Concluding Remarks

Summary

The significance of traditional theoria to the philosophical thought of Plato and Aristotle is indisputable, reflecting the central role that the practice plays in the two philosophers’ accounts of theoria. Plato makes explicit, and sometimes ironic, use of the tradition at several levels in his dialogues. To mention one example, in Rep. VI we find Plato mentioning and then re-conceiving theoria – first, he takes it as festival-attendance, which he describes as akin to mere dreaming (Rep. 476b1–5) – and then he transforms it into genuine philosophical inquiry. Yet, the Platonic ideal of philosophical study preserves various features characteristic of traditional theoria including its observational component, its religious objective, and its cosmopolitanism.