Hegel finds in the Sophist the crown and summit of the Platonic philosophy

in the Sophist and Statesman ... we are plunged at once into philosophical discussions; the poetical charm has disappeared, and those who have no taste for abstruse metaphysics will greatly prefer the earlier dialogues to the later ones. [...]

On the other hand, the kindred spirit of Hegel seemed to find in the Sophist the crown and summit of the Platonic philosophy—here is the place at which Plato most nearly approaches to the Hegelian identity of Being and Not-being. Nor will the great importance of the two dialogues be doubted by any one who forms a conception of the state of mind and opinion which they are intended to meet. The sophisms of the day were undermining philosophy; the denial of the existence of Not-being, and of the connexion of ideas, was making truth and falsehood equally impossible.

It has been said that Plato would have written differently, if he had been acquainted with the Organon of Aristotle. But could the Organon of Aristotle ever have been written unless the Sophist and Statesman had preceded? The swarm of fallacies which arose in the infancy of mental science, and which was born and bred in the decay of the pre-Socratic philosophies, was not dispelled by Aristotle, but by Socrates and Plato. Sophist eBooks - Plato - Visit eBookMall Today!

I’m quite serious when I say that, just as Platonic philosophy was responding in large part to the challenge of sophistry, present-day philosophy needs to be responding to the challenge posed by pointless hyper-critique, they’re everywhere, Charles Mudede from Object-Oriented Philosophy by doctorzamalek

Gadamer, unlike many moderns and postmoderns, believes that the ancient and medieval tradition still has something to teach us. Yet, he also sees value in thinkers like Heidegger and Hegel. Gadamer’s entire project might be understood as a “fusion of horizons” between the ancient (and medieval) and the modern (and postmodern) traditions. [...]

As Gadamer explains, the Enlightenment has so stressed the negative aspect of the word, “prejudice”, that its positive meaning, “pre-judgment” (Vor-urteil) has been lost. [...]

the text or Other is not a silent “object” to be mastered; rather, it “talks” back and can put the interpreter into question, thus challenging her “prejudices” and horizon and allowing for potential self-transformation. [...] because one’s prejudices and biases can be altered (i.e., if one is open) by a dialogic encounter with the text (Gadamer views texts as a kind of dialogue partner), one must be willing to revision his or her objectives. Part I: An Introduction to Hans-Georg Gadamer from Per Caritatem by Cynthia R. Nielsen

This week, we follow the journey of the classics as they spread from Greece to the Arab world and beyond. At a time when Europe still hadn't got its act together philosophically speaking, Arabs were busily translating and debating the ideas of Aristotle and others. We're joined by Professor Peter Adamson from King's College, London, co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy. From Athens to Baghdad - Greek meets Arabic philosophy Saturday 28 November 2009