In several papers Nicholas Allen (1987-99) proposed a fourth function pertaining to everything that is other, outside or beyond the core triad of functions, with respect both to society (i.e. This three-part psychic structure is analysed in several major philosophical works in the first Christian centuries. The collateral thesis at the individual level, first explored at length by Plato in the Republic, is that this same three-part structure is reproduced or reflected in the human soul: reason, appetite, and spirit in the Phaedrus’ imagery of the human-as-chariot: its driver, one noble horse, and one base horse. The first function is concerned with order, the work of priests and lawyers the second with protection and defense, the work of warriors, police, executive government the third is with sustenance, the work done for food, fertility, health, crafts, commerce, and trade. This paper considers Georges Dumezil’s pioneering theory about the pervasive tripartite ideology underlying Indo-European cultures in terms of their view of the cosmos, society, and the individual. Supervisors: Charles Kahn and Susan Sauvé Meyer The invention of the World-soul is revealed to be Plato’s way of instantiating intellect in the cosmos in order to suit the demands of his natural and moral philosophy, while his esoteric account of the Demiurge resolves any tensions between his immanent theology and his metaphysics, and suggests, semi-literally, the role that timeless, intelligible goodness plays in organizing the sensible world of change. I also make cautious use of the testimony from Aristotle regarding Plato’s so-called “unwritten doctrines”. My central texts are the Philebus, Timaeus, and book X of the Laws, supplemented secondarily by the Phaedo, Phaedrus, Republic, Sophist, Statesman, and Epistle VII. ![]() While I examine the entire Platonic corpus, I focus on Plato’s late dialogues, in which theology and cosmology receive considerably more extensive and significant treatment than they do in his earlier works. the Forms and the Demiurge) in order to determine what Plato’s gods are and what roles they play in his system. the World-soul) and those that are said to be transcendent intelligibles (e.g. My question is this: between intellect, the World-soul, the Demiurge, and even the Forms how many hypostases did Plato posit, what were their nature, and what overall functions did they play in his philosophical system? I analyze Plato’s various accounts of those divine things that are immanent in the world of change (e.g. The major strata in the hierarchy of divine beings were referred to in the Neo-Platonist tradition as “hypostases”. ![]() ![]() as being the subjects of an account of the nature of the gods, but few works in the last half-century or more have addressed the ‘players’ in Plato’s theology as such. When Plato discusses the World-soul, cosmic intellect (nous), and the Demiurge, he approaches them theologically, i.e.
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