I work on Plato's late dialogues, and in particular on Plato's Timaeus. I am interested in his psychology and epistemology and how they intersect with physiology. I am developing a broader interest in ancient theories of education as well as of reproduction.
From 2019 to 2022 I led the TORCH Image and Thought Network.
DPhil thesis: 'Cosmic and Human Cognition in Plato's Timaeus'
My thesis examines the issue of cognition in Plato’s Timaeus, and focusses on Timaeus’ discussion of two cases occupying opposite ends of a spectrum: the cognitive activity of an immortal rational soul in the best possible condition and that of an immortal rational soul in the worst possible condition. The first is the cognitive activity of the World Soul, described at Ti. 37a2-c5, which forms the basis of my first chapter. The second is the cognitive activity of a human rational soul that has just been embodied, described at Ti. 42e5-44c4, which I tackle in chapters 2 and 3. In chapter 2, I argue that the human type of immortal rational soul is first embodied in what is best understood as an embryo. In light of this hypothesis, I analyze, in chapter 3, the initial disruption of its cognition. I then draw a comparison between the kinds of cognition of the kosmos and that of an embryo. On the basis of this comparison, I discuss the first steps of the cognitive recovery that takes place when the embryo develops into a child. This discussion in turn paves the way for understanding the relationship between cosmic and adult human cognition, and in particular, how the former can be a model for the latter. I conclude with a few brief remarks about this last issue.
Publications
Work in Progress
‘The Embodiment of the Immortal Rational Soul in the Timaeus: An Embryological Interpretation of Ti. 42e5-44c4’
‘How do the Mortal Parts of the Soul Develop? An Account of the Origin of the Tripartite Soul in the Timaeus’
'What Does the Universe Think About? On Cosmic Cognition in the Timaeus’