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Single Idea 5960

[filed under theme 15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 2. Psuche ]

Full Idea

The soul, when it has partaken of intelligence and reason and concord, is not merely a work but also a part of god and has come to be not by his agency but both from him as source and out of his substance.

Gist of Idea

When the soul is intelligent and harmonious, it is part of god and derives from god

Source

Plutarch (67: Platonic Questions [c.85], II.1001)

Book Ref

Plutarch: 'Selected Essays and Dialogues', ed/tr. Russell,Donald [OUP 1993], p.33

A Reaction

A most intriguing shift of view from earlier concepts of the psuché. How did this come about? This man is a pagan. The history is in the evolution of Platonism. See 'The Middle Platonists' by John Dillon. Davidson is also very impressed by reason.

The 16 ideas from Plutarch

5957 Absurd superstitions make people atheist, not disharmony in nature [Plutarch]
5958 The sun is always bright; it doesn't become bright when it emerges [Plutarch]
1477 Being manly and brave is the result of convention, not of human nature [Plutarch]
1479 Animals have not been led into homosexuality, because they value pleasure very little [Plutarch]
1478 Animals don't value pleasure, as they cease sexual intercourse after impregnation [Plutarch]
5960 When the soul is intelligent and harmonious, it is part of god and derives from god [Plutarch]
5963 Some say emotion is a sort of reason, and others say virtue concerns emotion [Plutarch]
5974 People report seeing through rocks, or over the horizon, or impossibly small works [Plutarch]
5948 The good life involves social participation, loyalty, temperance and honesty [Plutarch]
5950 If only atoms exist, how do qualities arise when the atoms come together? [Plutarch]
5951 If atoms have no qualities, they cannot possibly produce a mind [Plutarch]
5952 Rather than being the whole soul, maybe I am its chief part? [Plutarch]
5955 No one will ever find a city that lacks religious practices [Plutarch]
20796 Action needs an affinity for a presentation, and an impulse toward the affinity [Plutarch]
5959 Some philosophers say the soul is light [Plutarch]
1212 Replacing timbers on Theseus' ship was the classic illustration of the problem of growth and change [Plutarch]