Giovanni R. F. (John) Ferrari
Melpomene Distinguished Professor of Classical Languages and Literature, Professor of Ancient Greek & Roman Studies
gferrari@berkeley.edu
Fall 2022 Thursday 10:30-12, zoom only (contact instructor for link)
Vita.pdf
Research Areas
Within the field of Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, I gravitate toward ethics/politics and aesthetics. ?Three of my books have been devoted to Plato's?Republic?(a monograph; an edited collection; and a translation for which I served as editor). ?In ancient aesthetics Plato's critique of "the poets," Plato's own literary artistry, and Aristotle's?Poetics?have been abiding concerns. ?I also maintain an independent interest in modern philosophical aesthetics. ?In this area, I have published a monograph on social communication and storytelling and an article on the philosophy of gardens. ?My current project is a book-length study of "Plato the Writer" — the title of an existing article of mine that amounts to a manifesto for the larger project.Publications
Select publications:Books:
City and Soul in Plato's?Republic.??Lecturae Platonis.??Sankt Augustin: Academia Verlag.??2003.??123 pp. (Hardback.)???Paperback reprint, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.??2005
The Messages We Send:??Social Signals and Storytelling.??Oxford.??Oxford University Press.??2017
Articles:
"The Three-Part Soul": 165-201 in G.R.F. Ferrari, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Plato's Republic.? Cambridge:? Cambridge University Press.? 2007.
"The Meaninglessness of Gardens,"?Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism?68.1 (2010): 33-45.
"Plato the Writer,"?Epoché?19.2 (2015):??191-203.
"Aristotle on Musical Catharsis and the Pleasure of a Good Story," Phronesis 64 (2019):? 117-71.