Plato's heritage to Western philosophy, European intellectual tradition and some special sciences
Loading...
Date
Authors
Strauss, Danie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SA Society for Greek Philosophy and Humanities; UNISA
Abstract
Although the statement of Whitehead, asserting that European philosophy may be seen as footnotes to Plato, is exaggerated, it does provide us with a challenge to explain the element of truth in it. This article investigates a number of philosophical issues surfacing already in pre-Platonic thought in order to show how Plato mediated their impact upon subsequent philosophical developments and philosophical trends within some special sciences. The quest for a principle of origin explored alternative modes of explanation, such as number (the Pythagorean claim that everything is number), the metaphysics of space (Parmenides), the struggle with constancy and change (Heraclitus and Plato) as well as contemplating the limits of conceptual knowledge in Plato's dialogue, Parmenides. Owing to the philosophical roots of the special sciences, a more detailed account is given of the influence of Platonism upon the disciplines of mathematics, physics and theology.
Description
Enter any additional information or requests for the Library here.
Citation
Strauss, D. 2016. Plato's heritage to Western philosophy, European intellectual tradition and some special sciences. Phronimon, 17(1):1-23. [https://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2413-3086/2016/151]