Plato on God as nous / Stephen Menn. [electronic resource]

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Menn, Stephen Philip, 1964-

Series:

The Journal of the history of philosophy monograph series

The Journal of the history of philosophy monograph series Plato on God as nous

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Plato--Contributions in concept of God.

Plato.

Plato--Contributions in concept of Nous.

God--History of doctrines.

God.

Noos (The Greek word).

Plato--Religion.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 86 p. )

Place of Publication:

Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, c1995.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book is the first sustained modern investigation of Platoʹs theology. A central thesis of the book is that Plato had a theology -- not just a mythology for the ideal city, not just the theory of forms or the theory of cosmic souls, but also, irreducible to any of these, an account of God as Nous (Reason), the source of rational order both to souls and the world of bodies. The understanding of God as Reason, and of the world as governed directly or indirectly by Reason, is worked out in the dialogues of Platoʹs last period, the Statesman, Philebus, Timaeus, and Laws. These dialogues offer a strategy for explaining the physical world that goes beyond anything in the middle dialogues, and gives the best starting point for understanding the cosmologies and theologies of Aristotle, the Stoics, and later ancient thinkers. -- Back cover.

Contents:

1. Platonic Hypotheses of Nous

2. Who Is the Demiurge?

3. What Does "Nous" Mean?

4. Can Nous Exist Apart from Soul?

5. Nous in Anaxagoras and Other Pre-Socratics

6. Plato on Soul as Mediator

7. How Does Nous Cause?

Notes:

"Published for The Journal of the History of Philosophy, Inc."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-585-02970-9