The Foundation sponsored a two-day conference of international scholars on ‘Virtue, Conversation, Knowledge: Plato and Beyond’, held at King’s College, London on 30 – 31 May 2024. A major theme of the discussion was the part played by the virtues in philosophical discourse, particularly discourse in the manner of Socrates, and whether such discourse can improve one’s character. Much else was considered besides, including the ‘virtues of intoxication in Plato’s Laws’.
The conference was in honour of Mary Margaret McCabe, Professor of Ancient Philosophy Emerita and Fellow of King’s College, London. Many of the presenters were her former students or had been profoundly influenced by her at some stage in their academic career. The presenters included Fiona Leigh (UCL) on ‘Elenchus, Dialectic, and Epistemic Virtue in the Republic; Frisbee Sheffield (Cambridge) on ‘The Ethics of Inquiry and the Importance of Character’; Paulina Remes (Uppsala) on ‘Conflicting and Hierarchical Norms of Conversation: the Protagoras and the Gorgias’; and Verity Harte (Yale) on ‘Fighting Words: The Philebus and Gorgias’.
The hallmark of the occasion was the spirit of friendship and openness in which the presenters delivered and then received comments on their papers. This, in itself, was a tribute to MM McCabe, who spent much of her career encouraging others to ‘do philosophy’ in this spirit, and ample demonstration of her lasting legacy.
