Abstract

In this dissertation I address what Plato means by time and its role in the universe. In several of Plato's middle and later dialogues, such as the Republic, Statesman, Timaeus, and Critias, time serves as the framework for becoming insofar as things come to be and pass away in time. Of all the dialogues, the Timaeus comes closest to providing a definition of time with its well-known description of time as the moving image of eternity. However, in spite of the seemingly close relationship between time and eternity, I argue that the Timean description of time as an eternal image does not succeed. Insofar as human existence is limited in time and place, an atemporal realm is beyond us, and hence unknowable. Since humans have no access to the eternal realm, one cannot prove that the universe and time have an origin. In order to discuss a beginning, one would need to step outside of time, something that is not humanly possible. Thus, what is significant about the Timaeus is not its cosmogony, but the fact that an account of the creation of the universe cannot be demonstrated. ;The problem of time and human knowledge continues in the Critias . I argue that Plato creates the narrative of ancient Athens and Atlantis in order to show us why we cannot preserve our ancient past. Because things come to be and pass away in time, the record of events eventually disappear. Unlike Plato scholars who claim that the moral of the Critias is to show the downfall of an overly aggressive nation, I find Plato's point to be that nothing lasts forever, in spite of attempts to preserve the past through either written or oral traditions