Aristotle’s Criticism of Plato’s ‘Timaeus’ by George S. Claghorn

By George S. Claghorn

The function of this research is to figure out Aristotle's angle towards the content material and approach to Plato's normal technology. Plato and Aristotle have frequently been considered as on contrary facets of a philosophic 'Great Divide'. nevertheless, those that have chanced on that the 2 males have been in contract have occasionally pointed out simply scattered situations of that contract. there's want for a brand new comparability of the 2 thinker- one that is restricted in scope, in accordance with the first texts, and that is systematic and thorough in process. If profitable, this kind of comparability might convey into sharp concentration one part of Aristotle's reviews on Plato. Our try to meet this desire is Aristotle's feedback of Plato's TIMAEUS. In pursuing this examine, it's been essential to reject a few uncritically-accepted interpre­ tations of the Timaeus. opposite to the view of many, we now have concluded that Aristotle mostly agreed with Plato, either within the rules and presuppositions of his typical technology. a couple of implications stem from this research. there's, for instance, the oft-questioned demeanour during which Aristotle taken care of Plato's philosophy. within the nice majority of situations, Aristotle stands forth as a competent reporter and a talented critic. additionally, the research sheds mild on that old riddle: even if Plato and Aristotle are essentially akin or at odds of their common philosophies.

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E~cx) of the organ of sense (its potentiality) is converted into the second entelechy (its actuality). (Cf. De An. ) There is a co-operation between the sensed object and the sensor. e a difference between the state of each, part of the contrariety will flow from each to the other. For example, with a hot object and a cold hand, heat will go from the object into the hand, and cold from the hand into the object. The same elements which form the cxl~1J't'~ will also form the cxl0'61J't'~x~. (Cf. De Sensu, 44Ib8-IS, De Gen.

186de). The whole burden of the reminiscence doctrine is that knowledge is called forth in us with but not Irom sensation. We must conclude that Campbell was correct when he judged the Theaetetus account of sensation to be Plato's own. Though rejected as a theory of knowledge, it is retained as a 'probable' doctrine of sense 7. This still might not seem satisfactory to some. How can the knowledge of the meeting and mingling of two streams of light be any less fluid and relativistic than that meeting itself?

There is a unified agent, the God who geometrizes and introduces harmony wherever possible 20. But it was no mere visionary goal that Plato sought. His objecAristotle even follows Plato in the use of t7tbtEl)o~ in this passage. 7tepOl:~ or ISpo~. The word ISpQ~, which occurs frequently in the Prior Analytics, is found more rarely in the Posterior Analytics. This was taken by Solmsen to be the last link in Aristotle's gradual development from a Platonic view of form to something purely logical in implication.

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