
'the God Wanted Everything To Be Good, Marred By As Little Imperfection As Possible.' Timaeus, One Of Plato's Acknowledged Masterpieces, Is An Attempt To Construct The Universe And Explain Its Contents By Means Of As Few Axioms As Possible. The Result Is A Brilliant, Bizarre, And Surreal Cosmos - The Product Of The Rational Thinking Of A Creator God And His Astral Assistants, And Of Purely Mechanistic Causes Based On The Behaviour Of The Four Elements. At Times Dazzlingly Clear, At Times Intriguingly Opaque, This Was State-of-the-art Science In The Middle Of The Fourth Century Bc. The World Is Presented As A Battlefield Of Forces That Are Unified Only By The Will Of God, Who Had To Do The Best He Could With Recalcitrant Building Materials. The Unfinished Companion Piece, Critias, Is The Foundational Text For The Story Of Atlantis. It Tells How A Model Society Became Corrupt, And How A Lost Race Of Athenians Defeated The Aggression Of The Invading Atlanteans. This New Edition Combines The Clearest Translation Yet Of These Crucial Ancient Texts With An Illuminating Introduction And Diagrams. About The Series: For Over 100 Years Oxford World's Classics Has Made Available The Widest Range Of Literature From Around The Globe. Each Affordable Volume Reflects Oxford's Commitment To Scholarship, Providing The Most Accurate Text Plus A Wealth Of Other Valuable Features, Including Expert Introductions By Leading Authorities, Helpful Notes To Clarify The Text, Up-to-date Bibliographies For Further Study, And Much More.
Plato investigates the origins of the universe and the nature of human society through the lens of rational creation and historical myth. The author, a foundational figure in Western philosophy, employs a dialogue-based framework to reconcile the existence of a benevolent creator with the inherent imperfections of the physical world. By synthesizing metaphysical speculation with early scientific inquiry, the text establishes a framework for understanding the cosmos as a structured, albeit recalcitrant, system.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars and students of philosophy recognize this work as a primary source for understanding Platonic cosmology and the origins of the Atlantis myth. Readers frequently note the dense, abstract nature of the prose, which often requires supplementary notes to navigate the complex metaphysical arguments.
Page Count:
240
Publication Date:
2008-01-01
ISBN-10:
0191539783
ISBN-13:
9780191539787
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