The Soul’s Tool: Plato on the Usefulness of the Body

Elenchos 43 (1):7-27 (2022)
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Abstract

This paper concerns Plato’s characterization of the body as the soul’s tool. I take perception as an example of the body’s usefulness. I explore the Timaeus’ view that perception provides us with models of orderliness. Then, I argue that perception of confusing sensible objects is necessary for our cognitive development too. Lastly, I consider the instrumentality relationship more generally and its place in Plato’s teleological worldview.

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Citations of this work

Plato on Sunaitia.Douglas R. Campbell - 2023 - Apeiron 56 (4):739-768.
Self-Killing in Plato's Phaedo.Adele Watkins - 2023 - Dissertation, Princeton University

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References found in this work

The Theaetetus of Plato.Miles Burnyeat - 1990 - Hackett Publishing Company.
Plato's Meno.Dominic Scott - 2006 - Cambridge University Press. Edited by Dominic Scott.
Self‐Motion and Cognition: Plato's Theory of the Soul.Douglas R. Campbell - 2021 - Southern Journal of Philosophy 59 (4):523-544.

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