The Unity of Plato’s Sophist

Plato’s later dialogue, the Sophist, is deemed one of the greatest works in the history of philosophy, but scholars have been shy of confronting the central problem of the dialogue. For Plato, defining the sophist is the basic philosophical problem: any inquirer must face the ‘sophist within us’ in order to secure the very possibility of dialogue, and of philosophy, against sophistic counterattack. Examining the connection between the large and difficult philosophical issues discussed in the Sophist (appearance, image, falsehood, and ‘what is not’) in relation to the basic problem of defining the sophist, Dr Notomi shows how Plato struggles with and solves all these problems in a single line of inquiry. His interpretation of the whole dialogue finally reveals how the philosopher should differ from the sophist.

• Provides an interpretation of an important Platonic dialogue • Reveals how Plato thought the philosopher should differ from the sophist • Vital for Platonic scholars and philosophers too

Preface; Notes and abbreviations; Division of the Sophist; 1. How to read the Sophist; 2. The sophist and the philosopher; 3. How the sophist appears; 4. Analysis of the structure of appearance; 5. Appearance and image; 6. The sophistic counter-attack on philosophy; 7. The philosophic defence against sophistry; 8. The final definition of the sophist; Bibliography; Index locorum; General index.