“Sightlovers (Resp. 475b–480a): A Case of Self-Deception” (forthcoming Classical Quarterly)
In this paper, I use the concept of self-deception in order to provide a novel interpretation of Plato’s account of sightlovers in Republic V. I argue that existing scholarship falls short of explaining why sightlovers cannot reach the Forms. I attribute their failure to a motivational bias. Firstly, I present a cognitive account of sightlovers’ epistemological position. Secondly, I propose a motivational account to supplement it. Thirdly, I argue that self-deception prevents sightlovers from reaching the Forms. Drawing on Phaedo 83c-e, I show that sightlovers' soul experience of intense pleasure and pain biases their evidence and belief formation. Finally, I argue that the exchange between Socrates and an imaginary sightlover at 476e–480a does not show that sightlovers can make progress toward the Forms. Its purpose is to draw the distinction between knowledge and belief for the reader.
Work in progress:
A paper on perceptual transmission in Plato’s Timaeus (draft)
A paper on the role of the World Soul in the cosmological myth of Plato’s Statesman (full draft)
A paper on the perceptual capacity of Plato’s World Soul (draft)