Brief Description
Plato's Account of Falsehood discusses recent secondary literature on the falsehood paradox, providing original solutions to several unsolved problems.
Learn More about the Book
Some philosophers argue that false speech and false belief are impossible. In the Sophist, Plato addresses this 'falsehood paradox', which purports to prove that one can neither say nor believe falsehoods (because to say or believe a falsehood is to say or believe something that is not, and is therefore not there to be said or believed). In this book Paolo Crivelli closely examines the whole dialogue and shows how Plato's brilliant solution to the paradox is radically different from those put forward by modern philosophers. He surveys and critically discusses the vast range of literature which has developed around the Sophist over the past fifty years, and provides original solutions to several problems that are so far unsolved. His book will be important for all who are interested in the Sophist and in ancient ontology and philosophy of language more generally.
Review Quotes
1. 'My overview obviously cannot do justice to the subtlety and richness of Crivelli's analysis He soberly chooses among the interpretative possibilities, never yielding to speculative interpretations. The virtues of his account are comprehensiveness, detailed and clear presentation, and the philosophical coherence of the interpretation embraced.' Laszlo Bene, Bryn Mawr Classical Review"
