Plato’s use of the term stoicheion
Origin and implications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14195/1984-249X_30_5Keywords:
Plato, Element, Letter, Timaeus, Theaetetus, CratylusAbstract
The aim of this paper is to examine the implications of Plato’s use of the term stoicheion, since his awareness of stoicheion’s polysemy reveals his view of the origin, the complexity and, at the same time, the order of reality. Moreover, his use of stoicheion allowed him both to inherit and to detach himself from his predecessors. I begin by presenting the history of the notion of stoicheion; then, since one of the meanings of stoicheion is ‘letter of the alphabet’, I focus on the Cratylus, which contains the first of several passages where Plato employs the alphabet as a paradigm for the structure of a complex system. Finally, I turn to the Theaetetus, where Plato, for the first time, uses stoicheion in the sense of ‘element’ and where, through the relation letters/syllables, Plato clarifies that enumeration and juxtaposition are not sufficient to attain the real knowledge. I will argue that only thanks to these steps can we understand the occurrences of stoicheion in the Timaeus, where Plato first states that air, earth, fire and water are not stoicheia tou pantos, and then reveals that, instead, the basic triangles are ‘the elements of the universe’.
Downloads
References
BERTI, E. (1997). L’oggetto dell’Eikos muthos nel Timeo di Platone. In: CALVO, T.; BRISSON, L. (eds.). Interpreting the Timaeus ”“ Critias. Proceedings of the IV Symposium Platonicum. International Plato Studies 9. Sankt Augustin, Academia Verlag, p. 119-131.
BETEGH, G. (2010). What makes a myth eikôs? In: MOHR, R. M.; SATTLER, B. M. (eds.). One Book The Whole Universe. Plato’s Timaeus Today. Las Vegas/Zurich/Athens, Parmenides Publishing, p. 213-224.
BURKERT, W. (1959). Stoicheion. Eine semasiologische Studie. Philologus 103, p. 167-197.
BURNYEAT, M. F. (2009). EikoÌ„s muthos. In: PARTENIE, C. (ed.). Plato’s Myths. Cambridge/New York, Cambridge University Press, p. 167-186.
BURNYEAT, M. F. (2000). Plato on Why Mathematics is Good for the Soul. Proceedings of the British Academy 103, p. 1-81.
BURNET, J. (1930). Early Greek Philosophy. 4ed. London, Palala Press. (1ed. 1908)
BURY, R. G. (trans.) (1929). Plato. Timaeus, Critias, Cleitophon, Menexenus, Epistles. Loeb Classical Library 234. London, William Heinemann.
CAPPELLETTI, V. (2001). Dall’ordine alle cose: saggio su Werner Heisenberg. Milano, Jaca Book.
CENTRONE, B. (2015). Prima lezione di filosofia antica. Universale Laterza 948. Roma/Bari, Editori Laterza.
CROWLEY, T. J. (2005). On the use of stoicheion in the sense of element. Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 29, p. 367-394.
DIELS, H. (1899). Elementum: eine Vorarbeit zum griechischen und lateinischen Thesaurus. Leipzig, Teubner.
DONINI, P. (1988). Il ‘Timeo’: unità del dialogo, verosimiglianza del discorso. Elenchos 9, p. 5-52.
DRUART, T. A. (1968). Le « stoicheïon » dans le « Théétète » de Platon. Revue Philosophique de Louvain 91, p. 420-434.
FALCON, A. (2008). Aristotle and the Science of Nature: Unity without Uniformity. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
FERRARI, F. (2016). Simposio e filosofia: il problema del ‘Dio geometra’. In: RIBEIRO FERREIRA, J.; LEÃO, D.; TROSTER, M.; BARATA DIAS, P. (eds.). Symposion and Philanthropia in Plutarch. Coimbra, Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, p. 87-96.
FOWLER, H. N. (trans.) (1926). Plato. Cratylus. Loeb Classical Library 167. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
GATTI, M. L. (2006). Etimologia e filosofia. Strategie comunicative del filosofo nel «Cratilo» di Platon. Milano, Vita e Pensiero.
HADOT, P. (1983). Physique et poésie dans le Timée de Platón. Revue de Théologie et de Philosophie 115, p. 113-133.
KAHN, C. H. (2013). Plato and the Post-Socratic Dialogue: The Return to the Philosophy of Nature. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
LAGERCRANTZ, O. (1911). Elementum: Eine lexikologische Studie. Uppsala/Leipzig, Akademiska Bokhandeln/Otto Harrassowitz.
MESCH, W. (2002). Die Bildlchkeit der platonischen Kosmologie Zum Verhältnis von Logos und Mythos im Timaios. In: JANKA, M.; SCHÄFER, C. (eds.). Platon als Mythologe. Neuen Interpretationen zu den Mythen im Platons Dialogen. Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, p. 194-213.
MUELLER, I. (2005). Mathematics and the Divine in Plato. In: KOETSIER, T.; BERGMANS, L. (eds.). Mathematics and the Divine: A Historical Study. Amsterdam/Boston, Elsevier, p. 101-121.
RACIONERO, Q. (1998). Logos, Myth and probable discourse in Plato’s Timaeus. Elenchos 19, p. 29-60.
RADICE, R. (ed.) (2003). Lexicon I. Plato. Milano, Biblia.
RYLE, G. (1960). Letters and Syllables in Plato. The Philosophical Review 69, n. 4, p. 431-451.
RYLE, G. (1990). Logical Atomism in Plato’s Theaetetus. Phronesis 35, p. 21-46.
SANTA CRUZ, M. I. (1997). Le Discours de la Physique: eikos logos. In: CALVO, T.; BRISSON, L. (eds.). Interpreting the Timaeus ”“ Critias. Proceedings of the IV Symposium Platonicum. International Plato Studies 9. Sankt Augustin, Academia Verlag, p. 133-139.
SEDLEY, D. (2006). The midwife of Platonism. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
SMITH, J. E. (1985). Plato’s Myths as ‘Likely Account’, Worthy of Beliefs. Apeiron 19, p. 24-42.
TAYLOR, A. E. (1928). A Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
TURRINI, G. (1979). Contributo all’analisi del termine eikos. Linguaggio, vero-simiglianza e immagine in Platone. Acme 32, p. 299-323.
WITTE, B. (1964). Der eikós lógos in Platos Timaios Beitrag zur Wissenschaftmethode und Erkenntnistheorie des späten Plato. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 46, p. 1-16.
![Archai 30 (2020 [3])](https://periodicos.unb.br/public/journals/2/cover_issue_2020_en_US.png)
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Given the public access policy of the journal, the use of the published texts is free, with the obligation of recognizing the original authorship and the first publication in this journal. The authors of the published contributions are entirely and exclusively responsible for their contents.
1. The authors authorize the publication of the article in this journal.
2. The authors guarantee that the contribution is original, and take full responsibility for its content in case of impugnation by third parties.
3. The authors guarantee that the contribution is not under evaluation in another journal.
4. The authors keep the copyright and convey to the journal the right of first publication, the work being licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License-BY.
5. The authors are allowed and stimulated to publicize and distribute their work on-line after the publication in the journal.
6. The authors of the approved works authorize the journal to distribute their content, after publication, for reproduction in content indexes, virtual libraries and similars.
7. The editors reserve the right to make adjustments to the text and to adequate the article to the editorial rules of the journal.
