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Single Idea 309

[filed under theme 27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 1. Cosmology ]

Full Idea

If the world is beautiful and its maker good, he had an eye on the eternal; if not, on that which is subject to change; clearly the world is the fairest of things, and he the best of causes, so it is eternal.

Clarification

'Beauty' is the Greek word 'kalos', which also translates as 'fine'

Gist of Idea

Clearly the world is good, so its maker must have been concerned with the eternal, not with change

Source

Plato (Timaeus [c.362 BCE], 29a)

Book Ref

Plato: 'Timaeus and Critias', ed/tr. Lee,Desmond [Penguin 1971], p.41

The 54 ideas from 'Timaeus'

12042 Plato's Forms were seen as part of physics, rather than of metaphysics [Plato, by Annas]
5962 Plato says the soul is ordered by number [Plato, by Plutarch]
24234 I have discussed the best constitution, and the kind of citizens it requires [Plato]
24235 Female Guardians will have identical duties to the men [Plato]
20364 The apprehensions of reason remain unchanging, but reasonless sensation shows mere becoming [Plato]
306 Nothing can come to be without a cause [Plato]
307 Something will always be well-made if the maker keeps in mind the eternal underlying pattern [Plato]
308 If the cosmos is an object of perception then it must be continually changing [Plato]
309 Clearly the world is good, so its maker must have been concerned with the eternal, not with change [Plato]
24236 Some statements about what is obvious and stable are as irrefutable as possible [Plato]
310 The creator of the cosmos had no envy, and so wanted things to be as like himself as possible [Plato]
24239 Perfect goodness always produces perfect beauty [Plato]
24237 The divine organiser of the world wanted it to have as little imperfection as possible [Plato]
24238 The god found chaos, and led it to superior order [Plato]
24240 Intelligence requires soul [Plato]
24241 Beauty must always be perfect [Plato]
24242 Is there a plurality (or even an infinity) of universes? No, because the model makes it unique [Plato]
311 The cosmos must be unique, because it resembles the creator, who is unique [Plato]
24243 The world-maker used the four elements and their properties in entirety [Plato]
24244 The soul is a complex mixture of pure mind and changing matter [Plato]
24245 The god created eternity in the sequence of the universe, and its image we call 'time' [Plato]
312 Time came into existence with the heavens, so that there will be a time when they can be dissolved [Plato]
24246 The sun was made for light, so we could learn numbers from astronomical movement [Plato]
24247 The universe has four types of living being: gods, birds, fish, and land animals [Plato]
24248 The god said human nature comes as the superior male, and inferior female [Plato]
314 Heavenly movements gave us the idea of time, and caused us to inquire about the heavens [Plato]
315 Philosophy is the supreme gift of the gods to mortals [Plato]
316 Music has harmony like the soul, and serves to reorder disharmony within us [Plato]
317 The universe is basically an intelligible and unchanging model, and a visible and changing copy of it [Plato]
318 In addition to the underlying unchanging model and a changing copy of it, there must also be a foundation of all change [Plato]
24249 The elements seem able to transmute into each other [Plato]
24250 We should not pick out 'this' water, but only 'something of this sort' [Plato]
24251 If knowledge is just true belief, we are forced to rely on the senses [Plato]
321 For knowledge and true opinion to be different there must be Forms; otherwise we are just stuck with sensations [Plato]
322 Intelligence is the result of rational teaching; true opinion can result from irrational persuasion [Plato]
24252 Knowledge is taught, has logos, is unshakeable, and is rare [Plato]
24253 Space is eternal and indestructible, but is only known by barely credible reasoning [Plato]
24254 Two existing entities can never strictly coincide [Plato]
324 Before the existence of the world there must have been being, space and becoming [Plato]
325 We must consider the four basic shapes as too small to see, only becoming visible in large numbers [Plato]
24255 Motion needs differing moved and mover, so it originates in diversity [Plato]
24256 The spherical universe composed of four elements squeezes out every bit of void [Plato]
326 For relaxation one can consider the world of change, instead of eternal things [Plato]
24257 Unnatural modifications are painful, and restoring normality is pleasant [Plato]
327 There are two types of cause, the necessary and the divine [Plato]
24258 The gods placed the mortal soul in the chest [Plato]
328 Everything that takes place naturally is pleasant [Plato]
24259 Death in old age is a natural end, untroubled, and more pleasure than distress [Plato]
330 No one wants to be bad, but bad men result from physical and educational failures, which they do not want or choose [Plato]
331 Bad governments prevent discussion, and discourage the study of virtue [Plato]
332 One should exercise both the mind and the body, to avoid imbalance [Plato]
24260 The best part of the soul raises us up to the heavens, to which we are naturally akin [Plato]
24261 Devotion to learning and applied intelligence leads to divine wisdom - if truth is available [Plato]
334 Only bird-brained people think astronomy is entirely a matter of evidence [Plato]