1
  One and the Many A Platonic Puzzle

• Lecture by
• Kyoo Lee

2
The Philosophical Problem

• One in the Many
• Many in One
• Examples
• Related Concepts

3
Historical Snapshot

• Arche
• Logos
• Pre-Socratics
• Parmenides
• Heraclites
• Plato (via Socrates)

4
Plato, The Republic A Thesis Philosophy and
philosophers do or else must rule the republic.

• Outline The Republic Books I-X, Another Useful
  Outline
• Book I Justice, in search of the perfect and
  complete definition of
• Book II Justice and the good, nature of and
  relationship between
• Book III Justice, keeping importance of the
  guardians/guards
• Book IV Justice, achieving the organic unity of
  (cf. Natural Virtues)
• Book V Justice and rule by forms (cf. "The Theory
  of Forms")
• Book VI Justice and mathematical rationality (cf.
  the Divided Line)
• Book VII Justice, educational and collective (cf.
  the Allegory of the Cave)
• Book VIII Justice, forms of governing and the
  ideal of
• Book IX Justice and the immorality of tyranny
• Book X Justice and immortality

5
Metaphysical Dualism Metaphor of the Proper
Place (IV 433-4)

• Justice One/Many? Natural Harmony/Classificati
  on
• "Justice, I think, is exactly what we said must
  be established throughout the city when we were
  founding iteither that or some form of it. We
  stated, and often repeated, if you remember, that
  everyone must practice one of the occupations in
  the city for which he is naturally best suited. .
  . . Moreover, weve heard many people say and
  have often said ourselves that justice is doing
  ones own work and not meddling with what isnt
  ones own. . . . Then, it turns out that this
  doing ones own workprovided that it comes to be
  in a certain wayis justice (433a-b). . . .
  Therefore, from this point of view also, the
  having and doing of ones own would be accepted
  as justice (433e-434a)."

6
Metaphysical Dualism Analogy of The Divided
Line (VI 508-9)

• AC CE AB BC
• AC Visible. CE Invisible but Intelligible.
• Of all the organs of sense, the eye is the most
  like the Sun. And the Soul is like the eye
  when resting upon that on which truth and being
  shine, the soul perceives and understands and
  radiant with intelligence but when turned
  towards the twilight of becoming and perishing,
  then she has opinion only, and then of another,
  and seems to have no intelligence. (508c-d)

7
Metaphysical Dualism Analogy of The Divided
Line (VI 508-9)

• AC Opinion dóxa vs. CE Knowledge epistêmê
  
• AC dóxa Sensorial/ Sensational
• 1. Image-based Perception eikásia
• 2. Belief pístis
• CE epistêmê Intelligible/ Intellectual
• 3. Understanding or Thought diánoia
• 4. Rational Intuition or Reason nóêsis
• A DIAGRAM

8
Metaphysical Dualism Allegory of the Cave (VII
514-521)

9
Questions

• Why and how does the Two-World View become a
  Logical Conclusion in the Platonic system of
  thinking?
• Discuss and justify, in Platonic or
  anti-Platonic terms, the hierarchy among the
  illusory, the real and , now today, the
  virtual.