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A review by therealesioan
Timée by Plato
4.0
This dialogue is definitely indicative of the nature of Plato's late works; it's very technical, rationalistic and autistic. The poetry of the erotic dialogues like Phaedrus and Symposium is gone. As is the romantic search for truth above all else like in trial and apology dialogues. Plato's clearly become disinterested in stagecraft at his old age. He tries the dialogue style for the first few pages to then just give up and hand Timaeus a long essay to serve as the rest of the book. I can certainly see how the Nietzschean critique of Plato's rationalism applies here.
Despite that, I think this yoke has some of Plato's most profound formulations. Firstly the influence of the Pythagoreans is particularly present here, even in the first three words of the text; "One, two, three-". The line sets the tone for the discussion where mathematics and geometry is at the core of the discussion. Plato is famous for including subtle hints in the first words of his dialogues, such as in the Republic where the first three words are "I went down" echoing the allegory of the cave.
But anyway as I said mathematics is at the core of Plato's cosmology here. In strong contrast to Pagan Hellenic origin myths like Hesiod's. Plato fundamentally privileges Being, Order and Harmony over Becoming, Chaos and Disunity. He sides with Parmenides over Heraclitus, Apollo over Dionysus. This at least in his metaphysics of the Heavenly Bodies and the Demiurge. He posits a sort of monistic cosmos with the Nous as the generating energy emanating through existence.
The emphasis on intelligence and number as defining the superstructure of this world is certainly picked up from the Pythagoreans, though it seems Plato leans more toward their geometry than their arithmetic. I like how the coherence and pre-destined nature of the universe in astrology, number, etc applies to society and the individual also. As we all posses the capacity for noesis. Through this we must all strive for inner and outer taxis and harmony.
This ties into Plato's biopolitics here. So just as the the microcosm is solely beholden to the macrocosm, the individual is always inherently a part of the wider world-soul. In this sense the individual can never be formally isolated from the community, from the cosmos. We all have our divine roles in the organic structure of reality. This translates in real terms to the tripartite caste system which Socrates mentions picking up from Egypt in the dialogue. The priest, warrior and merchant castes are the three components of every Indo-European society.
Despite that, I think this yoke has some of Plato's most profound formulations. Firstly the influence of the Pythagoreans is particularly present here, even in the first three words of the text; "One, two, three-". The line sets the tone for the discussion where mathematics and geometry is at the core of the discussion. Plato is famous for including subtle hints in the first words of his dialogues, such as in the Republic where the first three words are "I went down" echoing the allegory of the cave.
But anyway as I said mathematics is at the core of Plato's cosmology here. In strong contrast to Pagan Hellenic origin myths like Hesiod's. Plato fundamentally privileges Being, Order and Harmony over Becoming, Chaos and Disunity. He sides with Parmenides over Heraclitus, Apollo over Dionysus. This at least in his metaphysics of the Heavenly Bodies and the Demiurge. He posits a sort of monistic cosmos with the Nous as the generating energy emanating through existence.
The emphasis on intelligence and number as defining the superstructure of this world is certainly picked up from the Pythagoreans, though it seems Plato leans more toward their geometry than their arithmetic. I like how the coherence and pre-destined nature of the universe in astrology, number, etc applies to society and the individual also. As we all posses the capacity for noesis. Through this we must all strive for inner and outer taxis and harmony.
This ties into Plato's biopolitics here. So just as the the microcosm is solely beholden to the macrocosm, the individual is always inherently a part of the wider world-soul. In this sense the individual can never be formally isolated from the community, from the cosmos. We all have our divine roles in the organic structure of reality. This translates in real terms to the tripartite caste system which Socrates mentions picking up from Egypt in the dialogue. The priest, warrior and merchant castes are the three components of every Indo-European society.