Plato - Revision history

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JoseAntonioRespector: /* The Idea of the Good, or the One */

2023-07-10T14:58:19Z

The Idea of the Good, or the One

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:58, 10 July 2023
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	Now, substitute your sight for your thought, your eye for your mind, what is seen for things out in the world, the light of the sun for true being, and the sun itself for the Idea of the Good, or the One. In other words, the One is somewhat apart from true being, yet true being is never really apart from the One. Since unity or one-ness is a basic prerequisite for the existence of anything at all, therefore true being cannot be separated from the One and is in the One, since if true being is separated from the One and is therefore devoid of any unity or one-ness, true being will become nothing and there would therefore be no reality, only nothing. However, the One must also be apart from true being, because the One is ultimately the cause and source of being. If the One is somehow the same as true being, this leaves the cause of true being unexplained, which is unsatisfactory. However, this also means that the One is outside and above reality and is not a definite thing, for anything that is must be within true being, yet any one particular thing that is owes it to true being in the first place to even be. So, to say the One is one particular thing would make the One dependent on true being when it should be the other way around, since the One is truly and purely one (or more accurately, wholly devoid of the many) while true being is still one and many. The One is therefore in a sense unreal and ineffable. Recall that in the introduction, Plato believes that true reality is mind-like - in other words, reality is co-extensive with the mind. Since the One is outside of (intelligible) reality, the One must therefore be outside of the mind, hence it is ineffable. And since it is outside all reality, the One is also beyond even a name. In this sense, the One very strongly resembles the Godhead of St. Gregory of Nyssa, who says that the Christian Godhead is absolutely unlimited, and is not bound even by name.		Now, substitute your sight for your thought, your eye for your mind, what is seen for things out in the world, the light of the sun for true being, and the sun itself for the Idea of the Good, or the One. In other words, the One is somewhat apart from true being, yet true being is never really apart from the One. Since unity or one-ness is a basic prerequisite for the existence of anything at all, therefore true being cannot be separated from the One and is in the One, since if true being is separated from the One and is therefore devoid of any unity or one-ness, true being will become nothing and there would therefore be no reality, only nothing. However, the One must also be apart from true being, because the One is ultimately the cause and source of being. If the One is somehow the same as true being, this leaves the cause of true being unexplained, which is unsatisfactory. However, this also means that the One is outside and above reality and is not a definite thing, for anything that is must be within true being, yet any one particular thing that is owes it to true being in the first place to even be. So, to say the One is one particular thing would make the One dependent on true being when it should be the other way around, since the One is truly and purely one (or more accurately, wholly devoid of the many) while true being is still one and many. The One is therefore in a sense unreal and ineffable. Recall that in the introduction, Plato believes that true reality is mind-like - in other words, reality is co-extensive with the mind. Since the One is outside of (intelligible) reality, the One must therefore be outside of the mind, hence it is ineffable. And since it is outside all reality, the One is also beyond even a name. In this sense, the One very strongly resembles the Godhead of St. Gregory of Nyssa, who says that the Christian Godhead is absolutely unlimited, and is not bound even by name.

			Now, since the One is beyond even thought, it follows that for someone to achieve henosis, or the mystical union with the One, thought would only be a hindrance, just as how sense-perception becomes a hindrance if one wishes to directly perceive the intelligible. Yet there is no action that could be higher than thought. This is also why the Neo-Platonists like Proclus and Plotinus teach about a sort of mystical silence, a type of negative theology, that requires the student to discard absolutely everything, including even thought, for any action by the student can only add something that is foreign to the One.

	=== The Limited and the Unlimited ===		=== The Limited and the Unlimited ===

JoseAntonioRespector at 14:54, 10 July 2023

2023-07-10T14:54:22Z

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	The Platonic demiurge is best understood as the Divine Mind, the pure universal mind that has power that is beyond human comprehension that is somehow able to think all things simultaneously.		The Platonic demiurge is best understood as the Divine Mind, the pure universal mind that has power that is beyond human comprehension that is somehow able to think all things simultaneously.

	In case anyone scoffs at such the idea, the reader should be reminded of the double-slit experiment, which by itself decisively refuted materialism and at a deeper level proves the existence of a Divine Mind that penetrates all things in reality. Bear in mind that the act of observation alone is enough to collapse the probability wave function. But the very act of observation and perception involves the mind. So at a basic level, the experiment says that mind and reality are connected. However, the experiment also shows that the active participation of the observer is required. This also means the active participation of the observer's mind is needed to bring these electrons out of indeterminacy. But if active participation of mind is needed to bring even very small particles into determinacy and therefore reality, the kind of mind that would be needed to maintain the whole of reality must be immensely powerful, beyond human comprehension ~~for sure~~. Additionally, if there is an intelligible structure to reality, it stands to [[reason]] that there is some divine intellect behind it<ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pg. 1858</ref>. And since even material reality depends on the active participation of the mind, therefore it follows that the mind, or consciousness, precedes matter and not the other way around as is popularly conceived by most moderns. Thus, it is thought, pure Intellect <ref>Perl, Thinking Being - Introduction to Metaphysics in the Classical Tradition, pg. 61</ref> that shapes matter, not that thought is an emergent property of matter.		In case anyone scoffs at such the idea, the reader should be reminded of the double-slit experiment, which by itself decisively refuted materialism and at a deeper level proves the existence of a Divine Mind that penetrates all things in reality. Bear in mind that the act of observation alone is enough to collapse the probability wave function. But the very act of observation and perception involves the mind. So at a basic level, the experiment says that mind and reality are connected. However, the experiment also shows that the active participation of the observer is required. This also means the active participation of the observer's mind is needed to bring these electrons out of indeterminacy. But if active participation of mind is needed to bring even very small particles into determinacy and therefore reality, the kind of mind that would be needed to maintain the whole of reality must be immensely powerful, one that is beyond human comprehension. Additionally, if there is an intelligible structure to reality, it stands to [[reason]] that there is some divine intellect behind it<ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pg. 1858</ref>. And since even material reality depends on the active participation of the mind, therefore it follows that the mind, or consciousness, precedes matter and not the other way around as is popularly conceived by most moderns. Thus, it is thought, pure Intellect <ref>Perl, Thinking Being - Introduction to Metaphysics in the Classical Tradition, pg. 61</ref> that shapes matter, not that thought is an emergent property of matter.

	It is very important to note that the demiurge is not the One. The One, as previously mentioned, is already above true being. Since the demiurge is pure Intellect and true being is co-extensive with the mind, therefore the One is above the demiurge. Additionally, since the One is beyond all reality, the One is also beyond any action that we know of. Additionally, there is a distinction between the knower and the known, and therefore between Intellect and true being. For while both Intellect and true being are intricately tied together and there is no subject-object distinction in the sense that there is an object outside of the subject (since mind and reality are co-extensive, so anything that is known must be within the mind), to know is to know something, and this something must be distinct from the knower. Or else the knower cannot really know anything other than itself.		It is very important to note that the demiurge is not the One. The One, as previously mentioned, is already above true being. Since the demiurge is pure Intellect and true being is co-extensive with the mind, therefore the One is above the demiurge. Additionally, since the One is beyond all reality, the One is also beyond any action that we know of. Additionally, there is a distinction between the knower and the known, and therefore between Intellect and true being. For while both Intellect and true being are intricately tied together and there is no subject-object distinction in the sense that there is an object outside of the subject (since mind and reality are co-extensive, so anything that is known must be within the mind), to know is to know something, and this something must be distinct from the knower. Or else the knower cannot really know anything other than itself.

JoseAntonioRespector at 12:31, 10 July 2023

2023-07-10T12:31:35Z

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	=== The Limited and the Unlimited ===		=== The Limited and the Unlimited ===
	After the One comes two principles that are opposed to each other, the limited and the unlimited. Since true being is one and many, it stands to reason that the limited and the unlimited are in between the One and true being. The different interactions between these two principles will then produce everything else in reality. For example, true being must itself partake of the limited, for if true being and therefore reality is wholly unlimited, it will be unknowable by the mind, since reality, being only unlimited, will only be infinite and therefore be indeterminate. And to be indeterminate is to be unknowable, since there cannot be any solid knowledge of anything that is always shifting. At the same time however, since true being is universal to all things that are, true being must also partake of the unlimited. Now, as true being itself is perfect knowledge and is in all things, therefore both the limited and the unlimited are very strong in true being itself. Therefore, it can also be deduced that the further something is from the One, the weaker the presence of both the limited and the unlimited. Take for example a material object. It is less intelligible than the ~~intelligibles~~, so the effect of the limited is far weaker when compared to being itself. However, such material objects have less power, being far away from the One (yet not really wholly separate from it), therefore even the effect of the unlimited is weakened.		After the One comes two principles that are opposed to each other, the limited and the unlimited. Since true being is one and many, it stands to reason that the limited and the unlimited are in between the One and true being. The different interactions between these two principles will then produce everything else in reality. For example, true being must itself partake of the limited, for if true being and therefore reality is wholly unlimited, it will be unknowable by the mind, since reality, being only unlimited, will only be infinite and therefore be indeterminate. And to be indeterminate is to be unknowable, since there cannot be any solid knowledge of anything that is always shifting. At the same time however, since true being is universal to all things that are, true being must also partake of the unlimited. Now, as true being itself is perfect knowledge and is in all things, therefore both the limited and the unlimited are very strong in true being itself. Therefore, it can also be deduced that the further something is from the One, the weaker the presence of both the limited and the unlimited. Take for example a material object. It is less intelligible than the intelligible things, so the effect of the limited is far weaker when compared to being itself. However, such material objects have less power, being far away from the One (yet not really wholly separate from it), therefore even the effect of the unlimited is weakened.

	=== The Demiurge ===		=== The Demiurge ===
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	It is very important to note that the demiurge is not the One. The One, as previously mentioned, is already above true being. Since the demiurge is pure Intellect and true being is co-extensive with the mind, therefore the One is above the demiurge. Additionally, since the One is beyond all reality, the One is also beyond any action that we know of. Additionally, there is a distinction between the knower and the known, and therefore between Intellect and true being. For while both Intellect and true being are intricately tied together and there is no subject-object distinction in the sense that there is an object outside of the subject (since mind and reality are co-extensive, so anything that is known must be within the mind), to know is to know something, and this something must be distinct from the knower. Or else the knower cannot really know anything other than itself.		It is very important to note that the demiurge is not the One. The One, as previously mentioned, is already above true being. Since the demiurge is pure Intellect and true being is co-extensive with the mind, therefore the One is above the demiurge. Additionally, since the One is beyond all reality, the One is also beyond any action that we know of. Additionally, there is a distinction between the knower and the known, and therefore between Intellect and true being. For while both Intellect and true being are intricately tied together and there is no subject-object distinction in the sense that there is an object outside of the subject (since mind and reality are co-extensive, so anything that is known must be within the mind), to know is to know something, and this something must be distinct from the knower. Or else the knower cannot really know anything other than itself.

			=== Plato on Matter ===
			To Plato, sensible things are less real than intelligible things. Sense-perception to Plato is an adumbration of thought. Since sensible things, unlike their intelligible counterparts, are also made of matter, therefore it can be inferred that pure matter to Plato is unreal. In fact, this is the conclusion Plotinus, the father of Neo-Platonism (and in the author's opinion, the first of those who truly understood Plato after those who have received personal instruction from Plato on the One have passed) came to. It should now be noted that pure matter is not the One, despite both being unreal. Pure matter is unreal in a different sense from the One. For example, thought and being cannot have emerged from pure matter, since pure matter is completely sterile. Pure matter is simply the absence of form and reality whereas the One is the source of all reality and form. Pure matter, being devoid of any reality, is thus indeterminate, undefined and cannot be grasped by thought.

			If the reader finds this incredulous, the reader will simply be reminded of the double-slit experiment, which has proven that the fired electrons have an indeterminate existence without the active participation of the mind.

	=== Plato’s Epistemology ===		=== Plato’s Epistemology ===

JoseAntonioRespector: /* The Limited and the Unlimited */

2023-07-10T12:16:49Z

The Limited and the Unlimited

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:16, 10 July 2023
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	=== The Limited and the Unlimited ===		=== The Limited and the Unlimited ===
	After the One comes two principles that are opposed to each other, the limited and the unlimited. Since true being is one and many, it stands to reason that the limited and the unlimited are in between the One and true being. The different interactions between these two principles will then produce everything else in reality. For example, true being must itself partake of the limited, for if true being and therefore reality is wholly unlimited, it will be unknowable by the mind, since reality, being only unlimited, will only be infinite and therefore be indeterminate. And to be indeterminate is to be unknowable, since there cannot be any solid knowledge of anything that is always shifting. At the same time however, since true being is universal to all things that are, true being must also partake of the unlimited. ~~Therefore~~, both the limited and the unlimited are very strong in true being itself, ~~and as anything goes~~ further ~~and further away~~ from the One, the ~~influence~~ of both the limited and the unlimited ~~weakens~~.		After the One comes two principles that are opposed to each other, the limited and the unlimited. Since true being is one and many, it stands to reason that the limited and the unlimited are in between the One and true being. The different interactions between these two principles will then produce everything else in reality. For example, true being must itself partake of the limited, for if true being and therefore reality is wholly unlimited, it will be unknowable by the mind, since reality, being only unlimited, will only be infinite and therefore be indeterminate. And to be indeterminate is to be unknowable, since there cannot be any solid knowledge of anything that is always shifting. At the same time however, since true being is universal to all things that are, true being must also partake of the unlimited. Now, as true being itself is perfect knowledge and is in all things, therefore both the limited and the unlimited are very strong in true being itself. Therefore, it can also be deduced that the further something is from the One, the weaker the presence of both the limited and the unlimited. Take for example a material object. It is less intelligible than the intelligibles, so the effect of the limited is far weaker when compared to being itself. However, such material objects have less power, being far away from the One (yet not really wholly separate from it), therefore even the effect of the unlimited is weakened.

	=== The Demiurge ===		=== The Demiurge ===

JoseAntonioRespector: /* The Idea of the Good, or the One */

2023-07-10T02:43:02Z

The Idea of the Good, or the One

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:43, 9 July 2023
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	=== The Idea of the Good, or the One ===		=== The Idea of the Good, or the One ===
	All men by [[nature]] desire what they perceive as good, and good men desire knowledge, possession of true being. Therefore, true being must be good. Additionally, what is bad for a thing is ultimately destructive to it, therefore what is good for a thing must be ultimately constructive or unifying. Given that to be an intelligible thing at all implies one-ness and therefore unity, therefore being must also be good. This means one-ness and unity must at least not be divorced from good-ness. Additionally, even Plato's Ideas themselves are not yet the innermost core of reality. The Ideas cannot yet be absolute unity, as shown in Plato's Parmenides, because the Ideas themselves are quite different from their particular instances and are still not yet only one; even being itself is one and many. So there must be a "third man" that is able to unite the two and resolve their differences. This "third man", or the ultimate cause of all unity and therefore all substantial existence, is the One.		All men by [[nature]] desire what they perceive as good, and good men desire knowledge, possession of true being. Therefore, true being must be good. Additionally, what is bad for a thing is ultimately destructive to it, therefore what is good for a thing must be ultimately constructive or unifying. Given that to be an intelligible thing at all implies one-ness and therefore unity, therefore being must also be good. This means one-ness and unity must at least not be divorced from good-ness. Additionally, even Plato's Ideas themselves are not yet the innermost core of reality. The Ideas cannot yet be absolute unity, as shown in Plato's Parmenides, because the Ideas themselves are quite different from their particular instances and are still not yet only one; even being itself is one and many. So there must be a "third man" that is able to unite the two and resolve their differences. This "third man", or the ultimate cause of all unity and therefore all substantial existence, is the One.


	To better understand the nature of the One, the reader may recall that Plato in his Republic uses the analogy of sight, the seen and the sun to describe his ideas: sight and what is seen ultimately owe their existence to the light of the sun. Additionally, what is seen is seen because of sight, and sight itself becomes possible because of what is seen, for to see suggests that you are seeing something; there must be something there for you to see, else you see nothing and there is no sight at all <ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pp. 1389-1390</ref>.		To better understand the nature of the One, the reader may recall that Plato in his Republic uses the analogy of sight, the seen and the sun to describe his ideas: sight and what is seen ultimately owe their existence to the light of the sun. Additionally, what is seen is seen because of sight, and sight itself becomes possible because of what is seen, for to see suggests that you are seeing something; there must be something there for you to see, else you see nothing and there is no sight at all <ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pp. 1389-1390</ref>.

JoseAntonioRespector: /* The Idea of the Good, or the One */

2023-07-10T02:41:03Z

The Idea of the Good, or the One

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:41, 9 July 2023
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	To better understand the nature of the One, the reader may recall that Plato in his Republic uses the analogy of sight, the seen and the sun to describe his ideas: sight and what is seen ultimately owe their existence to the light of the sun. Additionally, what is seen is seen because of sight, and sight itself becomes possible because of what is seen, for to see suggests that you are seeing something; there must be something there for you to see, else you see nothing and there is no sight at all <ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pp. 1389-1390</ref>.		To better understand the nature of the One, the reader may recall that Plato in his Republic uses the analogy of sight, the seen and the sun to describe his ideas: sight and what is seen ultimately owe their existence to the light of the sun. Additionally, what is seen is seen because of sight, and sight itself becomes possible because of what is seen, for to see suggests that you are seeing something; there must be something there for you to see, else you see nothing and there is no sight at all <ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pp. 1389-1390</ref>.

	Now, substitute your sight for your thought, your eye for your mind, what is seen for things out in the world, the light of the sun for true being, and the sun itself for the Idea of the Good, or the One. In other words, the One is somewhat apart from true being, yet true being is never really apart from the One. Since unity or one-ness is a basic prerequisite for the existence of anything at all, therefore true being cannot be separated from the One and is in the One, since if true being is separated from the One and is therefore devoid of any unity or one-ness, true being will become nothing and there would therefore be no reality, only nothing. However, the One must also be apart from true being, because the One is ultimately the cause and source of being. If the One is somehow the same as true being, this leaves the cause of true being unexplained, which is unsatisfactory. However, this also means that the One is outside and above reality and is not a definite thing, for anything that is must be within true being, yet any one particular thing that is owes it to true being in the first place to even be. So, to say the One is one particular thing would make the One dependent on true being when it should be the other way around, since the One is truly and purely one while true being is still one and many. The One is therefore in a sense unreal and ineffable. Recall that in the introduction, Plato believes that true reality is mind-like - in other words, reality is co-extensive with the mind. Since the One is outside of (intelligible) reality, the One must therefore be outside of the mind, hence it is ineffable. And since it is outside all reality, the One is also beyond even a name. In this sense, the One very strongly resembles the Godhead of St. Gregory of Nyssa, who says that the Christian Godhead is absolutely unlimited, and is not bound even by name.		Now, substitute your sight for your thought, your eye for your mind, what is seen for things out in the world, the light of the sun for true being, and the sun itself for the Idea of the Good, or the One. In other words, the One is somewhat apart from true being, yet true being is never really apart from the One. Since unity or one-ness is a basic prerequisite for the existence of anything at all, therefore true being cannot be separated from the One and is in the One, since if true being is separated from the One and is therefore devoid of any unity or one-ness, true being will become nothing and there would therefore be no reality, only nothing. However, the One must also be apart from true being, because the One is ultimately the cause and source of being. If the One is somehow the same as true being, this leaves the cause of true being unexplained, which is unsatisfactory. However, this also means that the One is outside and above reality and is not a definite thing, for anything that is must be within true being, yet any one particular thing that is owes it to true being in the first place to even be. So, to say the One is one particular thing would make the One dependent on true being when it should be the other way around, since the One is truly and purely one (or more accurately, wholly devoid of the many) while true being is still one and many. The One is therefore in a sense unreal and ineffable. Recall that in the introduction, Plato believes that true reality is mind-like - in other words, reality is co-extensive with the mind. Since the One is outside of (intelligible) reality, the One must therefore be outside of the mind, hence it is ineffable. And since it is outside all reality, the One is also beyond even a name. In this sense, the One very strongly resembles the Godhead of St. Gregory of Nyssa, who says that the Christian Godhead is absolutely unlimited, and is not bound even by name.

	=== The Limited and the Unlimited ===		=== The Limited and the Unlimited ===

JoseAntonioRespector at 02:36, 10 July 2023

2023-07-10T02:36:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:36, 9 July 2023
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	In case anyone scoffs at such the idea, the reader should be reminded of the double-slit experiment, which by itself decisively refuted materialism and at a deeper level proves the existence of a Divine Mind that penetrates all things in reality. Bear in mind that the act of observation alone is enough to collapse the probability wave function. But the very act of observation and perception involves the mind. So at a basic level, the experiment says that mind and reality are connected. However, the experiment also shows that the active participation of the observer is required. This also means the active participation of the observer's mind is needed to bring these electrons out of indeterminacy. But if active participation of mind is needed to bring even very small particles into determinacy and therefore reality, the kind of mind that would be needed to maintain the whole of reality must be immensely powerful, beyond human comprehension for sure. Additionally, if there is an intelligible structure to reality, it stands to [[reason]] that there is some divine intellect behind it<ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pg. 1858</ref>. And since even material reality depends on the active participation of the mind, therefore it follows that the mind, or consciousness, precedes matter and not the other way around as is popularly conceived by most moderns. Thus, it is thought, pure Intellect <ref>Perl, Thinking Being - Introduction to Metaphysics in the Classical Tradition, pg. 61</ref> that shapes matter, not that thought is an emergent property of matter.		In case anyone scoffs at such the idea, the reader should be reminded of the double-slit experiment, which by itself decisively refuted materialism and at a deeper level proves the existence of a Divine Mind that penetrates all things in reality. Bear in mind that the act of observation alone is enough to collapse the probability wave function. But the very act of observation and perception involves the mind. So at a basic level, the experiment says that mind and reality are connected. However, the experiment also shows that the active participation of the observer is required. This also means the active participation of the observer's mind is needed to bring these electrons out of indeterminacy. But if active participation of mind is needed to bring even very small particles into determinacy and therefore reality, the kind of mind that would be needed to maintain the whole of reality must be immensely powerful, beyond human comprehension for sure. Additionally, if there is an intelligible structure to reality, it stands to [[reason]] that there is some divine intellect behind it<ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pg. 1858</ref>. And since even material reality depends on the active participation of the mind, therefore it follows that the mind, or consciousness, precedes matter and not the other way around as is popularly conceived by most moderns. Thus, it is thought, pure Intellect <ref>Perl, Thinking Being - Introduction to Metaphysics in the Classical Tradition, pg. 61</ref> that shapes matter, not that thought is an emergent property of matter.

	It is very important to note that the demiurge is not the One. The One, as previously mentioned, is already above true being. Since the demiurge is pure Intellect and true being is co-extensive with the mind, therefore the One is above the demiurge. Additionally, since the One is beyond all reality, the One is also beyond any action that we know of.		It is very important to note that the demiurge is not the One. The One, as previously mentioned, is already above true being. Since the demiurge is pure Intellect and true being is co-extensive with the mind, therefore the One is above the demiurge. Additionally, since the One is beyond all reality, the One is also beyond any action that we know of. Additionally, there is a distinction between the knower and the known, and therefore between Intellect and true being. For while both Intellect and true being are intricately tied together and there is no subject-object distinction in the sense that there is an object outside of the subject (since mind and reality are co-extensive, so anything that is known must be within the mind), to know is to know something, and this something must be distinct from the knower. Or else the knower cannot really know anything other than itself.

	=== Plato’s Epistemology ===		=== Plato’s Epistemology ===

JoseAntonioRespector: /* The Demiurge */

2023-07-10T02:30:43Z

The Demiurge

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:30, 9 July 2023
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	The Platonic demiurge is best understood as the Divine Mind, the pure universal mind that has power that is beyond human comprehension that is somehow able to think all things simultaneously.		The Platonic demiurge is best understood as the Divine Mind, the pure universal mind that has power that is beyond human comprehension that is somehow able to think all things simultaneously.

	In case anyone scoffs at such the idea, the reader should be reminded of the double-slit experiment, which by itself decisively refuted materialism and at a deeper level ~~proved~~ the existence of a Divine Mind that penetrates all things in reality. Bear in mind that the act of observation alone is enough to collapse the probability wave function. But the very act of observation and perception involves the mind. So at a basic level, the experiment says that mind and reality are connected. However, the experiment also shows that the active participation of the observer is required. This also means the active participation of the observer's mind is needed to bring these electrons out of indeterminacy. But if active participation of mind is needed to bring even very small particles into determinacy and therefore reality, the kind of mind that would be needed to maintain the whole of reality must be immensely powerful, beyond human comprehension for sure. Additionally, if there is an intelligible structure to reality, it stands to [[reason]] that there is some divine intellect behind it<ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pg. 1858</ref>. And since even material reality depends on the active participation of the mind, therefore it follows that the mind, or consciousness, precedes matter and not the other way around as is popularly conceived by most moderns. Thus, it is thought, pure Intellect <ref>Perl, Thinking Being - Introduction to Metaphysics in the Classical Tradition, pg. 61</ref> that shapes matter, not that thought is an emergent property of matter.		In case anyone scoffs at such the idea, the reader should be reminded of the double-slit experiment, which by itself decisively refuted materialism and at a deeper level proves the existence of a Divine Mind that penetrates all things in reality. Bear in mind that the act of observation alone is enough to collapse the probability wave function. But the very act of observation and perception involves the mind. So at a basic level, the experiment says that mind and reality are connected. However, the experiment also shows that the active participation of the observer is required. This also means the active participation of the observer's mind is needed to bring these electrons out of indeterminacy. But if active participation of mind is needed to bring even very small particles into determinacy and therefore reality, the kind of mind that would be needed to maintain the whole of reality must be immensely powerful, beyond human comprehension for sure. Additionally, if there is an intelligible structure to reality, it stands to [[reason]] that there is some divine intellect behind it<ref>Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, pg. 1858</ref>. And since even material reality depends on the active participation of the mind, therefore it follows that the mind, or consciousness, precedes matter and not the other way around as is popularly conceived by most moderns. Thus, it is thought, pure Intellect <ref>Perl, Thinking Being - Introduction to Metaphysics in the Classical Tradition, pg. 61</ref> that shapes matter, not that thought is an emergent property of matter.

	It is very important to note that the demiurge is not the One. The One, as previously mentioned, is already above true being. Since the demiurge is pure Intellect and true being is co-extensive with the mind, therefore the One is above the demiurge. Additionally, since the One is beyond all reality, the One is also beyond any action that we know of.		It is very important to note that the demiurge is not the One. The One, as previously mentioned, is already above true being. Since the demiurge is pure Intellect and true being is co-extensive with the mind, therefore the One is above the demiurge. Additionally, since the One is beyond all reality, the One is also beyond any action that we know of.

JoseAntonioRespector: Rearranged certain parts and rewrote certain sections to re-emphasize the role of the One in Plato's philosophy.

2023-07-10T02:27:03Z

Rearranged certain parts and rewrote certain sections to re-emphasize the role of the One in Plato's philosophy.

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