Chapter 3 - Plato’s Contribution to Theoria

Summary

This chapter presents Plato's specific contribution to the history of theoria: how he reacts to the notion of traditional theoria and specifically, which of its elements he rejects and which he reconceives. Platonic theoria stands, although somewhat uneasily, on the shoulders of traditional theoria in regard to its emphasis on observational performance rather than perceptual understanding: for Plato, the follower of traditional theoria is merely "a lover of sights and sounds" rather than a true philosopher. However, certain features are shared across traditional and Platonic theoria, such as that involving perceptual experience, being focused on objects of high significance and the idea of elliptical motion. These features are distinguished as falling along two planes, structural and philosophical, and discussed using analyses of Phaedo, Republic, Phaedrus, and Symposium, among others.