ipl-logo

Wholeness In Plato's Parmenides

1732 Words7 Pages

Plato’s Parmenides includes within it a series of seemingly contradicting proofs about the nature and consequences of “the one”. In Deduction 1 of Part II of the Parmenides, Parmenides states that the one cannot have parts nor can it be a whole; however, Parmenides later seems to contradict himself when, in Deduction 2, he argues that the one must both have parts and be whole. In this paper, I will demonstrate that Parmenides comes to such contradictory conclusions about having parts and being whole in these differing deductions because he starts from a unique hypothesis in each deduction (from “if it is one” in Deduction 1 and from “if the one is” in Deduction 2). From this, however, I will argue that Parmenides’ definition of wholeness (i.e. that it is only that which has all of its parts) is too narrow, and that oneness, thus, can …show more content…

This is, as oneness in itself, which I say is indivisible wholeness, cannot be said of the one unless the one partakes of being, as is evident from the being argument at the end of Deduction 1 (142a). Thus, this oneness can still be a part of the one, and only possibly a part of the one when in connection with being. It may seem that oneness, which I claim can be indivisible wholeness, cannot itself have parts, since it is indivisible, and, therefore, not allow the one to be unlimited in multitude in Deduction 2. On the other hand, by allowing oneness to be indivisible and only allowing it to exist when it participates in being, I do not believe this infringes the one’s unlimitedness. Rather, this indivisible oneness will be unlimited in itself, since it has no beginning nor end (as stated in Deduction 1). Furthermore, since being is completely distributed, so too will this indivisible oneness be distributed with being (144d); thus, the one that is can be “chopped up” into equal parts as being, can conform to

Show More
Related

  • On Nonviolent Resistance Gandhi Analysis

    662 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his essay he stated “It becomes necessary for one to dissolve

    Read More

  • Elements Of Plato In The Allegory Of The Cave

    650 Words  | 3 Pages

    How does the story "The Machine Stops" echo the sentiments of Plato in "The Allegory of the Cave"? "The Machine Stops," The two main characters, Vashti and her son Kuno, live on opposite sides of the world. Vashti is content with her life, which, like most people of that world, she spends producing and endlessly discussing secondhand 'ideas '. Kuno, however, is a sensualist and a rebel. He tells Vashti that he has visited the surface of the Earth without permission, and without the life support apparatus supposedly required to survive in the toxic outer air, and he saw other humans living outside the world of the Machine.

    Read More

  • Conceptual Reconstruction: The Dialogue Of The Crito, By Plato

    1421 Words  | 6 Pages

    In conclusion, it is shown that the ethics of Socrates and Plato can be understood by examining the works of the Crito, Meno and Phaedo. Plato 's philosophical concept in these three dialogues is mostly about denying what the self wants, either normal things like food and earthly desires or trying to gain knowledge, and instead, choosing what is just and right. This is Plato’s concept of a good life. From this quest for knowledge, virtue is obtained, and this is the main goal of philosophy in Socrates ' mind. Laws must be made in accordance with wisdom by those who practice philosophy, and must seek to benefit the city as a whole.

    Read More

  • Alcibiades Plato Analysis

    1013 Words  | 5 Pages

    Socrates in the dialogue Alcibiades written by Plato provides an argument as to why the self is the soul rather than the body. In this dialogue Alcibiades and Socrates get into a discussion on how to cultivate the self which they both mutually agree is the soul, and how to make the soul better by properly taking care of it. One way Socrates describes the relationship between the soul and the body is by analogy of user and instrument, the former being the entity which has the power to affect the latter. In this paper I will explain Socrates’ arguments on why the self is the soul and I will comment on what it means to cultivate it.

    Read More

  • Plato The Divided Line

    405 Words  | 2 Pages

    Plato breaks the justification of knowledge down into two types of realms that show what can be known by reason and what can be known by the five senses. These realms, then divided into two other unequal parts based on their clarity and truthfulness, make up what is known as The Divided Line. By understanding The Divided Line we can fully grasp the differences between the perceptual, also known as becoming, realm and the conceptual, also known as being, realm. The perceptual realm is the opinions and beliefs of people or it can be known as the visible realm.

    Read More

  • Karen Armstrong Void Analysis

    1011 Words  | 5 Pages

    Karen Armstrong and Robert Thurman wrote their essays, “Homo religiosus” and “Wisdom”, respectively, describing two words, “being” and “void”. These words, although have opposite meanings, describe the same spiritual experience that come about through different means. By definition, “being” is a kind of fullness or completeness of existence and “void” is emptiness or a negation of existence. Armstrong believes that “being” is the equivalent of the Buddhist’s “Nirvana” while Thurman believes that “void” is the equivalent of the Buddhist’s “Nirvana”. Although these terms seem to be opposite in the literal sense of defining them, they lead to the same outcome: not being at the center of one’s own universe.

    Read More

  • Death In Plato's The Apology

    1131 Words  | 5 Pages

    So, Plato’s sufficient reasons are necessary and crucial to support his

    Read More

  • John Locke's Argument For The Existence Of God

    732 Words  | 3 Pages

    If man knows his own being, then man knows that bare nothing cannot produce a being 3) Therefore, man knows that bare nothing cannot produce a being (from 1 and 2) 4) If bare nothing cannot produce a being, then there has been an eternal being 5) Therefore, there is an eternal (infinite) being

    Read More

  • Summary Of Aristotle's 'Argument Of Parmenides'

    2363 Words  | 10 Pages

    Parmenides approaches his belief in the “one” in an unencumbered freedom that did not include theology or

    Read More

  • Analyzing Socrates Argument In Plato's Meno

    1060 Words  | 5 Pages

    The world we live in is filled with crime, evil, and injustice, but do people have the desire to do bad things knowing that they are bad, or do they do them thinking that they are good? In this essay, I examine Socrates argument, found in Plato’s Meno, that no one knowingly desires bad things. If Socrates were right, it would mean that it is impossible for someone to perform a bad action based on their desire for that bad thing. Instead, all bad desires result from the ignorance of the person performing the action in falsely believing that the action is good. Though Socrates presents a compelling argument, I argue that it is possible for someone to act badly, all the while knowing that what they desire is bad.

    Read More

  • Argument Of Opposites In Plato's 'Phaedo'

    633 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Plato’s, Phaedo, one of the arguments that Socrates makes for justifying his theory about the soul being immortal is the argument of opposites. The argument of opposites is found from 70c to 72c in the Phaedo. The argument is not logically valid as there are a few fallacies that occur with the definition of opposites with which Socrates defines his argument. This argument ultimately fails at being logically valid as contrary to premise 1, all things that have an opposite do not come from only their opposites. Socrates also does not specify in this argument whether he is referring to the soul dying or the body dying in the final premises.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Paul Tillich's Argument

    680 Words  | 3 Pages

    Outside itself, the concern must not have any goods to make this “ultimate”. God alone can be the ultimate desire of the human soul because God alone is permanent and absolute according to St. Augustine. Temporary and changing are contracted by the objects of creation. Therefore, essences are identical to God’s existence. The essence points to God as the creator but that created nature does not have its essence within

    Read More

  • The Final Argument Of Plato's Phaedo

    411 Words  | 2 Pages

    The final argument of Plato’s Phaedo was created to prove souls cannot perish. Plato does so by arguing how a soul cannot die nor cease to exist on the same fundamental grounds of how the number three can never be even. For the number three holds the essence of being odd, without being odd entirely. Similarly, a soul holds the essence of life through immortality, however the soul is not immortal itself and only participates in immortality, just as the number three participates in being odd. Additionally, an essence or form cannot admit to the opposite of itself just as small cannot be large simultaneously, and hot cannot be cold.

    Read More

  • Plato's Point Of View Of Socrates Research Paper

    767 Words  | 4 Pages

    Part A- Socrates In thinking of Socrates we must recognize that what we have is four secondhand sources depicting him. That of Plato, Xenophanes, Aristophanes, and Aristotle. All having radically different accounts on Socrates and his views. Out of all them we consider Plato’s to be the most possible account, even though we face a problem of different versions of Socrates.

    Read More

  • Heraclitus: The Doctrine Of Flux And The Unity Of Opposites

    1856 Words  | 8 Pages

    Heraclitus Heraclitus is a Greek philosopher of which not much is known beyond his works. What we do know is that he lived in Ephesus, a city on the Ionian coast of Asia Minor, and that his character has largely been inferred from his writings on philosophical issues. Two philosophical theories come to mind when the name Heraclitus is mentioned: The Doctrine of Flux and the Unity of Opposites. In his espousal of these theories he managed to draw the ire of many -- even Aristotle and Plato, who believed that his hypothesis of the world was one of logical incoherence.

    Read More

More about Wholeness In Plato's Parmenides

Open Document