Week One: Protagoras

We wanted to begin with Protagoras because Socrates presents his common account of akrasia, and his denial of it.

To commence our project, we read the entirety of Plato's Protagoras, a dialogue on virtue with a sophist, Protagoras. Toward the end of the Protagoras, Socrates presents his denial of the common account of akrasia.

In sections 352 a - c, an agent commits akrasia if:

- the agent intentionally does x

- there is another option available for the agent to carry out, y

- the agent believes that it would be better for them to do y

Week One Readings

Plato's Protagoras

Edition Used: Hackett Publishing Company

Secondary Article

"Skepticism About Weakness of Will" by Gary Watson

Citation:

Watson, Gary. "Skepticism about Weakness of Will." The Philosophical Review 86, no. 3 (1977): 316-39.

Weekly Dialogues

Dialogue One

Dialogue Two