Fairfield University continues its celebration of new faculty publications with "Plato: On the Limits of Human Life," a book reading with author Sara Brill, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy, at 7 p.m., Thursday, November 7, at Fairfield University Bookstore, 1499 Post Road, Fairfield. This event is free and open to the public.

The evening will be presented by the Humanities Institute of the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Philosophy, and the Learning for a Lifetime Program.

Dr. Brill received her Ph.D. in 2004 from the Pennsylvania State University, having written on the role of medicine in Plato's Republic, with specializations in ancient philosophy and ethics. Since then she has published articles on several Platonic dialogues and the Hippocratic corpus and Greek tragedy. She teaches classes on Plato, Aristotle, tragedy, women in classical literature, and ancient medicine and philosophy. She directed a three-week international philosophy conference, the Collegium Phaenomenologicum, in Italy in Summer 2013.

In her book, Dr. Brill focuses on the immortal character of the soul in key Platonic dialogues, showing how Plato thought of the soul as remarkably flexible, complex, and indicative of the inner workings of political life and institutions. As she explores the character of the soul, Dr. Brill reveals the corrective function that law and myth serve. If the soul is limitless, she claims, then the city must serve a regulatory or prosthetic function and prop up good political institutions against the threat of the soul's excess.

"Sara Brill takes on at least two significant issues in Platonic scholarship: the nature of the soul, and especially the language of immortality in its description, and the relationship between politics and psychology," wrote Marina McCoy, Boston College associate professor of philosophy, of Dr. Brill's book. "She treats each one of these topics in a fresh and nuanced way. Her writing is beautiful and fluid."

For more information on this event, contact Elizabeth Hastings, ehastings@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4000, ext. 2688.

Posted On: 10-23-2013 11:10 AM

Volume: 46 Number: 83