Blood and the Awareness of Perception. From Early Greek Thought to Plato’s Timaeus
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Maria Michela Sassi
Abstract
In this paper I first address what I consider a central issue in the account of perception in Plato’s Timaeus, namely, how the pathemata pass through the body to reach the soul, and thus become aistheseis. My point in Section 1 is that in tackling this issue Plato aims to provide a firm physiological basis to the notion of perception that starts to emerge in the Theaetetus and the Philebus and is crucial to the late development of his theory of cognition. In the ensuing section I try to put the account of perception in the Timaeus into a historical perspective, aiming to highlight two points: a) Plato’s description of the way in which sensible impressions “travel” inside the body and interact with its parts and other constituents is largely indebted to previous theories, such as those we find, for example, in Empedocles and a few Hippocratic writers; b) The leading role in this story (where internal air plays a significant supporting role) is played by blood flowing through the vascular system and thus performing a crucial cognitive function. Moreover, emphasizing the role of blood as well as analyzing the elaborate way in which perceptions are transmitted through the body to the soul proves vital to appreciate (in Section 3) the cognitive status of the lower parts of the soul (which are more involved in perception) and their relation to reason. Overall, the paper adds further elements to our understanding of Plato’s embodied approach to cognition.[1]
Acknowledgements
During its long and multilayered writing history, this paper has benefited from reactions of audiences in several venues: Macerata University (Seminario nazionale di storia della filosofia antica, May 2001, organized by M. Migliori: F. Fronterotta, F. Trabattoni, M. Vegetti); Neversdorf, Kellerstiftung (workshop on Common to body and soul II, June 2011, organized by R. King: J. Dillon, R. King, A. Long, Ch. Wildberg); Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für klassische Philologie (Dec. 2012: H. Bartoš, S. Kouloumentas, R. Lo Presti, M. Martelli, Ph. van der Eijk); Paris, Centre Léon Robin (Séminaire Les Présocratiques, Feb. 2013, organized by R. Saetta Cottone et G. Journée: L. Brisson, P. Demont, J.-B. Gourinat, L. Iribarren, C. Viano). Stavros Kouloumentas and Máté Herner saved me from several oversights in reading the penultimate written version. I am most grateful for various comments and criticisms to this great number of colleagues and friends and, last but not least, to the Apeiron anonymous readers. I am of course responsible for any blunder or inadvertence remaining in the final text.
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Blood and the Awareness of Perception. From Early Greek Thought to Plato’s Timaeus
- The Nature of Courage in Plato’s Laches
- Socrates’ Understanding of ‘Protection’ (Boētheia) in His Other-Oriented Ethics: The Case of the Athenians in Plato’s Apology and Gorgias
- The Dispute Over the Part-Whole Puzzle in Aristotelian Hylomorphism and Ackrill’s Problem: The Argument in Metaphysics Z 17, 1041b11-33
- Natural Inseparability in Aristotle, Metaphysics E.1, 1026a14
- Complete Life in the Eudemian Ethics
- Misprinted Representations in Stoicism
- Aristotelian Motives in Middle Platonic Theology. Aristotelian Threads and Categories in the Theory of God in Alcinous’ Didaskalikos
- Three Instances of the Good in Proclus
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Blood and the Awareness of Perception. From Early Greek Thought to Plato’s Timaeus
- The Nature of Courage in Plato’s Laches
- Socrates’ Understanding of ‘Protection’ (Boētheia) in His Other-Oriented Ethics: The Case of the Athenians in Plato’s Apology and Gorgias
- The Dispute Over the Part-Whole Puzzle in Aristotelian Hylomorphism and Ackrill’s Problem: The Argument in Metaphysics Z 17, 1041b11-33
- Natural Inseparability in Aristotle, Metaphysics E.1, 1026a14
- Complete Life in the Eudemian Ethics
- Misprinted Representations in Stoicism
- Aristotelian Motives in Middle Platonic Theology. Aristotelian Threads and Categories in the Theory of God in Alcinous’ Didaskalikos
- Three Instances of the Good in Proclus
