Date of Award

Fall 9-5-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Philosophy

First Advisor

Jacqueline Scott

Abstract

This study utilizes Plato’s conception of purification as a diagnostic tool to examine contemporary issues of police brutality and political violence. Within this context, I aim to treat the multiple tensions that arise with the question of living a good life. What does it mean to live and what does it mean to live a good life within constraints that magnify fear, anxiety, and despair? I argue that philosophical purification involves ‘aporia’ (perplexity; difficulty; confusion; loss; or puzzlement) in both a literal and generative sense. Moreover, the multiple aporias that arise cannot be reconciled by merely performing a religious rite of purification or providing an argument about how one should live, die, or commune with the divine. Consequently, I leverage the Greek term ‘aporia’ to illustrate that philosophical purification is an ongoing and edifying practice rather than a closed process that terminates in purity or wisdom. My interpretation of Plato’s conception of purification departs from traditional readings in five ways. First, I argue that one must shift their orientation towards an affirmation of life rather than a sanitized view of living. Second, purification involves an attempt to remove that which impedes progress towards self-improvement, not a complete uprooting of fear, shame, or ignorance. Third, the practice incorporates a striving to attain that which cannot fully be realized. Fourth, the striving is sustained by critical hope, collective agency, and collective discourse. Lastly, philosophical purification is liberatory and transformative in scope.

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