more from Plato

Single Idea 16121

[catalogued under 7. Existence / E. Categories / 2. Categorisation]

Full Idea

If I believe that someone is capable of discerning a single thing that is also by nature capable of encompassing many, I follow 'straight behind, in his footsteps, as if he were a god'.

Gist of Idea

I revere anyone who can discern a single thing that encompasses many things

Source

Plato (Phaedrus [c.366 BCE], 266b)

Book Reference

Frede,Michael: 'Essays in Ancient Philosophy' [University of Minnesota 1987], p.543


A Reaction

[Plato quote Odyssey 2.406] This is the sort of simple but profound general observation which only the early philosophers bothered to make, and no one comments on now. Encompassing many under one is the very essence of thinking.