This Strange Creature: Plato and Conversion Experiences

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This is an excellent work. It is impressive for quite a few reasons, including its economical and clear discussion of the multifaceted function of exaiphnes in Plato and some extremely provocative connections between this function and some later sources.  This paper will be of significant interest to Plato scholars and those interested in broad, pre-Christian senses of 'revelation' (and conceptually adjacent notions) and in Plato specifically.

Among its many virtues is this paper's rootedness in contemporary scholarship, particularly in the recent words addressing the function of exaiphnes in Plato's thought.  One noteworthy omission, however, is Joseph Cimakasky, The Role of Exaiphnes in Early Greek Literature (Lexington, 2017).  I wouldn't insist on it, but I would encourage the author to give this text a look and engage with it a bit in the footnotes, as it is an excellent resource for the subject.  For the function of exaiphnes in Parmenides specifically, Eric Sanday, A Study of Dialectic in Plato's Parmenides (Northwester, 2015), 141-7 is worth consulting.

One question that I had throughout was whether the author is describing Plato's influence on later thinkers like Plotinus and the Biblical authors, or instead a shared insight into something true and profound ranging through the sources.  Most stray comments suggest the former, but at least a few suggest the latter.  Section 5, while full of some powerful insights, addresses but does not quite resolve such a question.  If the author sees fit, it might be worth saying just a bit more to clarify whether this point concerns literal influence or shared insight into something deeper.  Of course, this is not exactly an exclusive disjunction, as the later authors might very well have understood more and deeper aspects of the same issue that Plato has in mind when using this term.  But in any case, making this clear would, I think, make this very strong paper even stronger still.

Typos and suggestions throughout:

Global: Greek text should not be italicized (since the script makes clear that each instance is a foreign word).

Global: Note that a space is needed between subsection numeration (e.g., '2.1,' ln. 93) and subsection title when title begins with Greek characters: see lines 93, 113, 185, 214, 245, 295, 339, 357, 390, 415, 466.

Pg. 1 ln. 29: Maybe good to specify: "When his only friend, Enkidu,..."

Pg. 2 ln. 51: Presumably a conversion experiences entails more than mere change, but a certain kind of change, right?  (This is unpacked in what follows, particularly in the following paragraph, but it might be good to clarify here at first mention.)

Pg. 2 ln. 54: first word, change "which" to "that" (US English would have this as "that" in an essential dependent clause).

Pg. 2 ln. 76: Of course I agree that it is fair to assume that Plato wrote the Seventh Letter, but maybe the controversy concerning authorship is significant enough to warrant a footnote (but you can be the judge).

Pg. 3 ln. 122 and fn. 5: On the subject of the motion of the forms and for a technical account that I think is very much in harmony with the author's, I recommend Michael Wiitala, "The Argument against the Friends of the Forms Revisited," Apeiron, 2018.

Pg. 4 ln. 129: Presumably this means that understanding the forms' moving one another allows us to understand how all participants, including humans, are moved by the forms, no?

Pg. 4 ln. 136: "which" -> "that" (see note to ln. 54)

Pg. 4 fn. 7: Note missing period at end.

Pg. 5 ln. 169: This is some excellent exposition to unpack dense and important ideas clearly and persuasively, but I'm not sure why the three ellipses are needed after "Being."

Pg. 5 ln. 173: It is worth considering moving footnote 10 into the main body.  I found the footnote to be especially helpful.  But the author should judge.

Pg. 5 ln. 177: Might a paragraph break between "participation" and "As" help the flow a bit here?

Pg. 5 ln. 193: No hyphen needed between "cave" and "allegory," I think (see also lines 209, 222, 328-9, 474).

Pg. 6 ln. 205: Change "grasps" to "grasp" (agreement).

Pg. 6 ln. 206: I think the sentence beginning at right should read "He would grasp the Idea..." to agree with the tense of the previous sentences.

Pg. 8 ln. 271-2: Cf. the Cimakasky text mentioned above.

Pg. 8 ln. 295: Note that italicizing of "Acts of the Apostles" and "Acts" is inconsistent throughout.  Earlier mentions were italicized, and now they (mostly) cease being italicized.  I think that the unitalicized version is correct.  In any case, I recommend doing a word-search and standardizing throughout the document. 

Pg. 9 ln. 308: I assume that this means, "One such detail is the use of exaiphnes," right?

Pg. 9 ln. 308: It's not necessary, but it might be nice to add a footnote briefly unpacking the other four uses of exaiphnes in the New Testament.  I know that this sentence left me curious as a reader to know more.

Pg. 9 ln. 323: Comma needed after "contends."

Pg. 9 ln. 332: Comma needed after "118."

Pg. 9 fn. 22: Comma needed after "1039."

Pg. 10 fn. 24: Comma needed after "72," and either a comma or "that" needed after "2009, 21 argues..."

Pg. 10 fn. 26: Comma needed after "329."

Pg. 11 ln. 419: Comma needed after "57."

Pg. 12 ln. 436: Note typo, change "nit" to "not."

Pg. 12 ln. 449: Change "which" to "that" (see note to ln. 54).

Pg. 12 ln. 476-7: This point would be more justly rendered as "exaiphnes pops up in some of the most notable passages..."

Pg. 13 ln. 496: Comma needed between "antiquity" and "Plotinus."

Pg. 14 ln. 536: The second part of the Irwin book title after the colon should be italicized, no?

Pg. 14: Note extraneous line breaks at 553 and 555.

Author Response

"I wouldn't insist on it, but I would encourage the author to give this text a look and engage with it a bit in the footnotes, as it is an excellent resource for the subject.  For the function of exaiphnes in Parmenides specifically, Eric Sanday, A Study of Dialectic in Plato's Parmenides (Northwester, 2015), 141-7 is worth consulting."

REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

"One question that I had throughout was whether the author is describing Plato's influence on later thinkers like Plotinus and the Biblical authors, or instead a shared insight into something true and profound ranging through the sources.  Most stray comments suggest the former, but at least a few suggest the latter.  Section 5, while full of some powerful insights, addresses but does not quite resolve such a question.  If the author sees fit, it might be worth saying just a bit more to clarify whether this point concerns literal influence or shared insight into something deeper.  Of course, this is not exactly an exclusive disjunction, as the later authors might very well have understood more and deeper aspects of the same issue that Plato has in mind when using this term.  But in any case, making this clear would, I think, make this very strong paper even stronger still."

REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Typos and suggestions throughout:

Global: Greek text should not be italicized (since the script makes clear that each instance is a foreign word). REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Global: Note that a space is needed between subsection numeration (e.g., '2.1,' ln. 93) and subsection title when title begins with Greek characters: see lines 93, 113, 185, 214, 245, 295, 339, 357, 390, 415, 466. REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 1 ln. 29: Maybe good to specify: "When his only friend, Enkidu,..." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 2 ln. 51: Presumably a conversion experiences entails more than mere change, but a certain kind of change, right?  (This is unpacked in what follows, particularly in the following paragraph, but it might be good to clarify here at first mention.) REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 2 ln. 54: first word, change "which" to "that" (US English would have this as "that" in an essential dependent clause). REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 2 ln. 76: Of course I agree that it is fair to assume that Plato wrote the Seventh Letter, but maybe the controversy concerning authorship is significant enough to warrant a footnote (but you can be the judge). REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 3 ln. 122 and fn. 5: On the subject of the motion of the forms and for a technical account that I think is very much in harmony with the author's, I recommend Michael Wiitala, "The Argument against the Friends of the Forms Revisited," Apeiron, 2018. REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 4 ln. 129: Presumably this means that understanding the forms' moving one another allows us to understand how all participants, including humans, are moved by the forms, no? REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 4 ln. 136: "which" -> "that" (see note to ln. 54) REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 4 fn. 7: Note missing period at end. REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 5 ln. 169: This is some excellent exposition to unpack dense and important ideas clearly and persuasively, but I'm not sure why the three ellipses are needed after "Being." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 5 ln. 173: It is worth considering moving footnote 10 into the main body.  I found the footnote to be especially helpful.  But the author should judge. REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 5 ln. 177: Might a paragraph break between "participation" and "As" help the flow a bit here? REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 5 ln. 193: No hyphen needed between "cave" and "allegory," I think (see also lines 209, 222, 328-9, 474). REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 6 ln. 205: Change "grasps" to "grasp" (agreement). REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 6 ln. 206: I think the sentence beginning at right should read "He would grasp the Idea..." to agree with the tense of the previous sentences. REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 8 ln. 271-2: Cf. the Cimakasky text mentioned above.

Pg. 8 ln. 295: Note that italicizing of "Acts of the Apostles" and "Acts" is inconsistent throughout.  Earlier mentions were italicized, and now they (mostly) cease being italicized.  I think that the unitalicized version is correct.  In any case, I recommend doing a word-search and standardizing throughout the document. REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 9 ln. 308: I assume that this means, "One such detail is the use of exaiphnes," right? REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 9 ln. 308: It's not necessary, but it might be nice to add a footnote briefly unpacking the other four uses of exaiphnes in the New Testament.  I know that this sentence left me curious as a reader to know more. REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 9 ln. 323: Comma needed after "contends." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 9 ln. 332: Comma needed after "118." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 9 fn. 22: Comma needed after "1039." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 10 fn. 24: Comma needed after "72," and either a comma or "that" needed after "2009, 21 argues..." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 10 fn. 26: Comma needed after "329." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 11 ln. 419: Comma needed after "57." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 12 ln. 436: Note typo, change "nit" to "not." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 12 ln. 449: Change "which" to "that" (see note to ln. 54). REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 12 ln. 476-7: This point would be more justly rendered as "exaiphnes pops up in some of the most notable passages..." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 13 ln. 496: Comma needed between "antiquity" and "Plotinus." REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 14 ln. 536: The second part of the Irwin book title after the colon should be italicized, no? REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Pg. 14: Note extraneous line breaks at 553 and 555. REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper shows the continuity between Plato's conversion and Christian conversion. It is clear and well-written. 

I have two improvement suggestions. First, in the part on Plato, the author could explain in detail the intellectual training that conduces to enlightenment. 

Second, the part on the Acts is very short. The author could give more details about Paul's experience.

There are perhaps a few typos. In the first line of the Introduction, perhaps the author meant "life-long" instead of "life-ling". On page 12, the first line, I am not sure whether "nit" is the correct word.

Author Response

"I have two improvement suggestions. First, in the part on Plato, the author could explain in detail the intellectual training that conduces to enlightenment."

REVISED AS SUGGESTED (REPUBLIC SECTION).

"Second, the part on the Acts is very short. The author could give more details about Paul's experience."

REVISED AS SUGGESTED.

"There are perhaps a few typos. In the first line of the Introduction, perhaps the author meant "life-long" instead of "life-ling". On page 12, the first line, I am not sure whether "nit" is the correct word."

REVISED AS SUGGESTED.