The Timaeus says that the World Soul has come to be and that it was generated before the world’s body (34b10–35a1). This chapter investigates two interwoven questions, i.e., whether the World Soul’s generation takes place in time and whether its priority with respect to the cosmos’ body should be understood in chronological terms. By addressing these questions, I shall explore how Plato’s account of psychogony is related to the controversial issue of the creation of the cosmos and of time, as (...) well as to the explanation of motion in the pre-cosmic state. In addition, I shall consider the implications for the World Soul’s “creation” in the light of the Phaedrus, where the soul is explicitly described as ungenerated. By taking into account the views of some ancient commentators alongside those of modern scholars, I shall argue that the contradiction between the two dialogues is only apparent. Finally, I shall show that while the literal and the metaphorical reading of the psychogony each have their strengths and weaknesses, the latter is preferable as to the World Soul’s “birth” and especially as to its priority with respect to the cosmos’ body. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to reassess some mathematical examples in Plato’s dialogues which at a first glance may appear to be nothing more than trivial puzzles. In order to provide the necessary background for this analysis, I shall begin by sketching a brief overview of Plato’s mathematical passages and discuss the criteria for aptly selecting them. Second, I shall explain what I mean by ‘mathematical examples,’ and reflect on their function in light of the discussion on παραδείγματα outlined (...) in theSophistand theStatesman. Against this framework, I shall move to a close examination of specific examples drawn from theTheaetetus(154c–55d), theRepublic(523c–24d), and thePhaedo(96d–97b, 100e–101d). By placing these examples in the broader context of pre-Euclidean mathematics, I shall show that their mathematical content is often less elementary than might appear at first sight. Moreover, by placing emphasis on the specific philosophical concerns that motivated their introduction, I shall argue that the examples are not merely nonsensical jokes. Even if their illustrative purpose is not always immediately clear, and even if they can sound playful and bizarre, they in fact fulfil an important function: by virtue of their power to generate wonder or confusion, they serve as exercises and act as a trigger with respect to the difficult philosophical issues they are intended to clarify. (shrink)

From Plato's Timaeus onwards, the world or cosmos has been conceived of as a living, rational organism. Most notably in German Idealism, philosophers still talked of a 'Weltseele' (Schelling) or 'Weltgeist' (Hegel). This volume is the first collection of essays on the origin of the notion of the world soul (anima mundi) in Antiquity and beyond. It contains 14 original contributions by specialists in the field of ancient philosophy, the Platonic tradition and the history of theology. The topics range from (...) the 'obscure' Presocratic Heraclitus, to Plato and his ancient readers in Middle and Neoplatonism (including the Stoics), to the reception of the idea of a world soul in the history of natural science. A general introduction highlights the fundamental steps in the development of the Platonic notion throughout late Antiquity and early Christian philosophy. Accessible to Classicists, historians of philosophy, theologians and invaluable to specialists in ancient philosophy, the book provides an overview of the fascinating discussions surrounding a conception that had a long-lasting effect on the history of Western thought. (shrink)