The Advent of Pluralism: Diversity and Conflict in the Age of Sophocles (Oxford Classical Monographs)

The Advent of Pluralism explores how the philosophical position of pluralism - the idea, made famous by Isaiah Berlin, that values and moral codes can and will come into conflict with one another - has clear and important roots in the Classical Greek world. The book falls into three parts each of which focuses on one author and the ways in which pluralism manifests itself in his particular genre. Part I is concerned with the sophist Protagoras, who was one of the world's first philosophers and arguably the first exponent of the idea that there can be more than one perspective on truth. Part II looks at pluralism in historical writing, contrasting the methodological and moral styles of the two best-known Greek historians, Thucydides and Herodotus. Part III, on conflict in the tragedies of Sophocles, uses pluralism as a context in which to make sense of the horrible choices the playwright so powerfully dramatizes. Overall, Lauren Apfels' study identifies a pluralist temper of thought in the age of Sophocles and, in doing so, offers an enriched understanding of this crucial intellectual period. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 12 Note on translations......Page 16 1. Pluralism in history......Page 18 A. The Greeks and us......Page 20 B. Appropriating the past......Page 22 C. Pluralisms?......Page 24 3. What is pluralism?......Page 25 A. Plurality and conflict......Page 27 B. Incommensurability and loss......Page 29 C. Three concepts of objectivity......Page 34 D. The rejection of an ideal life......Page 40 4. The one and the many in early Greek thought......Page 41 A. In pre-Socratic philosophy......Page 42 B. From cosmos to anthrōpos......Page 46 C. In Archaic poetry......Page 48 5. Plato and a tradition of scholarship......Page 51 A. Champions of the sophists......Page 52 B. The relevance of Plato......Page 55 C. Broad aims......Page 58 PART ONE: PROTAGORAS......Page 60 1. Two paradigm shifts......Page 62 2. The many measures of alētheia......Page 64 3. The many sides of logos......Page 69 4. Protagorean ‘-ism’s: objectivity and conflict......Page 74 5. Conclusion......Page 93 1. Dramatic introduction......Page 96 2. The Great Speech......Page 102 3. The unity of virtue(s)......Page 110 4. Hedonism, Commensurability, and the metrikē technē......Page 116 5. The poem of Simonides......Page 126 6. Conclusion......Page 128 PART TWO: HERODOTUS......Page 130 1. How can history be pluralist?......Page 132 2. A man of multiple influences......Page 142 3. Thucydides: monism and method......Page 155 1. Herodotus’ approach to history......Page 177 2. Herodotus on moral dilemma......Page 196 3. Herodotus on moral disagreement......Page 208 PART THREE: SOPHOCLES......Page 224 1. Pluralism and tragic conflict......Page 226 2. Homer on conflict and incommensurability......Page 230 3. Tragedy and tragic conflict......Page 251 1. Sophocles and Homer......Page 257 2. Ajax: heroism and monism......Page 260 3. From dilemma to disagreement......Page 274 4. Ajax and the other plays......Page 289 1. Antigone: three conflicts......Page 291 2. Electra: three more conflicts......Page 304 IX. Philoctetes: moral complexity......Page 328 1. Odysseus......Page 329 2. Philoctetes and the monism of hatred......Page 340 3. Neoptolemus: A break from heroism......Page 351 4. Heracles: conclusion versus resolution......Page 362 Bibliography......Page 366 C......Page 392 H......Page 393 N......Page 394 P......Page 395 T......Page 396 Z......Page 397 This book is concerned with the relationship between a modern philosophical idea and an ancient historical moment. It explores how the notion of pluralism, made famous by Isaiah Berlin, may be seen to feature in the Classical Greek world and, more specifically, in the thought of three of its most prominent figures: Protagoras, Herodotus, and Sophocles. The book falls into three parts, each of which considers one of these authors in detail and investigates how the core aspects of pluralism — diversity, conflict, and incommensurability — manifest themselves in a particular literary arena. Part One illustrates, through an analysis of two of his fragments and the portrait of him from Plato's Protagoras , that the sophist Protagoras held that perspectives on truth and value could be plural, while retaining a degree of objectivity that distinguishes his position from relativism. Part Two turns attention towards the ways in which historical writing can be understood in pluralist terms. It portrays Thucydides as an exemplar of a monistic historical style in deliberate contrast to Herodotus. It then examines how ideas of diversity and conflict figure in Herodotus' Histories in a variety of methodological and moral contexts. Part Three focuses on conflict in Sophocles. It argues that pluralist messages emerge from four of his tragedies, in which a certain kind of hero and a certain kind of ethical disagreement are present. These features of Ajax, Antigone, Electra , and Philoctetes are related to the Homeric moral patterns from which their meaning in large part derives. The overall aim of the book is to identify a pluralist temper of thought in the age of Sophocles and, in doing so, to offer an enriched understanding of this crucial intellectual period In This Study Of The Relationship Between A Modern Philosophical Idea And An Ancient Historical Moment, Lauren Apfel Explores How The Notion Of Pluralism, Made Famous By Isaiah Berlin, Features In The Classical Greek World And, More Specifically, In The Thought Of Three Of Its Most Prominent Figures: Protagoras Herodotus, And Sophocles. Introduction : Pluralism And The Greeks -- Pluralism And Protagoras : The Plurality Of Truth -- Plato's Protagoras : The Plurality Of Value In The Sophistic Age -- Pluralism And History -- Pluralism In The Histories -- Pluralism And Tragedy -- Ajax : Moral Certainty -- Antigone And Electra : Moral Conflict -- Philoctetes : Moral Complexity. By Lauren J. Apfel. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [349]-373) And Index.