

{"id":155,"date":"2020-06-13T13:53:44","date_gmt":"2020-06-13T17:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/?page_id=155"},"modified":"2024-11-02T13:33:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T17:33:21","slug":"overview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/overview\/","title":{"rendered":"OVERVIEW"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"155\" class=\"elementor elementor-155\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5a86703e elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"5a86703e\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-24cff440\" data-id=\"24cff440\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50c9cb13 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"50c9cb13\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large\">OVERVIEW<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-14a653ba elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"14a653ba\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-fb4bb7d elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"fb4bb7d\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-25 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6df0a66\" data-id=\"6df0a66\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-87048b4 elementor-button-info elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"87048b4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-lg\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">HOME<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-25 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a5431ce\" data-id=\"a5431ce\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b083657 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"b083657\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-lg\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/research\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">WORKS<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-25 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4778b5b\" data-id=\"4778b5b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4163b17 elementor-button-info elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"4163b17\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-lg\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/teaching\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">TEACHING<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-25 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-26b41ad\" data-id=\"26b41ad\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c5a1777 elementor-button-info elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"c5a1777\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-lg\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/contact\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">CV<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3cdf397 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3cdf397\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2bec9db\" data-id=\"2bec9db\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ab88327 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ab88327\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><a name=\"_GoBack\"><\/a>I came into philosophy from classics and so into ancient philosophy. I brought with me a deep interest in language. I have also had an abiding concern with the nature of philosophy and with philosophical methodology.<\/p><p>I cut my teeth on Plato, first on the early dialogues, then working through the remainder of the corpus. My publications on Plato have ranged over various domains: epistemology, logic and argumentation more broadly, metaphysics, ethics, and philosophical psychology. I am relatively well versed in the ancient tradition from pre-Platonic figures through Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and the Old Stoics. My second book <em>Pleasure in Ancient Greek Philosophy<\/em> and more recent papers in ancient philosophy attest to this range. In 2020 I published a large edited volume focusing on pre-Platonic ethical philosophy.<\/p><p>Since the mid 2000s, I have increasingly extended my research into non-historical areas of philosophy. Following up on my philological background, I turned to the philosophy of language. Along with my interests in ethics and philosophical psychology, this work immediately led me into the metaethical debates between descriptivist and non-descriptivist interpretations of evaluative and normative language. In pursuing this subject, I was increasingly drawn to the resources of contemporary linguistics, initially formal semantics, then also syntax and pragmatics. The first fruit of this research was my third book <i>On Goodness<\/i>.<\/p><p>The focus of my research since about 2020 is value theory, both contemporary value theory and the history of value theory.<\/p><p>Descriptions of my books and edited volume follow in reverse chronological order.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5048dfc elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5048dfc\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-09eb4f2\" data-id=\"09eb4f2\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ad69f3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2ad69f3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">VALUE, VALUING, VALUES<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-82b4eaa elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"82b4eaa\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5cee28a\" data-id=\"5cee28a\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-692ecc9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"692ecc9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Value, Valuing, Values<\/em> examines the three topics in the title, with each of the three main sections governed by a definitional question: What is value? What is it to value something? What are values? The organization of the book owes to my views that values constitute a subset of the entities that are valued and that valuing is a value-laden attitude toward its object. The first section of the work, on value, revisits and builds on chapter 4 of <em>On Goodness<\/em>, where I argue that value is a kind of purposiveness. In <em>Value, Valuing, Values<\/em>, I argue that, ontogenetically, the fundamental form of value is biological purposiveness. \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-179dffa elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"179dffa\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-eb0eb79\" data-id=\"eb0eb79\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc13f7a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"dc13f7a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">ARET\u0112 AND THE FORMATION OF GREEK ETHICAL THEORY<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-260b1b6 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"260b1b6\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0723a33\" data-id=\"0723a33\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-149cb38 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"149cb38\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">From Plato onward, ancient Greek ethical theory is fundamentally framed in terms of two entities: virtue and eudaimonia. Virtue is a state of the psyche that an individual requires in order to live well; eudaimonia is the well-lived life that requires virtue. <i>Aret\u0113 and the Formation of Greek Ethical Theory<\/i> is an account of how this fundamental framework of ancient Greek ethical theory came to be. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">The account has two parts. The first is principally linguistic. It focuses on the syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of <\/span><i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">, in particular in its occurrences from Homer to the end of the fifth century BCE. More precisely, the discussion addresses: <\/span><i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> as a mass noun and as a count noun, including conversion of <\/span><i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> from mass to count; the gradability of <\/span><i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">; the specifiability of <\/span><i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">; and what I refer to as the ontological categorical diversity associated with <\/span><i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">. To my knowledge, these topics have either not been treated before or they have been treated in a cursory way and without recourse to the relevant contemporary linguistic theories. <br><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Insofar as it extends to the end of the fifth century, the linguistic discussion in the first part of the study overlaps with the period in which Greek ethical philosophy began. But the focus of the first part is on pre- and non-philosophical instances of <i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i>. The intention is to build a theory and <span lang=\"mi-NZ\">to apply <\/span>the philosophical instances of <i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> to it<\/span>. The latter is the task of the second part of the study. The temporal focus of this part extends from the earliest philosophical instances of <i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i> at the beginning of the fifth century through the Socratics, principally Plato, and concludes with Aristotle.<\/p>\n<p>The central thesis of the second part of the study is that prior to Plato, if not more broadly prior to the Socratics, in ethical philosophy <i><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><\/i><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> is rarely used to denote virtue, that is, an ethical state of the psyche. It is in Plato, if not among the Socratics more broadly, that <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span> <span lang=\"mi-NZ\">gets stativized and psychologized. The stative psychologization of <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span> <span lang=\"mi-NZ\">in turn leaves a value-theoretic lacuna; and this lacuna is filled by <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u03b5\u1f50\u03b4\u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u03b1<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">, which Plato (and perhaps the Socratics more broadly) appropriate to denote the activity of living well. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">Insofar as it tells how the fundamental framework of ancient Greek ethical theory came to be, the account concerns a portion of the history of ancient Greek philosophy and so is historical-philosophical. But the account has a non-historical dimension, which concerns the foundations of value theory. In his so-called function argument in <i>Republic<\/i> 1, 352-54, Plato not only links <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> and <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u03b5\u1f50\u03b4\u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u03b1<\/span> <span lang=\"mi-NZ\">in the fundamental way that frames all subsequent Greek ethical theory, he also treats <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u03b5\u1f50\u03b4\u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u03b1<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> as the <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f14\u03c1\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> (here, purpose or function) of <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">. In doing so, Plato conceives of <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">, as well as <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u03b5\u1f50\u03b4\u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u03b1<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">, in teleological terms. I argue that this conception of <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> and <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u03b5\u1f50\u03b4\u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u03b1<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> is, loosely, but crucially accurate. It is so because, I argue, value is purposiveness. Aristotle is therefore well advised to appropriate Plato&#8217;s function argument in his own function arguments in <i>Eudemian Ethics<\/i> 2.1 and <i>Nicomachean Ethics<\/i> 1.7. Furthermore, in identifying the <i>genus <\/i>of <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> as <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f15\u03be\u03b9\u03c2<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\">, Aristotle further cements the stative conception of <\/span><span lang=\"EL\">\u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span><span lang=\"mi-NZ\"> that Plato (or the Socratics) introduces.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-615ec16 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"615ec16\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c3d4614\" data-id=\"c3d4614\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8760f40 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8760f40\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">EARLY GREEK ETHICS<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-8a2584b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"8a2584b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e5a6455\" data-id=\"e5a6455\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a23aaae elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a23aaae\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Early Greek Ethics<\/em>\u00a0is a collection of essays, composed by 28 scholars of ancient philosophy and classicists, that I commissioned and edited.<\/p><p>In the last twenty years and especially very recently, a lot of disparate scholarship has been done on Greek ethical philosophical thought and writing from the fifth century BCE to about the first third of the fourth-century BCE, in particular ethical philosophical thought and writing not authored by Plato. The ancient contributors include other associates of Socrates such as Antisthenes, Aristippus, and Xenophon; figures from outside the Socratic circle such as Democritus, Gorgias, Antiphon, and Archytas; and anonymous texts such as the <em>Dissoi Logoi<\/em> and <em>Anonymus Iamblichi<\/em>.<\/p><p>Generally speaking, in assembling this work I sought to define the landscape of early Greek philosophical ethics and in doing that to advance it as a distinctive field of study.<\/p><p>Two of my chapters for the volume, &#8220;The Ethics of the Historical Socrates&#8221; and &#8220;On the Unity of the <i>Dissoi Logoi<\/i>&#8221; are available on the WORKS page.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b9cc3d6\" data-id=\"b9cc3d6\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e408ac7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e408ac7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"180\" height=\"261\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/files\/2020\/06\/EGE-cover.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-294\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-fdc7f43 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"fdc7f43\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-deedd32\" data-id=\"deedd32\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0975a2f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0975a2f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">ON GOODNESS<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b3059a1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b3059a1\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-96fc46e\" data-id=\"96fc46e\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fc1bb23 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fc1bb23\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The governing question of my book <em>On Goodness<\/em> is: What is goodness? I pursue this question, which I regard as a metaphysical question at the foundations of value theory, by means of the semantic questions: What do the adjective &#8220;good&#8221; and the adjectival nominalization &#8220;goodness&#8221; mean? My central results are the following. The adjective &#8220;good&#8221; is fundamentally three ways ambiguous. Two of the three senses are gradable (for example, &#8220;good,&#8221; &#8220;better,&#8221; &#8220;best&#8221;); and both of the gradable senses are multidimensional (for example, there are not kinds of height, the dimension or gradable property associated with &#8220;tall&#8221;; but there are kinds of value, the dimension associated with one of the senses of &#8220;good&#8221;).<\/p><p>I reject explanations of dimensional specification in terms of covert variables or indexicals in the so-called logical form of &#8220;good.&#8221; Instead, I argue that in tokenings, the adjective is implicitly or explicitly supplemented with adverbial or nominal contents, and that such supplements specify the associated dimension by means of directly or indirectly introducing an adverbial modifier of &#8220;good.&#8221; This explains the peculiar inferential properties of &#8220;good&#8221; (and kindred terms) that have puzzled philosophers and linguists since Geach, if not Aristotle. It also shows, contrary to common opinion, that &#8220;good&#8221; is, in one important respect, not a context sensitive expression.<\/p><p>In contrast to &#8220;good,&#8221; the nominalization &#8220;goodness&#8221; is not three ways ambiguous. It derives from only one of the three senses of &#8220;good.&#8221; &#8220;Goodness&#8221; is a mass noun; its denotation is therefore representable as a join semilattice. But owing to the fact that the adjective from which it derives is gradable, the denotation has additional scalar structure. Finally, it is well known in linguistics that mass nouns, like plural count nouns, can occur bare, that is, in argument positions without determiners and that such phrases admit various readings. I suggest a neo-Carlsonian explanation of the various readings.<\/p><p>Finally, the central metaphysical implication of the linguistic results is that an instance of goodness is, in Kit Fine&#8217;s and Frederike Moltmann&#8217;s terms, a qua object of a kind, more precisely a qua quantitative trope, and more precisely still one degree of value (which I argue in an earlier chapter and also on linguistic grounds is purpose serving) of a kind taken in relation to another degree of value of that kind, where the latter is a contextually determined standard of comparison, and where the former significantly exceeds the latter.<\/p><p>The table of contents and Introduction to <i>On Goodness<\/i> is available on the WORKS page.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-16e09f7\" data-id=\"16e09f7\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-06adf57 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"06adf57\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"180\" height=\"274\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/files\/2020\/06\/On-Goodness.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-296\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-501de87 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"501de87\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f868de6\" data-id=\"f868de6\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b81cc08 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b81cc08\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">PLEASURE IN ANCIENT <br>GREEK PHILOSOPHY<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-602559c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"602559c\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4298ef8\" data-id=\"4298ef8\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1a733cc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1a733cc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Around the time that most of the research and writing of my first book <em>Trials of Reason: Plato and the Crafting of Philosophy<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>had been completed I turned my principal attention to the subject of pleasure. My motivations were primarily two. First, I wanted to shift focus from an author or figure or school to a topic or theme. Second, I found in the topic of pleasure a nexus of two growing interests: in ethics, especially metaethics, and in philosophy of mind or philosophical psychology.\u00a0<\/p><p>In 2012 I completed\u00a0<em>Pleasure in Ancient Philosophy<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>(CUP), which examines pleasure in ancient philosophy from pre-Platonic figures through Plato, Aristotle, Epicureans, Cyrenaics, and the Old Stoics. The study also includes some Roman and Late Antique authors who contribute to and discuss the work of these earlier schools and figures. The book examines two basic questions, which I call the identity and kinds questions: What is pleasure? And what kinds of pleasure are there? I hope to have made a strong case that the various ways these figures and schools answer these questions are dialogically continuous. For example, Aristotle\u2019s formulations involve criticisms of Plato, and Epicurus develops Aristotelian contributions. In the penultimate chapter I discuss treatments of the identity and kinds questions in contemporary Anglophone philosophy, precisely from Ryle\u2019s contributions in the late 40s and 50s to the present. In the final chapter I discuss the relations between the ancient and contemporary treatments. One fundamental, remarkable conclusion of this comparison is that ancient treatments tend to focus on what I call the objects of pleasure, whereas contemporary treatments focus on the attitude toward such objects. I explain this distinction in view of the distinct contexts in which ancient and contemporary treatments of the identity and kinds questions have occurred, namely, within ethics and philosophy of mind respectively.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-148bc99\" data-id=\"148bc99\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-33925ca elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"33925ca\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"180\" height=\"264\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/files\/2020\/06\/Pleasure-cover.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-298\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-92a2fc4 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"92a2fc4\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6b75e95\" data-id=\"6b75e95\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-33c22e8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"33c22e8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">TRIALS OF REASON:<br>PLATO AND THE CRAFTING OF PHILOSOPHY<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-51f5b47 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"51f5b47\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-bdd54ab\" data-id=\"bdd54ab\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-520704d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"520704d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The first stage of my professional career focused on Plato\u2019s thought. In line with my historical background my principal interest was understanding Plato on his own terms. My articles on Plato up to about 2008 represent attempts to achieve the objective. They focus on a wide range of Plato\u2019s thought: his ethics, methodology, epistemology, metaphysics, and psychology, as well as on the problem of interpreting any aspect of Plato\u2019s thought given the distinctive challenge and complication of the dialogic form of his writings.&nbsp;<em>Trials of Reason: Plato and the Crafting of Philosophy<\/em>&nbsp;(OUP 2008) culminated this vein of research.&nbsp;<\/p><p>The book pursues two questions: What is Plato\u2019s conception of philosophy? And how is the dialogue form employed in Plato\u2019s presentation of this conception? In brief, I maintain that Plato conceives of philosophy as a kind of motivation, specifically a desire for wisdom, which he conceives as ethical knowledge. The book is then organized as a discussion of Plato\u2019s conception of desire, ethical knowledge, the means of pursuing such knowledge, including the so-called elenctic and hypothetical methods, and the aporetic conclusions in which these pursuits typically end. In his early dialogues, Plato introduces philosophy (as he conceives it) and in doing so contrasts philosophy with what I call \u201ccounter-philosophical\u201d approaches to life. This contrast serves to explain the dialogic character of Plato\u2019s work. As I put it in the book: Plato\u2019s dramatizations \u201care not wholly situated within the sphere of philosophical discourse. Rather, one of the basic functions of the texts is to craft philosophy. As the dialogues unfold, philosophical discourse emerges out of the various discourses of the polis. In the process, Plato works to establish why philosophical discourse must be the authoritative political discourse.\u201d As such, I suggest, Plato\u2019s dialogues are as much works of meta-philosophy as philosophy.&nbsp;<\/p><p>In short, my deepest concern in this early work might be expressed in this way: I was interested in the idea that philosophy is a cultural-historical kind, and I wanted to examine one of its earliest and most important forms. I wanted to understand philosophy by examining one of the seminal ways in which it came into being. My approach to the topic was therefore inextricably historical and philosophical.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-306217b\" data-id=\"306217b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26dad5b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"26dad5b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"180\" height=\"274\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/files\/2020\/06\/Trials-cover.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-300\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OVERVIEW HOME WORKS TEACHING CV I came into philosophy from classics and so into ancient philosophy. I brought with me a deep interest in language. I have also had an abiding concern with the nature of philosophy and with philosophical methodology. I cut my teeth on Plato, first on the early dialogues, then working through &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/overview\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;OVERVIEW&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":503,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-155","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":78,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1383,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155\/revisions\/1383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/dwolf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}