Ronald B. Levinson

Ronald Bartlett Levinson (born October 18, 1896 in Chicago , Illinois , † November 21, 1980 in Bangor , Maine ) was an American historian of philosophy .

Levinson graduated in philosophy at Harvard University in 1920 with the AB and was in 1924 at the University of Chicago for Ph.D. PhD. In 1926 he found his first job at the University of Maine , where since 1927 was Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Department of Philosophy . Levinson was also a member of the American Philosophical Association and the Society of Ancient Philosophy .

Levinson concentrated in his research on Greek philosophy, especially Plato and the history of Platonism (especially on the Platonist Thomas Taylor ). He gained international fame through his book In Defense of Plato (1953), in which he defended Plato against the serious allegations of Karl Popper , who saw Plato as the mastermind of totalitarianism .

Fonts (selection)

• Thomas Taylor, the Platonist . 1924.
• Spenser and Bruno . 1928.
• The college journey. An introduction to the fields of college study . 1938.
• In Defense of Plato . 1953. Review: DA Rees, in: Philosophy 32 (1957), p. 85; William Ebenstein, In: Political Research Quarterly September 7, 1954, pp. 481-482; Walter Kaufmann, in: The Journal of Politics 17, 1955, pp. 126–128.
• The Sophists. In: The Review of Metaphysics , Vol. 8, 1955, pp. 455-457 online
• Language and the "Cratylus". Four questions. In: The Review of Metaphysics , Vol. 11, 1957, pp. 28-41, online .
• Plato's Phaedrus and the New Criticism. In: Archive for the history of philosophy , Vol. 46, 1964, pp. 293-309 online .
• A Plato reader . 1966.

literature

• Dagobert D. Runes (Ed.): Who's who in Philosophy , Vol. 1: Anglo-American philosophers . Philosophical Library, 1942.

Web links

• Prism: University of Maine Yearbook Online, Prism (Yearbook) 1963: Dedication Dr. Ronald B. Levinson (with picture) (PDF; 14.1 MB)
• The Ronald B. Levinson Collection, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine