Image-making and mathematics in the argumentative structure of Plato’s _Republic_
5470 S Harper Ave Apt 1A
Chicago, IL 60615
Elizabeth Asmis, Gabriel Lear, David Wray
I am examining the use of images (or comparisons; _eikones_ in Greek) in Plato’s _Republic_. These appear throughout the dialogue, for example in the Sun, Divided Line, and Cave images of books 6–7, as well as the central comparison of perfectly just city to perfectly just man. My analysis of these images and their basis in contemporary mathematical practices helps to resolve two alleged inconsistencies in the dialogue: Socrates’ applied method does not seem to match his stated methodology; and Socrates harshly criticizes poetry, yet he himself appears to engage in these same activities through his own image-making activity.
Beginning and intermediate Latin,
Beginning and intermediate Greek,
Greek Thought and Literature (writing intern, Humanities Core),
Study abroad program in Athens,
“The evolution of the Classical Text” (course on textual transmission and the history of scholarship)
“Response to Reviel Netz: What did Greek mathematicians find beautiful?” In Beauty, Harmony, and the Good, edited by Elizabeth Asmis, 444--9. Classical Philology 105.4 (special issue, October 2010).
“Mathematical method as the basis for image-making in the Republic”. First Graduate Conference of the Ancient Philosophy and Science Network, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, July 2011.
“Scholarly editing in the digital age: the Archimedes Palimpsest as a case study”. Panel on digital research and developments in collaborative work in Classics, American Philological Association Annual Meeting, January 2010.
Ephron Teaching Fellowship, University of Chicago, spring 2010; Century Fellowship, University of Chicago
Editor of TEI XML transcriptions for the Archimedes Palimpsest digital publication