Ebook: Plato’s Progress

Did Plato abandon the Theory of Forms in the later stages of his philosophical development, or not? In the last ten or fifteen years, particularly in England, it has been increasingly argued that towards the end of his life Plato jettisoned the Forms as so much metaphysical lumber, and turned to conceptual analysis such as we find in the Theaetetus and Sophist. This view of Plato's development runs full tilt into the commonly accepted view of the order of the dialogues; in particular, the prominent role allotted to the Forms in Letter VII and the Timaeus ; both supposedly late works, threatens to wreck the new interpretation completely. Professor Ryle now offers us, in the most radical and exciting book on Plato to appear for many a long year, a general reinterpretation of Plato's life and thought, and a revised chronology of his writings.

Source: https://www.persee.fr/docAsPDF/rbph_0035-0818_1967_num_45_2_2685_t1_0494_0000_1.pdf