| Project Detail |
A closer look at Plato’s intricate web of ideas
In the realm of ancient philosophy, the enigmatic concepts of Space and Necessity in Plato’s work have long intrigued scholars. With the support of Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, the EU-funded Platonic Materiality project delves into these elusive notions in a groundbreaking monograph titled: Materiality and Cosmology in Plato and the Platonic Tradition. At its core, the project scrutinises Plato’s intricate perspectives on Necessity (anankee) and Space (choora). While traditionally linked to Platonic matter, these notions have generated divergent interpretations. The monograph’s first segment critically dissects theories by Plutarch, Plotinus, and Proclus, unveiling their Aristotle-influenced views on Necessity and Space. The second part probes Plato’s views on materiality and cosmology, definitively pinpointing Necessity, rather than choora, as the crux of Platonic material essence.
The tentative title of this project which is going to culminate in a monograph published with a reputable publisher is Materiality and Cosmology in Plato and the Platonic Tradition. My investigations will focus on Plato’s concepts of Necessity (ananke) and Space (chora), the latter of which was traditionally identified with Platonic matter. The monograph will consist of two parts. In the first, I shall critically analyze the theories of matter expounded by Plutarch, Plotinus, and Proclus. Their perspectives are based on differing readings of Plato’s Necessity and Space, nevertheless heavily informed by Aristotle’s doctrine of hyle. The Platonists saw Platonic Space as identical with Aristotelian matter, while their interpretations of Necessity varied widely. The discussion developed in the first part is primarily meant to aid the reader in discerning what Plato really said, through the process of sifting out Aristotelian and other influences. In the second part, I shall turn to Plato’s view on materiality and its cosmological role, as presented in the Timaeus, but also elsewhere. In it, I shall demonstrate clearly and decisively the following points. a) If we were to designate something in the Timaeus as Platos causa materialis, that something would be ananke, not chora; nevertheless, such an attribution would be anachronistic, for Plato did not operate with a notion of matter, but with that of corporeality instead. b) Consequently, it is impossible for chora, which is manifestly different from ananke, to play that role. That is, chora cannot be something out of which, but only that in which the world has been fashioned. I shall also discuss some debated corollaries and conclude that i) Necessity proper arises only after the demiurgic intervention and is not present in the pre-cosmic chaos; ii) Necessity is identical with the Errant Cause; iii) Platos Space is not sheer extension like Newtons, but a full-fledged entity and a plenum of perhaps undisclosed content. |
