Plato's cosmology and it's ethical dimensions / Gabriela Roxana Carone.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Carone, Gabriela Roxana, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Plato.

Cosmology, Ancient.

Ethics, Ancient.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 320 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Plato's Cosmology & its Ethical Dimensions

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Although a great deal has been written on Plato's ethics, his cosmology has not received so much attention in recent times and its importance for his ethical thought has remained underexplored. By offering accounts of Timaeus, Philebus, Politicus and Laws X, the book reveals a strongly symbiotic relation between the cosmic and human sphere. It is argued that in his late period Plato presents a picture of an organic universe, endowed with structure and intrinsic value, which both urges our respect and calls for our responsible intervention. Humans are thus seen as citizens of a university that can provide a context for their flourishing even in the absence of good political institutions. The book sheds light on many intricate metaphysical issues in late Plato and brings out the close connections between his cosmology and the development of his ethics.

Contents:

Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Preface; Plato's Cosmology and Its Ethical Dimensions; 1 Introduction; I. Why Cosmology and Ethics?; II. Plato's Cosmology in the Context of thedynamics of plato's Thought; III. Plato's Cosmology and Interpretation of plato's Dialogues; 1 Argument and Myth; 2 Coherence and Interpretation; IV. The Plan of this Book; V. The Order of the Dialogues; 2 Demiurgy in the Timaeus; I. Introduction; II. The Philosophical Meaning of the Demiurge; 1 The Demiurge Takes the Stage; 2 Creation and the Demiurge; 3 Intelligence and Causation

III. The Ontological Status of the Demiurge1 What Kind of Nous is the Demiurge?; 2 The World-Soul as Primary Cause; 3 Reason and the World-Soul; 4 The Immanence and Corporeality of God; IV. Conclusion; 3 Cosmic God and Human Reason in the Timaeus; I. The Cosmic God as a Model for Human Reason; 1 The Cosmic God; 2 God and the Forms; 3 Human Reason and Necessity; II. Divine and Human Demiurgy; 1 The Form of Timaeus' Speech Revisited; 2 Luck and Virtue; III. The Ethical Function of Astronomy; 1 The Human Soul and Knowledge of the Forms; 2 Astronomy and Contemplative Fulfilment

3 Astronomy as Popular Therapy4 Astronomy and Consistency; IV. conclusion; 4 Creating Mixtures in the Philebus; I. The Dialectical Prelude and the contextfor the cosmological discussion; II. Cosmology and the Fourfold Classification; 1 Apeiron and the Imperfection of Sensibles; 2 Peras; 3 The Mixture; 4 The Cause; 5 Teleology versus Chance: From Cosmology to Ethics; III. Conclusion; 5 Happiness in the Universe of the Philebus; I. Pleasure, God, and Human Life; 1 Peras, Apeiron, and Maximisation of Pleasure; 2 God and the Mixed Life of Pleasure and Intelligence

II. Happiness for All Humans: the socratic revivaland the philebus' educational suggestions1 Socrates and the Philebus; 2 Knowledge and Happiness; 3 Self-Knowledge and Humans as Citizens of the Universe; III. Conclusion; 6 Reversing the Myth of the Politicus; I. Understanding the Politicus Myth: why does it matter?; II. Some Gaps in the Traditional Interpretation; III. The States of the Cosmos Successively Presented in the text; 1 Creation of the Universe; 2 Overall Description of the Alternate Cycles

3 Contrary Motion to the Present: Reversal of the Ageing Process - Accompanying Reversal in the Universe4 The Reversal of the Reversal; 5 Reversal After the Age of Cronus: Increasing Cosmic Disorder and Reversal of Ageing; 6 Forward Cycle: The Age of Zeus. The Appendix of the Myth and the Case Against; IV. Autonomy and Divine Guidance; V. Conclusion; 7 Cosmic and Human Drama in the Politicus; I. The Cosmological Significance of the Myth; 1 The Implausibility of a Literal Interpretation of Cosmic Drama; 2 The Philosophical Meaning and Status of God

3 The Cosmological Meaning of Opposite Cycles

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-279) and indexes.

ISBN:

1-139-81027-8

1-107-31648-0

1-107-32187-5

1-107-31744-4

1-299-31884-3

1-107-31550-6

0-511-73491-3