Cicero’s
legitimately stands as the first Latin exegesis of the Platonic dialogue. I shall deal with the interpretation of §§19–21, a passage that departs significantly from the Greek text in several ...respects. The aim of this paper is to explore the role Aristotelianism might have played in Cicero’s
. Among the points that support such an analysis is the mention of the Peripatetic Cratippus in the prologue. The interpretative scenario I suggest considers both Cratippus’ role and Antiochus’s philosophical system with its agreement between Platonism and Aristotelianism.
In the
Plato uses apparently superfluous constructions to obtain the equilateral triangle and the square, the faces bounding the regular solids which underlie the four kinds fire, air, water and ...earth. Indeed, the constructions of the two faces involve six and four ‘small’ elementary triangles, respectively, whereas just two ‘large’ elementary triangles would suffice in both cases. Plato also says that the reason why he uses a particular scalene elementary triangle, which he calls the fairest (κάλλιστον), for the construction of the equilateral triangle is a long story (πλείων λόγος) to tell. Recently, Professor D. Robert Lloyd has proposed that present-day symmetry principles underpin both the superfluous constructions of the faces and the choice of the ‘fairest’ triangle. He claims that Plato may have well been inspired by symmetry-related criteria because in both the aforementioned constructions the apparently redundant number of elementary triangles and their arrangement are consistent with reflection and rotation operations brought about with respect to the proper symmetry elements of the two faces. He also emphasizes that it is only with these superfluous constructions, and the ‘fairest’ triangle which Plato adopts to construct the equilateral triangle, that the solids bounded by the two faces possess the correct symmetry. While I acknowledge that all these mathematical aspects entirely and indisputably apply to the plane and solid geometrical figures we encounter in the
, I argue that they motivated neither Plato’s construction of the two faces, nor his choice of the ‘fairest’ scalene elementary triangle, including the ‘long story’ behind it. I shall attempt to demonstrate that the notion that symmetric figures remain invariant (or equivalent) by virtue of their immunity to change despite the dynamical character of the operations applied to them, such as reflection and rotation, conflict with the ontology, epistemology, and philosophy of mathematics of Plato’s system. I also argue that the selection rules that Plato applies in the
to the transformation of the four kinds into each other conflict with the symmetry-group-based classification of the solids that shape those four kinds.
In Plato's Timaeus and the Missing Fourth Guest, Donna M. Altimari Adler offers an original account of Plato's Timaeus from 35a-36d, yielding a new interpretation of the Timaeus scale and cosmic ...harmony imbedded in the text.
In the Timaeus, Plato offers an account of the sensible world in terms of 'images' of forms. Often, images are taken to be particulars: either objects or particular property instances (tropes). ...Contrary to that trend, I argue that, roughly, images are general characteristics that are immanent in Plato's receptacle. Moreover, I distinguish between simple images, which just are general characteristics, and complex images, which are bundles of general characteristics. Overall, then, the entire sensible world can be analysed in terms of immanent general characteristics, the receptacle, and forms, and fundamentally, there is no place for particulars in the sensible world. I end by arguing that my interpretation of the ontology of images is compatible with Timaeus' construction of sensible entities from triangles.
In the Timaeus, Plato famously acknowledges the receptacle as extremely difficult to comprehend. It is neither intelligible (which is reserved exclusively for the Forms) nor sense-perceptible (as it ...is a principle far too basic). Instead, as Plato proposes, the receptacle can only be apprehended through a “bastard” sort of “reasoning” (νόθος λογισμός, Tim. 52b1-2.). This paper explores an exegesis of Plato’s claim as offered by Calcidius, the 4th century translator of and commentator on the Timaeus. I identify two distinctive methods Calcidius advances when grappling with the knowability of the material substratum that underpins our world. The first method – analysis (resolutio) – traces its intellectual lineage to earlier philosophical tradition, and Calcidius primarily uses it to uncover the proper nature and ontological characteristics of matter. Conversely, the second method corresponds to the only cognitive grasp of matter Calcidius believes humans are capable of. In his view, we can neither sense-perceive nor rationally understand matter. Instead, matter yields itself only to the cognitive mode of suspicion (suspicio). The paper provides a detailed analysis of Calcidius’ suspicio, delving into its intricacies and exploring the interrelationships between suspicio and resolutio. As such it offers a pioneering and comprehensive exploration of Calcidius’ account of the knowability of matter.
Plutarch of Chaeronea (c. 45-120 CE) is the most prolific and influential moral philosopher in the Platonic tradition. This book is a fundamental reappraisal of Plutarch’s ethical thought. It shows ...how Plutarch based his ethics on his particular interpretation of Plato’s cosmology. Our quest for the good life should start by considering the good cosmos in which we live. The practical consequences of this cosmological foundation permeate various domains of Greco-Roman life: the musician, the organiser of a drinking party, and the politician should all be guided by cosmology. After exploring these domains, this book offers in-depth interpretations of two works that can only be fully understood by paying attention to cosmological aspects: Dialogue on Love and On Tranquillity of Mind.
Plato on Sunaitia Campbell, Douglas R.
Apeiron (Clayton),
10/2023, Volume:
56, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
I argue that Plato thinks that a
is a mere tool used by a soul (or by the cosmic
) to promote an intended outcome. In the first section, I develop the connection between
and Plato’s teleology. In the ...second section, I argue that
belong to Plato’s theory of the soul as a self-mover: specifically, they are those things that are set in motion by the soul in the service of some goal. I also argue against several popular and long-standing interpretations, namely, that
correspond to Aristotle’s idea of hypothetical necessity, that
are the ‘
’ in an explanation (whereas the true cause is the ‘
’), and that Plato’s causal views should be read through Aristotle’s fourfold schema. I conclude the article by surveying the history of
after Plato’s usage.
