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Drew A. Hyland
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Finitude and Transcendence in the Platonic Dialogu (Suny Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy)

by Drew A. Hyland (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 2 ratings
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Drew A. Hyland is Charles A. Dana Professor of Philosophy at Trinity College.
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  1. ISBN-10
    079142510X
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0791425107
  3. Publisher
    State University of New York Press
  4. Publication date
    August 10, 1995
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    5.33 x 0.52 x 8.5 inches
  7. Print length
    230 pages
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Professor Hyland's thesis is that finitude, and the response to finitude that he calls 'finite transcendence, ' is an informing theme of the Platonic dialogues. This important observation is confirmed in the course of seven chapters that treat distinct yet related features of some of the most familiar dialogues. The first chapter's discussion of the significance of place in the dialogues is provocative and original, and immediately engages the reader's interest. Subsequent chapters fill out the theme of finitude in a way that prepares the reader to be thoroughly persuaded by Hyland's discussion of his striking claim that Heidegger failed to provide a Heideggerian interpretation of Plato. Indeed, the success of Chapter 6--which I take to be the rhetorical culmination of the book--is a measure of the success of the book as a whole. Professor Hyland is a distinguished teacher, and his book will appeal to the next generation of scholars--today's graduate and undergraduate students--as well as to his peers in the academy." --Jacob A. Howland, University of Tulsa

"Hyland argues in a clear and spirited way for an interpretive stance toward Plato that stresses the form and irony of the dialogues and the view these imply of the human condition. The form and irony of the dialogues are generally neglected in Plato scholarship, for the most part because our mainstream tradition of philosophical analysis does not prepare us to read in a way that takes context as seriously as concepts and arguments. Often, however, even those who take dialogue form as a pathway to the content of this or that particular text neglect the substantive significance, in its various aspects, of dialogue form itself. There are particularly interesting discussions of the structure of irony in the dialogues, of affinities of the view of the human condition in the dialogues with those to be found in tragedy and comedy, and of thematic analogies, missed by Heidegger himself, between his interpretation of aletheia and the way meaning emerges for a sensitive reader of the dialogues." -- Mitchell Miller, Vassar College

About the Author

Drew A. Hyland is Charles A. Dana Professor of Philosophy at Trinity College.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ State University of New York Press (August 10, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 230 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 079142510X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0791425107
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.33 x 0.52 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 2 ratings

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Drew A. Hyland

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Dan
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2022
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This is by far the best book on Plato I have read. It teaches us how to READ Plato, in a way that makes him a much more provocative and evocative thinker than traditionally assumed. The chapter that critiques Heidegger’s interpretation of Plato is particularly informative. Importantly, the book is accessible for those new to Plato. Enjoy!
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J. M. Magrini
5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Contribution to Furthering Platonic Studies
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2017
Hyland offers a unique and compelling phenomenological-ontological reading of Plato’s Socrates focused on the aporetic nature of truth, finitude, and transcendence. He does not, however, limit his reading to Plato’s so-called “early dialogues,” as is common with many scholars embracing a “developmentalist” view of Plato and his philosophy, and instead draws liberally from Plato’s corpus. Hyland’s reading focuses on the ontology of truth as aletheia, “an experience of the copresence of hiddenness and unhiddennesss,” with the goal of revealing, in relation to his unique reading of Plato’s Socrates, a “distinct mode of finitude” through which “finite transcendence” might be understood (139).

These are clearly themes emerging from the approach to phenomenology that is, in Hyland’s case, related more to the later Heidegger (“post-existential” – fundamental ontology) than the Heidegger of Being and Time – although it must be noted that Hyland is critical of Heidegger when developing his thesis (see below)! In short, Hyland reads the dialogues against “doctrinal” interpretations in search of developing a view of the potential for human understanding and self-overcoming in the company of others (Socrates and his interlocutors) in light of the radical limitations giving structure to the human condition – the ontology of finitude – which can ultimately be understood through Hyland’s analysis of truth (aletheia).

Hyland traces aletheia (“the revealing/concealing nature of truth”) to the Socratic aporia, moments of breakdown in the discourse/dialectic, instances that require the participants to rethink their responses, reframe their questions in order continue the effective interrogation of the virtues. Moments of aporetic breakdown in the Socratic dialectic (as portrayed in Plato’s dialogues) are for Hyland, indicative of what Socrates refers to in the Apology as an “event” of the experience of our own “ignorance” manifesting the limited form of human wisdom that defines the human condition. This form of Socratic wisdom, for Hyland, is grounded in the way truth manifests and conceals itself – grounded in the ontological context bounded and structured by finitude - especially in matters of self-understanding in relation to the virtues, for, as he writes,

“In taking his stance of aporia, that is, in preserving almost always his stance of questioning, Socrates again and again brings to presence his own self-knowing while at once leading others, often kicking and screaming, to their own. But that very self-knowledge is one tinged with negativity. It is in part a recognition, after all, of what he does not know” (153).

Hyland’s insightful reading of Plato’s Forms suggests that they are in “theory” intelligible, but never manifest in a mode of full ontological disclosure because of the human’s limited intellectual capacities – as Hyland claims, “Being is in principle intelligible, yet not to the finite human being” (167). In line with this understanding, Hyland concludes, as stated above, that the concealment of the Being of virtue is related directly to, not just the intellect, but our nature as finite human beings whose self-understanding and understanding of the world and others are fated for aporetic breakdown at some point, which he argues requires not only the recognition of finitude, but also its acceptance in the form of allowing this ontological certitude attune (in advance) our pursuit of the morally “good life.”

When Hyland writes of “finite human transcendence,” he is referencing a form of limited human enlightenment occurring in the context/space of Socratic questioning, which might be grasped in terms of the potential for limited human understanding and self-overcoming in the company of others in dialogue. To reiterate, as Hyland argues, the Socratic aporia is the “paradigm and most pervasive example” (156) of our running into the limits of finitude in moments where we deepen our understanding of things (finite transcendence). The phenomenon of ontological finitude most forcefully impresses itself in moments of aporetic breakdown as experienced in our readings of many Platonic dialogues.

Hyland’s unique contribution is that his interpretation, against what he labels Heidegger’s “doctrinal reading” of Plato, shows that “aletheia is everywhere present dialogues,” specifically in “what happens” in the dialogues that is expressive of how truth is experienced and portrayed, which includes the approach to truth as a perspectival phenomenon. For example, focusing on the presence-in-absence of truth (alethiea ) in his reading of both the Symposium and the Republic, Hyland shows how eros manifests in two decidedly different (albeit non-contradictory) ways: “Midst the predominant criticism of eros in the Republic,” he states, “its positive potential is quietly present in the very possibility of philosophy and philosopher-rulers” (152). While in the Symposium, “the enthusiastic praise of eros does not entirely hide the recognition by some of its participants of its potential danger” (152).

It must be noted that Hyland’s critical reading of Heidegger as it appears this text is further developed and in many ways amended in Hyland’s (2004), Questioning Platonism: Continental Interpretations of Plato. It must also be noted that scholars have challenged this line of interpretation and critique of Heidegger, the counter-argument being that it is not necessarily Plato that Heidegger confronts and attacks, but rather “Platonism,” e.g., see F. Gonzalez (2009) Companion to Socrates and G. Fried (2006) Heidegger and the Greeks: Interpretive Essays.

Hyland indicates, a common theme in “Third Way” Platonic scholarship, that the type of “truth” Socrates seeks is irreducible to propositional modes of expression and epistemic verification – i.e., it does not function in the epistemic register of “correspondence” or “agreement.” Indeed, in many respects, the notion of truth that Hyland develops might be said to be “constructive” and hermeneutic in nature. And yet, Hyland demonstrates in the positive how it is possible when advocating and living out an understanding of “truth” that is always partial and ever-elusive– beyond “objective verification” (dogmatism) – that the Socratic project courageously resists sinking into a nihilistic fatalism (radical skepticism) despite the lack of certainty at the heart of the human’s epistemic/moral endeavors.

To be clear, although this book defies a hard and fast classification, its content pushes the boundaries of what might be called “traditional Platonic scholarship,” for it brings together technical and decidedly ontological-phenomenological elements that readers will not encounter in the scholarship of others associated with “Third Way” Platonic scholarship (for readers who might be unfamiliar with this approach to Plato’s Socrates, see Francisco Gonzalez’s (1995) The Third Way: New Direction in Platonic Studies for an elucidating and definitive introduction to this contemporary form of Platonic interpretation). In succinct terms, “Third Way” scholarship seeks a middle path between “dogmatic” and “skeptical” readings of Plato. In my view, Hyland’s work sits within a fairly recent tradition in Continental philosophy that includes such scholars and works as S. Kirkland (2010) The Ontology of Socratic Questioning in Plato’s Early Dialogues (see my Amazon review of this text), J. Sallis (2004) Platonic Legacies, and P. Warnek (2005) Descent of Socrates: Self-Knowledge and Cryptic Nature in the Platonic Dialogues.

Hyland’s excellent study is written eloquently and communicates its many insights in a way that is both clear and understandable. This text has wide appeal, ranging from serious Platonic scholars to students of both philosophy and classical studies. It must be noted for readers that Hyland includes many etymological analyses to enhance the arguments buttressing his claims – without slipping into the etymological fallacy – but does so in a way where even those unfamiliar with Attic Greek terms and meanings will be able to follow his cogent lines of reasoning and argumentation. Importantly, to facilitate understanding, Hyland renders the Greek through transliteration and avoids reproducing un-translated passages incorporating Attic Greek characters.
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