Plato's Timeaus
Moderator: Shana
One of the most renowned thinkers, Plato was a Greek philosopher and mathematician. Plato wrote extensively about the five basic forms that bear his name, the Platonic Solids, although they may have originated from the influence of the Pythagorean schools. In his book Timaeus, Plato proposes a correlation of these forms to the four elements and the celestial realm as:
Tetrahedron / Fire
Octahedron / Air
Cube / Earth
Icosahedron / Water
Dodecahedron / Celestial Realm
This was the first written account attributing geometric form and symmetry to natural phenomena. Whether an accurate description or symbolic representation, the roots of mathematical and geometric considerations in the modern era of Western civilization connect back to Plato’s thinking in many ways.
Plato’s idea of the realm of perfect, or ideal forms has found a kind of revival in modern scientific theories, such as in Rupert Sheldrake’s morphic fields (Morphic Resonance, The Nature of Formative Causation), and in The End of Time, by Julian Barbour, in which Barbour’s configuration manifold is named Platonia, after Plato’s world of ideal forms.
Plato’s most famous student, Aristotle, is regarded as the first Western scientist, as in later life he pursued a more empirical study of nature, forgoing the traditional philosophical approach of pure logical reasoning.
Plato also held the conviction that the universe was a living system, and that the harmonic and rhythmic attributes of music can be similarly ascribed to the relationships and movements of the planets and the sun – eerily resembling Pythagorean doctrines.
It is important to note that Plato was furthering Pythagoras of Samos’ work in this area, both along the lines of the “solids” as well as the harmonic proportions of sound and structure. Pythagoras may have written on this, but much of his writing may have been kept secret or was destroyed, so there is virtually no historical literature to attribute directly to him.
Tetrahedron / Fire
Octahedron / Air
Cube / Earth
Icosahedron / Water
Dodecahedron / Celestial Realm
This was the first written account attributing geometric form and symmetry to natural phenomena. Whether an accurate description or symbolic representation, the roots of mathematical and geometric considerations in the modern era of Western civilization connect back to Plato’s thinking in many ways.
Plato’s idea of the realm of perfect, or ideal forms has found a kind of revival in modern scientific theories, such as in Rupert Sheldrake’s morphic fields (Morphic Resonance, The Nature of Formative Causation), and in The End of Time, by Julian Barbour, in which Barbour’s configuration manifold is named Platonia, after Plato’s world of ideal forms.
Plato’s most famous student, Aristotle, is regarded as the first Western scientist, as in later life he pursued a more empirical study of nature, forgoing the traditional philosophical approach of pure logical reasoning.
Plato also held the conviction that the universe was a living system, and that the harmonic and rhythmic attributes of music can be similarly ascribed to the relationships and movements of the planets and the sun – eerily resembling Pythagorean doctrines.
It is important to note that Plato was furthering Pythagoras of Samos’ work in this area, both along the lines of the “solids” as well as the harmonic proportions of sound and structure. Pythagoras may have written on this, but much of his writing may have been kept secret or was destroyed, so there is virtually no historical literature to attribute directly to him.
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