Abstract for H. G. Moore's PhD thesis, "Plato's analogical thought"
"In “Plato’s Analogical Thought,” Moore argues that although there is no explicit
discussion of analogy as a philosophical concept in the dialogues, Plato’s thought
operates according to a logic of analogy."
"The thesis that Plato’s thought is analogical is demonstrated by means of several analyses of the way that analogical structure takes root in some of Plato’s most important concepts and discussions."
"Through careful readings of the Platonic dialogues, it becomes clear that analogy plays a key role in Plato’s articulation of the structure of being, the cosmos, and logos."
"Moore begins with an exploration of the meaning attached to analogy and an explanation of its relation to imaging."
"From there, Moore turns to the Republic to demonstrate that the
divided line of Book VI reflects in its own form the analogical structure of Platonic
metaphysics."
"Next, Moore turns to Socrates’ discourse on the hypothesis of the forms,
discovering that, by means of the analogy of the eclipsed sun, hypothesis becomes the
logos that mediates truth and ignorance."
"In the Timaeus, a Pythagorean mathematician
and astronomer (Timaeus) provides an uncharacteristically direct account of the relation
between the way thought is expressed and what is thought in that expression."
"His
account amounts to claiming that there is an analogy between thought and its expression,
which is implicitly demonstrated by his account of the cosmological principle that
mediates being and becoming: chōra."
"Finally, Moore considers the Statesman dialogue, where
the Eleatic Stranger seeks to provide a detailed account of the manner by which a
statesman rules."
"This account, I show, is premised on an analogy with the art of weaving,
which is itself an image of the Stranger’s own method."
"Hence, Platonic methodology is
itself also tied to the structure of analogy."
"These analyses support the conclusion that Plato’s thought is thoroughly
analogical, thereby anticipating and influencing the philosophical role of the concept of
analogy in later traditions."
"As a result, however, analogy appears as a sign of the
necessarily incomplete nature of pure thought."
"In the end, this claim enables us to reflect
upon the predicament of philosophical reflection: that the very structure of a thought
foundational to Western philosophy relies on a concept antithetical to its own prescribed
hierarchy."
"This reveals not a flaw in Plato’s thinking but a feature endemic to totalizing,
rational accounts."
"In addition, it is further argued that the analysis of analogy in Plato’s
work reveals the significance of discursive thought to philosophical practice."
"By
revealing the limits of rational accounts, such considerations of the role of analogy turn us toward a reassessment of the value of non-thetic expressions of thought."
--- which will have delighted Grice!
No comments:
Post a Comment