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Particular and Universal: Hypothesis in Plato's Divided Line
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Lee Franklin
Published/Copyright:
October 5, 2011
Abstract
This paper offers a new reading of the method of hypothesis in the Divided Line of Plato's Republic that preserves a clear distinction between the objects of that method and dialectic. Properties, or Forms, are hypothesized when they are predicated of particulars whose character is to be investigated, as in the ekthesis of a construction based geometric proof. Hypothesis is the basis for rigorous proof of general theorems, expressed entirely in terms of particulars, such as geometric figures. Only in dialectic, centered on the ‘What is F?’ question, do we come to investigate universal properties directly.
Published Online: 2011-10-05
Published in Print: 2011-October
© Walter de Gruyter 2011
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Articles in the same Issue
- Souls and the Location of Time in Physics IV 14, 223a16–223a29
- Rethinking Plato's Conception of Knowledge: The Non-philosopher and the Forms
- Particular and Universal: Hypothesis in Plato's Divided Line
- The Structure of Plato's Dialogues and Greek Music Theory: A Response to J. B. Kennedy
Articles in the same Issue
- Souls and the Location of Time in Physics IV 14, 223a16–223a29
- Rethinking Plato's Conception of Knowledge: The Non-philosopher and the Forms
- Particular and Universal: Hypothesis in Plato's Divided Line
- The Structure of Plato's Dialogues and Greek Music Theory: A Response to J. B. Kennedy
