The Guardians on Trial: The Reading Order of Plato's Dialogues from Euthyphro to Phaedo

(Hardback)

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Based on a conception of Reading Order introduced and developed in his Plato the Teacher: The Crisis of the Republic (Lexington; 2012) and The Guardians in Action: Plato the Teacher and the Post-Republic Dialogues from Timaeus to Theaetetus (Lexington; 2016), William H. F. Altman now completes his study of Platos so-called late dialogues by showing that they include those that depict the trial and death of Socrates. According to Altman, it is not Order of Composition but Reading Order that makes Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, Crito, and Phaedo late dialogues, and he shows why Platos decision to interpolate the notoriously late Sophist and Statesman between Euthyphro and Apology deserves more respect from interpreters. Altman explains this interpolationand another, that places Laws between Crito and Phaedoas part of an ongoing test Plato has created for his readers that puts the Guardians on Trial. If we dont recognize that Socrates himself is the missing Philosopher that the Eleatic Stranger never actually describesand also the antithesis of the Athenian Stranger, who leaves Athens in order to create laws for Cretewe pronounce ourselves too sophisticated to be Platos Guardians, and unworthy of the Socratic inheritance.

Reviews

Immensely erudite, while startlingly originalAltmans claim that Plato intended a univocal reading order for his dialogues opens interpretive vistas on every aspect of Platos thinking. Altman takes Platos own theories of pedagogy as exegetically foundational, and thereby transforms these dialogues into complex tests designed to reinforce the readers mastery of Platonism through the negotiation of an impressive regimen of challenge and misdirection. In The Guardians on Trial, we rediscover what philosophy is for Plato, and how instilling Platonism itself constituted Platos deepest commitment. -- Richard Foley, University of Missouri
William Altmans The Guardians on Trial is a masterful work that will change the landscape of how we read and interpret the Platonic dialogues for generations to come. Altmans detailed and compelling arguments about how we should best read Platos dialogues in light of the centrality of the Republic encourage us to rethink our past assumptions about reading order and Platos ultimate pedagogical aims. In this way, the book leads us to reconsider the shadows on our own cave walls that we have regarded as doctrinal truths. As we read the dialogues again in light of Altmans erudition and insight, we must grapple anew with the terrain explored in dialogues that centrally concern the death of Socrates, from the Euthyphro to the Phaedo. -- Anne-Marie Schultz, Baylor University
With his characteristic insight, Altman turns to the dialogues ranging from Euthyphro to Phaedo in his reconstructed reading order. The Guardians on Trial is a superb addition to Altmans trailblazing work on Platonic pedagogy. Altmans originality is on full display. He not only offers innovative readings of individual dialogues, but he also further demonstrates the immense value of approaching the Platonic corpus through the lens of the reading order. I highly recommend this book! -- Avi Mintz, University of Tulsa

Author Bio

William H. F. Altman, an independent scholar now living in Brazil, is a retired public high school teacher with more than thirty years experience teaching history, Latin, and the humanities.