How Plato appropriated the pilgrimâs theôria into his own philosophy has been the subject of many noble and insightful studies. When Plato took up this concept, he launched an understanding that would have a very long life in classical philosophy: the idea that doing philosophy itself has an essentially contemplative character was now explicitly formulated. But this only leads us to the next question: according to Plato, what is the nature of this contemplation as a form of cognition? How does philosophy, understood as theôria and as a cognitive activity, relate to other forms of cognitionâperception, memory, recollection, imagination, and emotion? The essays collected in this book explore the nature of theôria as cognition, while also taking into account the metaphors, dramatic settings, and cultural background that frame Platoâs dialogues, showing it to be not only a âway of lifeâ but also a form of knowledge.
Mauro Bonazzi is Professor of History of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Bologna. Among his recent publications are: The Sophists (Cambridge University Press, 2020), Platonism. A Concise History from the Early Academy to Late Antiquity (Cambridge University Press, 2023).
Elisabetta Cattanei is Full Professor of History of Ancient Philosophy at the Catholic University in Milan. Her publications focus on the relation between mathematics and philosophy especially in Plato, Aristotle, Alexander of Aphrodisias and Proclus.
This volume is of interest to scholars and students in the history of ideas, ancient Greek studies, philosophy, classics, and especially those interested in Platoâs epistemology and theory of the soul. It will also engage general readers across the humanities.