William H. F. Altman, "Ascent to the Beautiful: Plato the Teacher and the Pre-Republic Dialogues from Protagoras to Symposium" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020)
Mar 26, 2025
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William H. F. Altman, author of "Ascent to the Beautiful" and a scholar reconstructing the order of Platonic dialogues, dives into the pedagogical nuances of Plato's works. He discusses how the dialogues, often overlooked, offer a unique pathway for students from self-interest to gallantry. The conversation touches on Socratic themes of teachability of virtue, beauty, and goodness, and explores the connections between pleasure and intellectual growth. Altman illuminates the dialogues as a cohesive narrative that prepares students for philosophical exploration.
William H. F. Altman's work aims to reconstruct the reading order of Plato's dialogues for a more effective educational approach.
Altman challenges F. D. E. Schleiermacher's rejection of certain dialogues, advocating for their authenticity and pedagogical value.
The podcast emphasizes the necessity of historical context in understanding Plato's dialogues, enriching their philosophical content and relevance.
Altman's efforts promote accessible education and engage a diverse audience, empowering them to navigate complex philosophical concepts systematically.
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The Significance of Accessible Education Resources
The podcast delves into the broader theme of accessible education resources through the lens of William Altman's work on Plato's dialogues. Altman aims to democratize access to philosophical literature by arranging Plato's texts in a pedagogically sound sequence, promoting a comprehensive understanding. This approach empowers students and readers to engage with challenging concepts systematically. By framing complex philosophical ideas in accessible terms, Altman strives to enrich the educational experience for a diverse audience.
The Interplay Between Historical Context and Philosophy
William Altman discusses how understanding the historical context of Plato's dialogues enhances their philosophical content, particularly in the symposium and the Menexenus. These dialogues reflect the socio-political challenges of their time, illustrating how philosophical discussions can respond to contemporary issues. Recognizing this interplay can provide deeper insights into the motivations behind Plato's writings, allowing readers to appreciate their relevance. Altman's approach highlights the importance of historical awareness in interpreting philosophical texts and fostering meaningful discussions.
With Ascent to the Beautiful, William H. F. Altman completes his five-volume reconstruction of the Reading Order of the Platonic dialogues. This book covers Plato’s elementary dialogues, grappling from the start with F. D. E. Schleiermacher, who created an enduring prejudice against the works Plato wrote for beginners. Recognized in antiquity as the place to begin, Alcibiades Major was banished from the canon but it was not alone: with the exception of Protagoras and Symposium, Schleiermacher rejected as inauthentic all seven of the dialogues this book places between them. In order to prove their authenticity, Altman illuminates their interconnections and shows how each prepares the student to move beyond self-interest to gallantry, and thus from the doctrinal intellectualism Aristotle found in Protagoras to the emergence of philosophy as intermediate between wisdom and ignorance in Symposium, en route to Diotima’s ascent to the transcendent Beautiful. Based on the hypothesis that it was his own eminently teachable dialogues that Plato taught—and bequeathed to posterity as his Academy’s eternal curriculum—Ascent to the Beautiful helps the reader to imagine the Academy as a school.
