Gregory Vlastos (; el, Γρηγόριος Βλαστός; July 27, 1907 – October 12, 1991) was a preeminent scholar of
ancient philosophy
This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history ().
Overview
Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures ...
, and author of many works on Plato and Socrates. He transformed the analysis of classical philosophy by applying techniques of modern
analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a branch and tradition of philosophy using analysis, popular in the Western world and particularly the Anglosphere, which began around the turn of the 20th century in the contemporary era in the United Kingdom, United Sta ...
to restate and evaluate the views of Socrates and Plato.
Life and works
Vlastos was born in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, to a
Scottish mother and a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
father, where he received a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Robert College
The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...
before moving to
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
where he received a
PhD in 1931. After teaching for several years at
Queen's University in
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
, Canada, he moved to
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in 1948. He was Stuart Professor of Philosophy at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
between 1955 and 1976, and then Mills Professor of Philosophy at
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
until 1987. He received a
MacArthur Foundation Fellowship
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...
in 1990.
[ He was twice awarded a ]Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
, was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
, a corresponding fellow of the British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
, and a member of the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.[An ''In memoriam'' essay](_blank)
In 1988 he gave the British Academy's Master-Mind Lecture. Vlastos died in 1991, before finishing a new compilation of essays on Socratic philosophy.
He is credited with bringing about a renaissance of interest in Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
among philosophers throughout the world. Many of Vlastos' students have become important scholars of ancient philosophy, including Terence Irwin
Terence Henry Irwin FBA (; born 21 April 1947), usually cited as T. H. Irwin, is a scholar and philosopher specializing in ancient Greek philosophy and the history of ethics (i.e., the history of Western moral philosophy in ancient, medieval, and ...
, Richard Kraut
Richard Kraut is the Charles and Emma Morrison Professor in the Humanities at Northwestern University. , Paul Woodruff
Paul Woodruff (born 1943) is a classicist, professor of philosophy, and dean at The University of Texas at Austin, where he once chaired the department of philosophy and has more recently held the Hayden Head Regents Chair as director of Plan II H ...
, and Alexander Nehamas
Alexander Nehamas ( el, Αλέξανδρος Νεχαμάς; born 22 March 1946) is a Greek-born American philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy and comparative literature and the Edmund N. Carpenter II Class of 1943 Professor in the Huma ...
.
Theory of Socratic philosophy
In his work ''The Philosophy of Socrates: a Collection of Critical Essays'' (UNDP 1971), Vlastos advanced the idea "that one can identify in certain Platonic dialogues a philosophical method and a collection of philosophical theses which may properly be attributed to Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
." He suggested a plausible modern analytic framework for Socratic philosophy as a pursuit distinct from Platonic philosophy. The dialogues of Plato’s Socratic period, called "elenctic
The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw ...
dialogues" for Socrates’s preferred method of questioning, are ''Apology'', ''Charmides'', ''Crito'', ''Euthyphro
''Euthyphro'' (; grc, Εὐθύφρων, translit=Euthyphrōn; c. 399–395 BC), by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue whose events occur in the weeks before the trial of Socrates (399 BC), between Socrates and Euthyphro. The dialogue covers subje ...
'', ''Gorgias'', '' Hippias Minor'', ''Ion'', ''Laches'', ''Protagoras'' and book 1 of the ''Republic''. The idea remains controversial[Aristotle, ''Metaphysics'', 1.98]
/ref>[ John_M._Cooper_(philosopher), Cooper, John M.; Hutchinson, D.S., eds. (1997): "Introduction", pp.xv-xvi, ]
Plato: Complete Works
/ref> and those who agree with his position are referred to as Vlastosians.[
]
Works
* ''Christian Faith and Democracy'', Association Press, 1939
* ''Platonic Studies'', Princeton University Press, 1973,
* ''Socrates, Ironist and Moral Philosopher'', Cornell University Press, 1991,
* Socratic Studies, Cambridge University Press, 1994,
1995 pbk reprint
* ''Studies in Greek Philosophy Volume I: the Presocratics'', Princeton University Press, 1995,
* ''Studies in Greek Philosophy; Volume II: Socrates, Plato, and Their Tradition'', Princeton University Press, 1995,
''Plato's Universe''
Parmenides Publishing, 2005,
Edited
* ''Towards the Christian Revolution'' - with R.B.Y. Scott, Willett, Clark & Company, 1936.
* ''Plato, a Collection of Critical Essays'': ''I, Metaphysics and Epistemology''; ''II, Ethics, Politics, and Philosophy of Art and Religion''. Anchor Books / Doubleday and Company, 1971
* ''Philosophy of Socrates: a Collection of Critical Essays'' (Modern Studies in Philosophy), University of Notre Dame Press, 1980,
See also
* Harold F. Cherniss
Harold Fredrik Cherniss (11 March 1904 – 18 June 1987) was an American classicist and historian of ancient philosophy. While at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, he was said to be "the country's foremost expert on Plato and Aristot ...
, for the Cherniss-Vlastos critique of the Tübingen School
* Vlastos Vlastos is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Sifis Vlastos (?), fifteenth century Cretan rebel
*Gregory Vlastos (1907–1991), scholar of ancient philosophy
*Kostia Vlastos
Kostia Vlastos (17 October 1883 – 28 October 19 ...
References
External links
*
Princeton University Department of Philosophy - Gregory Vlastos
Works of Gregory Vlastos on Philpapers.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlastos, Gregory
1907 births
1991 deaths
Greek classical scholars
Turkish emigrants to the United Kingdom
MacArthur Fellows
Turkish people of Greek descent
Robert College alumni
Harvard University alumni
Cornell University faculty
Princeton University faculty
University of California, Berkeley faculty
Greek scholars of ancient Greek philosophy
Christian philosophers
20th-century American historians
Academics from Istanbul
Canadian Christian socialists
Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy
Members of the American Philosophical Society
Constantinopolitan Greeks