Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Plato – Timaeus'

The Timaeus presents a fascinating account of the cosmos. It includes a creation myth that introduces the figure known as the Demiurge who, despite the fact that he is the cause of the sensible world, is reverently attributed with reason, and whose creation – the cosmos – is actually beautiful and good. In this dialogue Plato offers his readers a panorama of the universe. But just what are his intentions for this? Is his approach a precursor to the methods of natural science,1 or does the Timaeus fall under the category of theology? This thesis will discuss the outcome Plato wished to achieve by finally writing on cosmology and how the methods used to accomplish these ends reveal a more existential attitude towards aesthetics.

By framing his deconstruction of Plato’s Phaedrus and Timaeus as a response to Platonism, Jacques Derrida overlooks the possibility of a Platonic philosophy beyond dogma and doctrine. This thesis argues that Derrida’s deconstructions target a particularly Platonist abstraction of the dialogues, and thus, his critique relies on the underlying assumption that Plato defends the metaphysics of presence. Derrida attempts to show how the thesis that Being is presence undermines itself in both dialogues through hints of différance like pharmakon and khôra. To answer the Derridean critique, I analyze the hermeneutics of Derrida’s deconstruction of Plato and identify what in the dialogues lies beyond the limits Derrida’s reading, for example Derrida’s notable exclusion of ἔρως.

The purpose of the present study is to assess the explanatory value of the concept of the World Soul in the cosmological account of Plato&rsquo<br>s Timaeus. The World Soul plays a crucial role in the account of the world of Becoming in the Timaeus and in Plato&rsquo<br>s philosophy of science. The World Soul explains why there is motion at all in the universe and sustains the regularity and uniformity of the motion of the celestial objects. Its constitution and the way it is generated by the Demiurge endow it an intermediary status between the world of Being and the world of Becoming. Through this status the World Soul facilitates the applicability of the items of the former world (Forms and Numbers) in the explanation of the latter, hence makes natural science possible. The appreciation of the place of the World Soul in the natural philosophy of Plato leads us to a better place to view Plato&rsquo<br>s contribution to ancient natural philosophy and science.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The analysis of the system of speculative thought of Plato and Zoroaster, as found in Plato's Timaeus and Zoroaster's Gathas, seeks to compare a well-known philosophy, that of Plato, to a lesser known and often misunderstood system of speculative thought within a religion, namely Zoroastrianism. The purpose of such a comparison is to show that the speculative thought found in religion is often comparable to philosophy, as is the case in the doctrines postulated in the Gathas. It serves to illuminate the philosophy within a lesser known religion (Zoroastrianism) by comparing it to a well-known philosophy (that of Plato), and in doing so, to cast new light on both. The comparison of Plato and Zoroaster has been proposed and sometimes executed by other scholars as well. The main problem in these other comparisons, thus far, has been the fact that no historical contact or definite doctrinal influence of Zoroaster on Plato has been or is likely to be established. Though Plato might well have been familiar with Zoroastrian doctrines, this cannot be satisfactorily proven. This study does not depend on historical contact or doctrinal influence (though the possibility of the latter has been discussed), but compares the two doctrines independent of historical factors and is based solely on the striking similarities between these two systems of thought. This study has focussed on some of the basic concepts within the two doctrines, such as creation, the soul, and dualism. In this study I have emphasised the philosophical aspect of Zoroastrianism, though it is classified as a religion, because I believe that much of what has been classified as religion also incorporates speculative thought that can be analysed separately, and as a system of speculative thought it is comparable to other traditions of speculative thought, such as Greek philosophy. This comparison therefore seeks to counteract some of the assumptions about religions, and how they are studied, by focusing on the philosophical basis underlying the doctrines in the Zoroastrian religion. Another aspect to the comparison is a focus on the similarities of doctrine originating in two cultures previously held to be vastly different, namely Persian and Greek. There has previously been a tendency to consider the cultures of the classical and the ancient Near Eastern world as separate and completely distinct from each other, and in doing so, ignoring important historical contact. Although the historical interaction between these two areas has received increased attention, comparative investigations have emphasised the differences between the cultures of these regions, although similarities do abound and the comparison of analogous aspects of the various cultures could prove valuable to the study of the ancient world. Recognition of the larger context within which the various cultures of the ancient world operated can only add to the understanding of the ancient world, and pave the way for reassessing the traditions and world-views of various cultures.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die analise van die spekulatiewe denkstelsels van Plato en Zoroaster, soos uitgelê in Plato se Timaeus en Zoroaster se Gathas, beoog om 'n bekende filosofie te vergelyk met 'n minder bekende en dikwels wangeïnterpreteerde spekulatiewe denkstelsel binne 'n religie, naamlik Zoroastrisme. Die doel van so 'n vergelyking is om te demonstreer dat die spekulatiewe denkstelsel wat binne 'n religie gevind kan word dikwels vergelykbaar is met 'n filosofie, soos die geval is met die leerstellings/denkstelsels wat uitgelê word in die Gathas. Dit dien om die filosofiese binne 'n relatief onbekende religie (Zoroastrisme) uit te lig deur dit te vergelyk met 'n bekende filosofie (dié van Plato), en in die proses is dit moontlik dat daar nuwe lig gewerp kan word op albei. Die vergelyking tussen Plato en Zoroaster is al deur verskeie academici voorgestel en soms uitgevoer. Die hoofprobleem in al die vorige vergelykings is dat daar tot dusver by Zoroaster geen historiese kontak met of invloed op die leerstellings van Plato vasgestel kon word nie. Alhoewel Plato heel moontlik bekend kon gewees het met Zoroaster se leerstellings, kan dit nie bo alle twyfel bewys word nie. Hierdie studie voorveronderstel geen historiese kontak tussen of beïnvloeding deur die leerstellings van Zoroaster en Plato nie (hoewel die moontlikheid van laasgenoemde bespreek word). Dit is 'n vergelyking wat slegs gemotiveer is deur die treffende ooreenkomste tussen hierdie twee denkstelsels. My studie fokus op 'n aantal basiese konsepte binne die twee leerstellings, soos skepping, die siel, en dualisme. Ten spyte van die feit dat Zoroastrisme as 'n religie geklassifiseer word, word die filosofiese aspek van Zoroastrisme in hierdie studie beklemtoon, want ek glo dat baie sisteme wat as religieë geklassifiseer word spekulatiewe denke inkorporeer wat onafhanklik van die religie self as 'n spekulatiewe denkstelsel soos filosofie geanaliseer kan word, en verder ook vergelyk kan word met ander tradisies van spekulatiewe denkstelsels, soos die oud-Griekse filosofie. Hierdie vergelyking poog om die aannames oor religieë, insluitend aannames oor hoe religieë bestudeer moet word, teen te werk deur te fokus op die onderliggende filosofiese basis in die leerstellings van Zoroastrisme. 'n Ander aspek van die vergelyking is 'n fokus op die ooreenkomste tussen leerstellings wat hul oorsprong het in twee kulture (die Persiese en Griekse onderskeidelik) wat voorheen as heeltemal uiteenlopend en verskillend beskou is, en in die proses is die belangrike historiese kontak geïgnoreer. Alhoewel die historiese interaksie tussen die twee areas toenemend aandag geniet, word die kulturele verskille beklemtoon ten spyte van die feit dat daar veelvuldige ooreenkomste is en dat 'n vergelyking van ooreenkomste tussen verskeie kulture baie waardevol kan wees vir die studie van die antieke wêreld. 'n Waardering van die wyer konteks waarbinne die verskeie kulture van die antieke wêreld gefunksioneer het, kan net bydra tot 'n beter begrip van die antieke wêreld en die weg baan vir 'n herevaluering van die tradisies en wêreldbeskouings van die betrokke kulture.

This thesis is an exploration of Plato’s understanding of the power of disorder as it is presented in his cosmology, The Timaeus and in his predominantly religious work, Laws X. In the former work this causal force is presented as the disordering power responsible for the physical chaos prior to the generation of the universe, as well as for any residual disorder found within the cosmos after it has been ordered and is the antithesis of ‘nous’ or reason. In the latter work, however, Laws X, the causal force for disorder is now understood as a disordering power capable of endangering the soul, active long after the cosmos has been generated and itself, a ‘Soul’. What ultimately emerges is a dynamic theory of disorder and a metaphysics supporting that theory, weaving through, connecting across and separating apart these two works. In Part I, consisting of five chapters, I provide the Greek, an original translation and commentary on seven key passages from The Timaeus where Plato presents his ideas on disorder, both as an effect within the cosmos and as a causal power or force for disorder prior to its generation. In this regard, I look closely at Plato’s use of the Greek word &V&YK~ in its role as a disordering power, but which has also been commonly understood and translated as ‘necessity’. I contrast this with Plato’s understanding of the role which the ‘Demiurge’ or the ordering power of the cosmos has played, with its faculty of ~06s or ‘reason’ and its access to ideal ‘Forms’ or ‘ideas’ when ordering or generating the universe. In Part 11, consisting of four chapters, Laws X is similarly presented, providing the Greek, a translation (for the most part, that of A. E. Taylor) and commentary on eight key passages. Here I investigate Plato’s understanding of disorder as it pertains specifically to the ‘soul’ and of the soul’s relation to the disordering power(s) and to ‘evil’. In the final chapter a theory of disorder is proposed, in which an epistemology is outlined, an ontology is given and from which, it is argued, a metaphysics of disorder emerges.

This dissertation is a study of appetite in Plato’s Timaeus, Republic and Phaedrus. In recent research is it often suggested that Plato considers appetite (i) to pertain to the essential needs of the body, (ii) to relate to a distinct set of objects, e.g. food or drink, and (iii) to cause behaviour aiming at sensory pleasure. Exploring how the notion of appetite, directly and indirectly, connects with Plato’s other purposes in these dialogues, this dissertation sets out to evaluate these ideas. By asking, and answering, three philosophically and interpretatively crucial questions, individually linked to the arguments of the dialogues, this thesis aims to show (i) that the relationship between appetite and the body is not a matter of survival, and that appetite is better understood in terms of excess; (ii) that appetite is multiform and cannot be defined in terms of a distinct set of objects; and (iii) that appetite, in Plato, can also pertain to non-sensory objects, such as articulated discourse. Chapter one asks what the universe can teach us about embodied life. It argues that Plato, in the Timaeus, works with an important link between the universe and the soul, and that the account of disorder, irrationality and multiformity identifying a pre-cosmic condition of the universe provides a key to understanding the excessive behaviour and condition of a soul dominated by appetite. Chapter two asks why the philosophers of the Republic’s Kallipolis return to the cave, and suggests that Plato’s notion of the noble lie provides a reasonable account of this. By exploring the Republic’s ideas of education, poetry and tradition, it argues that appetite – a multiform and appearance oriented source of motivation – is an essential part of this account. Chapter three asks why Socrates characterizes the speeches of the Phaedrus as deceptive games. It proposes that this question should be understood in the light of two distinctions: one between playful and serious discourse and one between simple and multiform. It argues that the speeches of the Phaedrus are multiform games, and suggests that appetite is the primary source of motivation of the soul addressed, personified by Phaedrus.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO<br>COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR<br>PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO<br>A harmonia e a beleza expressas pelas obras de arte plásticas gregas elevaram-nas a um patamar modelar ao longo da história da arte. Apesar disso, não foram muitos os intérpretes que se voltaram para a questão das artes plásticas na literatura deste mesmo período histórico. Em Platão, por exemplo, outros temas, como das artes poética e sofística, são notavelmente mais trabalhados pela literatura secundária. Isto provavelmente se deve ao fato das artes plásticas aparecerem timidamente nos diálogos, sendo usadas, na maior parte dos casos, em comparações, analogias ou metáforas. Neste trabalho preferimos o tema marginal e voltamo-nos ao estudo das noções de pintura e escultura no contexto do pensamento de Platão. Com a intenção de obter uma visão alternativa à da República no que diz respeito às artes miméticas, investigamos sobre a questão das artes plásticas no que se costuma considerar como último desenvolvimento do pensamento de Platão. Segundo a interpretação mais difundida, no último livro da República Platão condena e expulsa os artistas de sua cidade ideal. Esta mesma apreciação negativa das artes imitativas seria mantida ou modificada em diálogos posteriores? Partimos de uma leitura das ocorrências das noções de pintura e escultura no Sofista, onde encontramos a distinção das artes miméticas em divina e humana. A partir desta distinção, abordamos as aspectos divinos e humanos das artes plásticas, por meio de uma interpretação de sua presença em dois outros diálogos, a saber, o Timeu e as Leis. No Timeu as artes plásticas são usadas para retratar o trabalho do deus demiurgo do mundo; nas Leis, são as obras produzidas pelos homens que são abordadas, principalmente quanto à sua função na cidade construída pelos personagens. Delineamos a percepção de Platão a respeito destes gêneros artísticos, e buscamos compreender o lugar que as artes plásticas ocupam no seu pensamento.<br>Greek plastic art s harmony and beauty made it a model throughout history. In spite of that, only a few scholars have researched about these arts in Greek literature. In Plato, for example, other themes such as the poetic and the sophistic arts are usually more approached. This probably occurs because Plato rarely refers to the plastic arts and uses it mostly in comparisons, analogies or metaphors. Even so, in this thesis we have chosen to research the plastic arts in Plato s thought. The main text on mimetic arts in Plato s dialogues is Republic X. In this book the mimetic arts are condemned and banished from the ideal city. With the purpose to obtain an alternative view about these arts from Plato, we ve decided to study some dialogues considered posterior to the Republic, generally considered to represent the ultimate development of Plato s thought. Will this condemnation remain or will his view be modified in his late works? We begin by an analysis of the Sophist, where we find the distinction between two kinds of mimetic art: the divine and the human. According to this distinction, we ve approached the divine and the human aspects of the plastic arts. To do that, we have considered the uses of the arts of painting and sculpture in other two dialogues: the Timaeus and the Laws. In the Timaeus the plastic arts are used to describe the work of the god demiurge who creates the universe; in the Laws, the characters talk about painting and sculpture as men s works, and mostly about their function in the city imagined in the dialogue. According to the passages which we have interpreted, we have outlined Plato s view about these arts, and other than that, we have attempted to understand the place of these arts in Plato s thought in general.

This thesis compares the interaction of philosophy and literature in Plato and Lucretius. It argues that Plato influenced Lucretius directly, and that this connection increases the interest in comparing them. In the Introduction, I propose that a work of philosophical literature, such as the De Rerum Natura or a Platonic dialogue, cannot be fully understood or appreciated unless both the literary and the philosophical elements are taken into account. In Chapter 1, I examine the tradition of literature and philosophy in which Plato and Lucretius were writing. I argue that the historical evidence increases the likelihood that Lucretius read Plato. Through consideration of parallels between the DRN and the dialogues, I argue that Plato discernibly influenced the DRN. In Chapter 2, I extract a theory of philosophical literature from the Phaedrus, which prompts us to appreciate it as a work of literary art inspired by philosophical knowledge of the Forms. I then analyse Socrates’ ‘prelude’ at Republic IV.432 as an example of how the dialogue’s philosophical and literary teaching works in practice. In Chapters 3 and 4, I consider the treatment of natural philosophy in the Timaeus and DRN II. The ending of the Timaeus is arguably an Aristophanically inspired parody of the zoogonies of the early natural philosophers. This links it to other instances of parody in Plato’s dialogues. DRN II.333-380 involves an argument about atomic variety based on Epicurus, but also, through the image of the world ‘made by hand’, alludes polemically to the intelligently designed world of the Timaeus. Through an examination of Plato’s and Lucretius’ polemical adaptation of their predecessors, I argue that even the most seemingly technical passages of the DRN and the Timaeus still depend upon literary techniques for their full effect. The Conclusion reflects briefly on future paths of investigation.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:11:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1000463 bytes, checksum: edec4944de2f1d5da7cb9e69a2a0b0cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-11-14<br>Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES<br>In this research we examine the mortal soul and its disorders (pathémata) in Plato's Timaeus, to show that in this dialogue Plato extends the concept of death (thánatos) to explain the bond (syndouménes) and the association or communion (koinonía) between the mortal soul and the body. Plato relates the notion of death to the field of philosophy, so that on the one hand, the attribute mortal indicates the composition of human body and of all physical, visible and tangible beings; and sustains the state of dissolution and corruption of these (Timaeus 42e - 43a). Whereas on the other hand it indicates the intrinsic association (koinonía) between the deadly form of the body and mind both of distinct natures. This makes us infer that the deadly attribute (thnetón) is not used by Plato to designate the death of the mortal soul génos (téns psychéns thnetòn génos, Timaeus 69 d-e). Nowhere in the passages of the Timaeus Plato says that the eidos/génos of mortal soul is an elementary being and therefore, is natural to the human body and other beings. In a kind of divine and philosophical demiurge, Plato mixes psychic and physical aspects and demonstrates that the soul of mortal eidos is stuck in the body (sôma) through the medulla (myelós) and that the bonds of every human soul is anchored (ankurôn) in the bone marrow. Thus, the mortal soul feels and vigorates all body parts and accepts the disorders (pathémata) arising from its union with Soma. This reflection helps Plato demonstrate how the body affects the soul (psyché) and how affections (páthos) and passions (tà pathé) are born. It also helps him clarify the true meaning of mortal attributes (tòn thnetón) in relation to the form of mortal soul. Hence, the mortal attribute does not express the death (thánatos) of eídos/génos of mortal humon soul. It is just a Platonic dialectics of action encountered in the psychic tendencies of each of us that explains the complex union of thánatos with psyché sôma, aimed at the formation of virtuous and righteous citizens, the sole purpose (télos) of his philosophy.<br>Nossa pesquisa examina a alma mortal e suas afecções (pathémata) no Timeu de Platão, com o propósito de demonstrar que o filósofo amplia a noção de morte (thánatos), nesse diálogo, para explicar o vínculo (syndouménes) e a associação ou koinonía entre a alma mortal e o corpo. Platão transpõe a noção de morte para o campo de sua filosofia, de modo que por um lado, o atributo mortal indica a composição do corpo do homem e de todos os seres ditos físicos, visíveis e tangíveis; e ampara o estado de dissolução e corrupção destes (Timeu 42e - 43a); e por outro lado, passa a indicar a intrínseca koinonía entre a forma de alma mortal e o corpo, ambos de naturezas distintas; o que nos fez inferir, que o atributo mortal (thnetón) não é usado por Platão para designar a morte do génos de alma mortal (téns psychéns thnetòn génos, Timeu 69d-e); considerando sobretudo, que o filósofo não diz em nenhuma passagem do Timeu, que o eidos/génos de alma mortal é um ser elementar, portanto, de natureza afim ao corpo e demais seres da phýsis. Numa espécie de demiurgia divina e filosófica, Platão mescla aspectos anímicos e físicos e demonstra que a alma de eídos mortal está encravada no corpo (sôma) através da medula (myelós), ou seja, é na medula que estão ancorados (ankurôn) os laços de toda a alma humana. Dessa maneira, a alma mortal sente e vivifica todos os órgãos e partes corpóreas e acolhe afecções (pathémata), originadas de sua união com sôma. Essa reflexão propicia a Platão demonstrar como o corpo afeta a alma (psyché) e como surgem os afetos (páthos) e paixões (tà pathé) humanas; e esclarecer o verdadeiro sentido do atributo mortal (tòn thnetón) aplicado por ele à forma de alma mortal. Portanto, o atributo mortal não expressa a morte (thánatos) do eidos/génos de alma mortal do homem, é apenas um recurso da dialética platônica para conhecer as tendências anímicas de cada um de nós e explicar a complexa união psyché thánatos-sôma, com vistas à formação de cidadãos virtuosos e justos, a finalidade (télos) precípua de sua filosofia.

I sette libri del "De opificio mundi" dell'alessandrino Giovanni Filopono (metà VI p.Ch.) sono il primo commento speculativo alla pericope cosmopoietica del Genesi mediante la fruizione di categorie filosofiche aristoteliche. Presentandone la prima traduzione italiana, si illustra il conato di novità che il Filopono esercita nell'esegesi biblica giacché interpreta Genesi non già attraverso il paradigma demiurgico del "Timeo" platonico, come in àmbito giudaico (Aristobùlo e Filone Ebreo) e nella produzione esameronale patristica (Cappàdoci), bensì attingendo alle opere fisiche e logiche dello Stagirita. Invece della struttura mitico-allegorica sottesa alla lettura cristiana del "Timeo" si impone l'approccio analitico di Aristotele: Filopono rifiuta l'interpretazione allegoretica, impiegando l'argomentazione sillogistico-deduttiva dell'"Organon" aristotelico, ricorrendo a filosofemi cardinali in Aristotele e nella tradizione scientifica che dal medesimo fiorì in Alessandria. Così Filopono in-venta un nuovo modello esegetico: superando l'allegorismo tradizionale (arbitrario e infedele al messaggio rivelato) e il letteralismo della scuola antiochena di Teodoro di Mopsuestia, Teodoreto, Cosma (banalizzante e senza metodo critico) Filopono conia un letteralismo metodologicamente forte, ove il metodo proviene formalmente dalla logica aristotelica e contenutisticamente dalla fisica aristotelica. Già commentatore dello Stagirita, Filopono fa incontrare Rivelazione e filosofia aristotelica, lasciando nel "De opificio mundi" un singolarissimo prodromo della scolastica cristiana.<br>The present essay is meant to illustrate the philosophical and exegetic work intitled "De opificio mundi" (seven books) written by John Philoponus in Alexandria in the middle of the sixth century A.D. about the kosmopoiesis of the first chapter of Genesis. It is argued this treatise is the first evidence of Biblical exegesis led not according to Plato's "Timaeus" but according to Aristotelian corpus, specially "Physics" and "Organon". Philoponus rejects the allegorical method based upon demiurgic "Timaeus" since he thinks it is arbitrary and untrue compared with the Revelation literalism; therefore Philoponus passes the limit of Aristoboulos, of Philo's "De opificio mundi" and also the limit of Christian tradition of Hexaemerons (Fathers of the Church just like Cappadocians). Philoponus replaces allegorism with a new kind of Biblical literalism: not the trivializing one led by the school of Antioch (Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Cosmas Indicopleustes) but a scientific and methodic literalism relied on Aristotelian logic and on the (meta)physical concepts derived from Aristotle (kinesis, dynamis, hexis, hypokeimenon, etc.); so "De opificio mundi" has a syllogistic and deductive structure, not a mythic-allegorical one. Last philosopher in Late Antiquity, Philoponus is in-ventor of a striking Christian-Aristotelian scholasticism.

In the Timaeus Plato sets forth his cosmological system, and near the beginning of the dialogue he carefully qualifies his claims by saying that his account of the cosmos is not absolutely true, but only no less likely than any other account. Rather than being an offhand remark, this statement is key to understanding Plato's aim in constructing his cosmological myth. Plato's epistemological position prevents him from making strong assertions about physical objects and phenomena, but does allow him to make assertions of truth in morality and metaphysics. Thus while the Timaeus is ostensibly an account of the physical universe, for Plato its true value is in using the physical universe as a mythological symbol for moral and metaphysical truth. Plato's account is no less likely than those of other ancient cosmologists because multiple accounts can fit with the observed phenomena. However, his account, while no more likely, is superior to those of others in that it avoids impiety and, by qualifying its claims about the physical universe, is not threatened by future observations.<br>text

Η συγκεκριμένη έρευνα επιδιώκει την διερεύνηση της φύσης των τριών διακριτών γενών του όντος, στηριζόμενη στις αναφορές του πλατωνικού Τίμαιου. Αρχικά, διευρενάται η φύση του γένους της Υποδοχης και στην συνέχεια γίνεται η απόπειρα προσέγγισης των γενών του Είναι και του Γίγνεσθαι, ενω επιδιώκεται παράλληλα και η ανάλυση των χαρακτηριστικών των υπο εξέτασιν γενών. Εξετάζοντας την σχέση των γενών, αντιλαμβανόμαστε την θέση στην οποίαν κατατάσσονται στην πλατωνική, αξιολογική ιεραρχία. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο, επιδίωκεται η κατανόηση του είδους της πραγματικότητας του γιγνόμενου κόσμου, αλλά και η απόλυτη πραγματικότητα του Είναι που υπερβαίνει τον αισθητό κόσμο.<br>This research aims to investigate the nature of the three distinct kind of Being, based on reports of Plato's Timaeus. Firstly, we are going to discover the nature of the third kind, the Receptacle,and then we are attempt to analyze the kind of Being and Becoming. Furthermore,we present and analyze the characteristics of the kinds, which are investigated.Examining the relationship of Being,Becoming and Chora it is possible to understand the position in which they possess in Platonic hierarchy. In this way,we could understand the kind of reality of sensible world and the ultimate reality of Being which is beyond the observable universe.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the problem of soul in Plato's Timaeus while paying due respect to its close connection with the topics of cosmology and cosmogony. The inquiry proceeds from the highest level of the cosmos itself to the lowest level of the souls of mortal beings. In the first chapter, an important question, whether the cosmos singularly came into being or not is being examined. In this context, two traditional approaches are distinguished and it is argued that a proper answer to this question has to contain some elements of them both. The second chapter examines the nature of Plato's maker of this world, the demiurge. It is argued that he is a primordial deity who should not be identified with any aspect of the created cosmos or the intelligible being and who not only creates the bodily world and its soul but serves as a sort of paradigm for the soul in respect to its capacities as well. The topics of soul and cosmos blend equally in the third chapter which is devoted to the world-soul. It concentrates on three main topics which are relevant also for the souls occupying a lower position in the hierarchy. These are the blending of the soul that explains its basic properties, the structuring of the soul and attributing it a particular motion and finally the problem of cognition...

The Philebus is devoted to the question what constitutes the good for a human being. Although Socrates initially favors a life of pure intelligence against the hedonist’s life of pure pleasure, he quickly concedes that some pleasures actually enhance the life of intelligence. In order to determine which pleasures deserve a place in the best life, Socrates undertakes a lengthy investigation into the nature of pleasure. Commentators have long been frustrated in their attempt to uncover a single, unified account that explains in a plausible way the extraordinary variety of pleasures analyzed in the dialogue. I argue that this search for a generic account of pleasure is misguided, because one of the main purposes of Socrates’ division of pleasure is to expose its essentially heterogeneous nature. Pleasures can be bodily or psychic, pure or mixed with pain, truth apt or not, healthy or diseased, and inherently measured or unmeasured, and there are no essential properties which all of these diverse phenomena share. The inclusion of some pleasures in the final ranking of the goods at the end of the Philebus represents a dramatic shift in Plato’s attitude towards certain pleasures, and so it is not surprising that many scholars misinterpret the force of this conclusion. Even in the Republic where the pleasures of reason are favorably compared to the pleasures of spirit and appetite, intellectual pleasures are judged to be more pleasant and real than other pleasures, but they are nowhere judged to be better or praised as genuine goods. In the Philebus, not only are some pleasures unambiguously ranked among the highest goods, but Socrates gives no indication that these pleasures are good only in some qualified or extrinsic way. Instead, certain pleasures make their own positive contribution to the goodness of the best human life, making the mixed life more valuable and choiceworthy than the unmixed life of intelligence.

Ondřej Krása, Causes of the Creation of the World in Plato's Timaeus Abstract of the Thesis The aim of the thesis is to explain the causes of the creation of the world in Plato's Timaeus. The causes of the creation of the world are manifold. The Demiurge created the world according to an eternal paradigm. The paradigm of the world is an intelligible animal that encompasses everything that is eternal. The Demiurge is the best of eternal beings and created the world as an image of the entirety of eternal beings. What is then the relationship between the Demiurge, who is reason, and the entirety of eternal beings, that reason can comprehend? Timaeus characterizes the eternal being as having no other relationships than those towards itself. On the contrary, the Demiurge is a being that has constitutive relationships towards the world. The entirety of being that consists of both the Demiurge and that, which is in itself, is therefore a being in which reason relates self-contained relationships of that, which reason can comprehend, towards something else, namely becoming. The world was created in a receptacle as an embodied soul. Each body is a regular geometrical figure with no "matter" inside. Bodies are both in space and they are modifications of space. Souls are in space as well, but their being in space is...

Literary critical discussions of cosmogony usually examine ideas and assumptions about authorship and poetic creation which are formed in light of inherited models of the world’s creation. Far less attention has been paid to actual representations of the world’s creation, the literary theory and practice of those discourses on cosmogony which influenced later philosophical and literary thought. This thesis contributes to the task of filling that critical gap by analysing two foundational Western discourses on cosmogony: Plato’s Timaeus, and Augustine’s Confessions. In analysing these two texts, the thesis makes two main arguments: first, that the problem of ineffability inherent to cosmogony prompts an author’s recourse to experimental literary methods, to new ways of deploying narrative, genre, and style; second, that the theory and practice of metaphor in these accounts bring into focus the constitutive role of language in “creating” rather than merely reflecting knowledge about this difficult subject. If classical and late antique works such as the Timaeus and the Confessions show a noticeable metalinguistic consciousness, then perhaps subsequent works which engage with a model of the creation show similar tendencies. The thesis pursues this idea by highlighting how the concept or myth of divine creation tends to demand, or is frequently invoked in, attempts to rethink or critique human creativity. I read Dante’s Commedia as an exemplary instance of this phenomenon. The continued importance of these foundational cosmogonies is evident in that a discourse of divine creation is deployed in modern discussions of liminal types of knowledge and the “limits” of human creativity.<br>Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2010