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Chapter One

Chapter One Light both illuminates and attracts. As such, it is well suited to be the key metaphor in Plato's theory of the Good. In this paper it will be shown that this theory focuses on the construction of an ideal for humans. Ideal building includes what is called in modern philosophy ethics, but it includes much more than that. It pro - vides an overall framework for setting aims and organizing one's life in accordance with the priorities that the chosen aim entails. Some humans have only a plurality of limited aims while others organize their lives around a single end. Such differences, and the related topic of ideal building, have not been central topics in modern philosophy. Yet humans have to regard the challenge of setting aims as a forced option in their lives. Refusal to think about this is also a decision about aims. Ancient Greek philosophy was preoccupied with the task of specifying what the aim ("telos") of life should be. A look at the writings on this topic show that the Greeks in this context were concerned with ideal building. Before we look at Plato's pro - posals in this light, we will summarize the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Online Brill

Chapter One

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright 1986 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1059-986X
eISSN
2213-4417
DOI
10.1163/2213441785X00021
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Light both illuminates and attracts. As such, it is well suited to be the key metaphor in Plato's theory of the Good. In this paper it will be shown that this theory focuses on the construction of an ideal for humans. Ideal building includes what is called in modern philosophy ethics, but it includes much more than that. It pro - vides an overall framework for setting aims and organizing one's life in accordance with the priorities that the chosen aim entails. Some humans have only a plurality of limited aims while others organize their lives around a single end. Such differences, and the related topic of ideal building, have not been central topics in modern philosophy. Yet humans have to regard the challenge of setting aims as a forced option in their lives. Refusal to think about this is also a decision about aims. Ancient Greek philosophy was preoccupied with the task of specifying what the aim ("telos") of life should be. A look at the writings on this topic show that the Greeks in this context were concerned with ideal building. Before we look at Plato's pro - posals in this light, we will summarize the

Journal

Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Online – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1985

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