the most important Platonic dialogue for mid-20th century philosophy. Anglo-American analytic philosophers looked to it to come to understand Plato’s philosophy of language. Continental philosophers, inspired by Heidegger’s beginning Being and Time with a quotation from the Sophist, looked to the dialogue to wrestle with Plato’s notion of being. Not surprisingly, each group found a rich field from which to pursue their mostly non-overlapping interests. Both sides did agree on the importance of language in the dialogue. However, as if they were re-enacting a portion of the dialogue, they waged a kind of battle of gods and giants against each other. Now that the barriers between these approaches have begun to break down and interests, on all sides, have broadened, it is time for a new, 21st century look at this puzzling and interesting dialogue. The dialogue raises many issues that can be fruitfully explored. Besides questions about the nature and possibility of language, there are issues about definitions, truth, diaresis, interweaving, the five megista gene, separate form, the nature of images, non-being, being, dunamis, the motions of forms, and many, many more. We welcome submissions of high quality from these and all other perspectives.
The International Plato Society is grateful for support from:
Jere Morehead, President, University of Georgia
Office of the Provost, University of Georgia
Vice President for Research, University of Georgia
Willson Center for the Humanities and Arts
Scott and Heather Kleiner Lecture Series
The Department of Philosophy, University of Georgia
The Cornelia de Vogel Foundation
FAQ and Contact
Hotel Information
[N.B. – Neither ehotelservices.org nor expo hotel services has any connection to the IPS or our Symposium. Please refer solely to the information below:]
We have arranged special International Plato Society rates at four hotels (in maroon on the map, below) that are each a short walk from the main conference venue at the Terry School of Business (in black on the map). Make sure you request the IPS rate when booking your room. Make requests for special needs directly to the hotel. Breakfast is not included in the rates, though it is available if requested. The Groome shuttle from the Atlanta airport stops at each of these hotels if requested. It makes 24 round trips/day between Athens and the airport. For more information see: https://groometransportation.com/athens/.
On the attached map, all of these hotels are north of the Conference site. The distances look long than they are. Summer temperatures can be hot. Holiday Inn and SpringHill Suites are the shortest walk. Indigo may have a shuttle but there is no regular service. The Terry School of Business is a large complex between Hull St and Lumpkin St. Our rooms are towards the south end of the complex towards Baxter St. Make your way to Casey Commons for check in.
- Hilton Garden Inn, Downtown Athens, 390 E. Washington St, Athens, GA
- 706-353-6800 – Rate: $109/night +$5 state fee + tax – Parking: $9.95/night – Reserve before 6/23/2022
- Special discount rate link
- Holiday Inn Express Athens, 513 W. Broad Street, Athens, GA 30601
- 706-546-8122 – Rate: $94/night+$5 state fee – Parking: $5/night – Reserve before 6/23/2022
- Hotel Indigo Athens, 500 College Ave, Athens, GA 30601
- 706-546-0430 – Rate: $99/night+$5 state fee + tax – Parking: $10.00/night – Reserve before 6/24/2022 – Non-Smoking Only
- Spring Hill Suites Campus Hotel, 220 S. Hull Street, Athens, GA
- 706-850-2072 – Rate: 114/night+$5 state fee + tax – Parking: $10.00/night – Reserve before 6/23/2022
- Special discount rate link (for check-on on Jul. 17/check-out Jul. 23)
Travel Information
The closest airport to Athens is in Atlanta, GA. Groome Transportation has hourly shuttle service directly from the airport to the center of Athens, including conference-affiliated hotels. You can book a reservation at Groome Transportation’s website.
The cost of the Groome shuttle is about half of an Uber fare. Hence, if you are traveling with someone else, consider an Uber. If there are three of you traveling together, definitely take an Uber. To reach the pickup point for an Uber, go to the side of the airport that is called the North Terminal, go down one level from the baggage claim/ticketing level, walk out the door, at the far left side of the building cross into the parking lot and walk straight until you see the Uber sign on your left.
Contact
Queries about the conference should be sent to president@platosociety.org.
Every inquiries should be sent to symposiumplatonicum13@gmail.com
Click here for instructions.
- Professor Aaron Meskin, Head of Philosophy at UGA, writes about restaurants and bars in Athens on his blog:
- Prof. Meskin also recommends these articles about entertainment in Athens:
- Here are more the ones that are specifically on music and music venues in Athens:
Public Transportation in Athens is Free—but infrequent. You can download a free app that tells you not only the routes, but where each bus is and when it will arrive at your stop. https://www.accgov.com/10106/Transit