We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 September 2020
Chapter 6 examines Plato’s introduction of mathematical structures in order to explain the natural world. It contrasts his ‘mathematical approach’ to nature with that of the Pythagoreans, and shows how his use of mathematics enables Plato to make motion intelligible in itself to a certain degree. For this, the idea of measuring motion in temporal terms is crucial. However, Plato’s treatment of measurement in the Timaeus does not include measuring the distance covered by a motion. And Plato’s treatment of time and space (the receptacle) as entities of fundamentally different status, taking time to be intelligible in a way in which space is not, prevents him from connecting time and space in an account of speed. It is shown that Plato instead reduces speed to the time a motion takes. The chapter finishes by spelling out the problematic consequences of this reduction – that it only allows for restricted comparability of different motions and that in certain cases it can lead into inconsistencies.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
