Open AccessMathematical joke from the Statesman and the limits of rationality in the philosophy of Plato
Author(s) -
Roman Svetlov
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
shole
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.191
H-Index - 6
eISSN - 1995-4336
pISSN - 1995-4328
DOI - 10.25205/1995-4328-2020-14-2-665-673
Subject(s) - joke , irrationality , irrational number , rationality , philosophy , epistemology , theme (computing) , literature , computer science , mathematics , linguistics , art , geometry , operating system
The «mathematical joke» from the Statesman is a good occasion for discussing the irrational in Plato's philosophy. This joke demonstrates that human nature is ungraspable in a rational way. Actually, the theme of human irrationality is present in a number of key-texts of Plato's anthropology. This topic is also important for other fundamental problems of his philosophy. The central word is «δύναμις», which is found in those texts of Plato, where he discusses the concepts of existence, knowledge, and the Form of the Good. The specificity of the using this word by Plato gives us an opportunity to have a new look at the basic strategies of his philosophy.