Majors
Philosophy and Political Science

Project title
“Plato”

Project description
John extensively researched the Platonic dialogues titled the Phaedo, the Phaedrus, the Republic, and the Apology, to develop a firm understanding of the Platonic forms and human wisdom. From there, John argued that Plato believed there existed a form of human wisdom, a form he perhaps thought Socrates embodied. John says: “My ultimate aim for this project was to provide the field of ancient philosophy with a new interpretation of reading Plato, one in which readers understand that Plato thought Socrates and his respective teachings to be divine knowledge. In this way, Plato’s works could be understood as biblical, in a sense, as — under this interpretation — Plato believed that we must take his dialogues and their ideas into account not only for logical reasons but also because they come from beyond our realm.”

Faculty Mentor
Dr. Douglass Reed, Department of Philosophy

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“This fellowship was so fruitful in so many ways. Pursuing a research question of my own was an incredible journey and extremely fun! I thoroughly enjoyed working with Professor Reed. During our meetings, I would put forth ideas to him, and he would offer me pushback or works related to my studies. This was truly beneficial and helped me to clarify my arguments and thoughts. This project challenged me to address an original question in ancient philosophy, one that I could not find anywhere. This will prove especially beneficial for when I am in grad school, as I will be regularly pursuing questions of my own there.”