Professor Vitomir Mitevski, Philosophical Faculty, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

Relevance of Plato's Philosophy Today

Introduction
Here I would like to offer one of my, subjective view of what was most of Plato last
hundred years that the principal belongs to the 20th century. In this respect, the choice
would have narrowed the three themes that are very distant from each other. Toa e
influence of Plato in themselves Platonic studies (where I think the Agrapha Dogmata
Theory, reactualization of Platonic doctrine of the state in the context of the emergence
of communism in the historical stage and significance of Platos Timaeus on the
development of modern physics.
In these three areas I see the relevance of Plato's thought for a longer period of time
which belongs to our age. Towards the famous saying of Whitehead that the overall
Western Philosophy is written in the margins of the Platonic philosophy (which I believe
is already mentioned in this Symposium), I would add that our modernity showed that
she thought for its relevance to samples limits of philosophy in the strict sense of word.
1. Wound clips dogma
First will briefly elaborate on the theory of learning unwritten Plato which brought great
refreshment within Platonic studies. Thanks to the efforts of German philological School
starting Shachermayer and Herman, in 20 century developed interest esoteric lectures
on Plato in the closed circle of his Academy. As a result of research Kremer Geizer,
Ehlers and their other associates, create a new image for which Plato in his dialogues
written exposes a popular way for what it tells its students directly and difficult to
understand for the uninitiated. One of those students, Aristotle, testify that this actually
was in the form of a series of lectures titled (fit).
Here Plato deals with arch-Presocratics cite issue which has always been a central
theme. He discusses the relationship between multiple manifestation of the world and
one that the manifold and it gives unity and connection.
However, the originality of Plato here consists in the transition from ontological to
axiological approach to henologic issue. He interprets One (to hen) as good (to
agathon) which thoroughly changed the attitude towards ontology. Platos ontology
obtains the value tag.
Hence that dialogues intended for general audiences processed segments as
essentially what Plato puts before his scientific listeners. Soon not need to explain to
what extent the Agrapha Dogmata theory wound clips dogma contribute to create a new
image for the Platonic philosophy. Regardless of resistance in some academic circles to
this interpretation opened the unwritten Platonic learning possible to perceive even the
meaning of neo-Platonism and Byzantine authors as guardians of unwritten ancient
philosophical tradition.
2. Political Theory
Relevance of Plato's thought have fiercely in politics. Last century brought the first
practical attempts to realize the utopean idea worldwide that own original developed
theoretical form received in Plato. Our time is not yet adopted relevant assessments

that great world experiment called communism, but when it comes to the principles of
polity in accordance with the idea of justice, the concept of the perfect state of Plato
inevitably imposed as a template around which fueled fierce debate.
The very notion of utopia, defined as performance polity that actually has not yet to be
realized. not original Platonic idea. We know that in ancient times there were those
ideas before him. Epic poet Homer in the Odyssey shows a kind perfect society which
he placed on the remote island Sheria. The ground rule master Alcinous the transfer
means a person who represents the wise principle and his wife Aretha or in translation Honor. These two names masters speaks volumes about the intentions and the ideal of
the poet.
Image of an ideal community we and the other great epic poet Hesiod, who in his epic
Works and Days describes a perfect society which belongs to the golden age. Here,
people liked participate common dishes with the gods. Besides poets, some of the first
philosophers also made modest efforts in this regard, but Plato was the first to give
systematically developed performance with clearly defined conceptual framework. That
is probably the reason that his work will be an inspiration and subject of imitation by a
wide range of followers utopians in Western philosophy, from Thomas More,
Campanella and Bacon to the French socialists and Marx and his followers.
How it looks gaudy this line of utopians, it has all the theses that connect them and
allow you to be held a joint name. You will probably agree that one of the main general
settings of utopians is regulation of the human family under one idea which means the
imposition of general over the individual, the common over the individual.
It counterpoints the principle of individual and community hearings caused even in
contemporary of Plato. He pressured the immediate criticism had to do a series of
concessions from its concept of the perfect state for us witness his law. However, the
whole debate in the twentieth century gained momentum since the attempts to create a
society for higher ideals of justice, society starts from the interest of the community t. e.
communist society.
It attempts that rocked the world and thus not surprising that the theoretical scrutiny
plan set off from the roots of this utopian idea. Of course, traces inevitably led to Plato!
Some exactly Plato pointed as the culprit, versus others who unexpectedly found
themselves in the position of his defenders.
The names and the one on the other side are numerous, but in principle, the discussion
is led and run around the issue of totalitarianism. The question is - whether Plato is the
first and true representative of totalitarian society?
Critics say that his philosophy is najsiroviot and najpodmolen attack on liberal ideas in
history in general. He denies the fundamental principles of equality and freedom of
people as unreal and illusory. Plato argued that natural difference between people that
logically leads to the division of society into classes. Separated three parts of the soul
are translated in the triple division of the state union. Is it justice as he says? Critics
consider that, on the contrary, it is the source of all wrongs. When Plato explains that
Justice is to rule the rulers and slaves to slaves, it is the defense of the privileges of the
privileged. On the other hand, the humanistic theory of justice represents the principles
of equality between men and individual freedom that stands in stark contrast with Plato's
idea of justice.
One of the defenders of Plato in this debate says that he just expressed their views in

the State justifies the high place it has in contemporary political theory. When it comes
to the notion of freedom is clear that Plato freedom is not initiating on personal interests
and pleasures but as awareness of organized life in the community guided by the
principle of humanity which means cancellations.
This is not the intention to enter more further details of this type of discussion does not
need to provide our any definitive conclusions. The aim is to indicate that we have
entered the bitter experiences of the 20th to the 21st century without cleared accounts
and a clear understanding of what has happened to us. Plato here remains prevail and
current thinker with respect to weigh big arguments pro et contra.
3. Physics
The third segment of the Platonic philosophy that caused special attention in the
twentieth century is philosophy of nature. As is known, it is displayed in a single his work
titled Timaeus. Therefore reception of Platonic physics binds the fate of Timaeus.
It destiny through the centuries is unusual, would say enigmatic. It is a work whose
acceptance or say actuality, at different times of the development of philosophy
oscillates in amazing extremes. Once questioned about the originality of the author and
are treated as plagiarism, once identified with the overall Platos philosophy, then
rejected as pointless and falls into oblivion and finally, in recent times, is undergoing
rehabilitation and in the area where least expected in modern science.
A brief summary of the history of Timaeus centuries is enough to get a closer insight into
the work of ours, a contemporary perspective.
Timaeus is senile child of Plato. Although there are some doubts in this respect, the
prevailing opinion that it was his last work. But precisely because the question is why
the philosopher who all his creative life is not written anything in physics, which from the
first Hellenic philosophers has a central place, however, ultimately and unexpectedly
decided to give his opinion in that area. Some believe that he did it just to shut down its
system, others believe that it persuaded his students curious to know what the teacher
thinks on the issues. A third claim, not without a dose of cynicism that aging philosopher
face any Pythagorean books and one of the script errors speed his work. Of course, all
these data allow for a reserved attitude towards Timaeus by contemporaries of Plato.
However, despite the doubts of Antiquity, the Middle Ages Timaeus the status of Plato
mainly if only case. This translation is guilty tradition whose roots are in the translation
from Greek into Latin as did Kalkidius in the fourth century, and then Boetius. Namely,
the Latin translation widely circulated in the Middle Ages, but here it is just a part of the
transcript outlining cosmology. Thus Plato is experienced as a cosmologist at the
principal place has its cosmogony with Demiurge as a central figure. The interpretation
of this aspect of the Platonic teaching by representatives of the School of Chartres
contributes to the popularity of Timaius, but at the same time causing resistance and
even condemned by the church authorities were not able to comply with the Platonic
cosmogony biblical concept of God the creator the world out of nothing. Previous
experience of harmonizing the creation of Demiurge with the creation of the biblical God
that we find in Maximus the Confessor, the West remained insufficiently known.
Physics exposed in Timaius experiencing real revival with the advent of the New Age,
after the Western world will introduce the work in its integral version. From that point,
the focus of the impact that the Platonic physics passes from theology in the field of

natural sciences. The great scientists of the modern era undoubtedly inspired Timaeus
and hence could conditionally consider a kind of Platonic trait. This can be understood
in the context of the then fight between two philosophical concepts of nature that have
their roots in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Despite qualitative Aristotelian
physics dominated in the late Middle Ages now accepts quantitative Platonic philosophy
of nature-based Pythagoreans numerical concept.
In these conceptual frameworks can talk about Platonism of Galileo. Anyway, in their
writings in several places calls individually Plato and Archimedes and Euclid who
themselves have made their mathematical physics and cosmology in the spirit of the
Platonic tradition. The Platonic physics is characteristic of geometry containing solutions
to the problems of microcosmic and macrocosmic level. Of course, Plato was convinced
that his purely theoretical performed settings inevitably lead to the truth without the need
for experimental verification. In this respect Galileo stands out with its experimental
approach, but the mathematical approach to physics remains essential connection that
defines him as a follower of the ideas presented in Timaeus.
The same line is and Johann Kepler, another big name of the modern age and physics
cosmology. Toj trying to explain the structure of the universe based on the geometrical
concept of space that represents Euclid in the spirit of Plato Timaeus . Kepler Platonism
recognized in his interpretation of the world with the help of mathematical patterns. He
believes that the mathematical relationships are real and independent existence
independent of the human mind, just as he understood them and the ideas of Plato.
Thanks to Galileo, Kepler, and their followers, in modern physics is determined by the
mathematical concept of the world as a typical characteristic of Plato and Timaeus
pushed inspire contemporary philosophy of nature.
The physics of the twentieth century laid the foundations of the science of our sovremie,
pitted another aspect of Plato's physics which she was again questioned as a source of
some modern scientific solutions. Despite underestimating towards Platonic philosophy
of nature generally has modern physics, some physicists like Heisenberg and
Weizsacker in Plato found inspiration for their interpretation of the world. Nobel
Heisenberg forward with public recognition that modern physics he experiences the
world of Platonic physics. He starts from the typical questions that ancient philosophy
since its beginnings sets as fundamental: what was earlier and is located at the base of
the phenomenal world? The answer is that it requires the world of micro particles which
speaks Plato. According to modern physics such micro particles are atoms, but it is
interesting that the atoms as a kind of principles (Archai) but no source derived
properties. As such atoms not something material. Such a feature obtained only after
get some correlation with other atoms. The material appears as something secondary,
rather as a product of symmetric relation between microtia. It was at that point meet
modern theory of micro particles and Platonic doctrine of basic geometric objects
exposed in Timaeus. In both cases, the answer to the question "What is the beginning?"
Reads symmetric productive relationship between the micro particles. Accordingly, the
phenomenal world is defined as an expression of the natural law of symmetry. Plato
speaks of elementary geometric objects whose form (eidos or idea) determines their
material appearance.
Heisenberg in turn takes the symmetric relation between elementary particles as a
natural law that the composition of these particles gives more or less stability in terms of

their financial commitment. So we come to the conclusion that the underlying shape of
things, while the material is secondary capacity. Of course, when this basic attitude of
Platonic physics gets substantiate those of modern science, it appears that the
traditional division between matter (hyle) and shape (eidos) is pointless. Taken from the
perspective of modern physics, Plato soon would be a kind of a realist than an idealist.
More recently, in the physics of condensed states developed theory grouping of
particles which provides further confirmation of the correctness of the general approach
of Platonic physics. Studies have shown that particles in the condensed state tend to be
grouped so as to form a equal part triangle Plato claims to basic symmetric ratio.
Experimental Science explains this tendency as a natural aspiration of particles to
economizing energy while Plato comes to that conclusion would say, intuitive. However,
in both cases dominate the idea of symmetry as a basic demonstration of the natural
world.
Besides many larger or smaller differences Plato distinguished in terms of modern
physics, here at the end, we would of a principled distinction that ancient thinker stands
as a philosopher. Namely, the notion of symmetry in Plato is not just a law of nature.
Symmetry is one of the ways that manifest beauty (Kalon) as a fundamental feature of
the world. Beautiful present in the world of physics gets ontological merits.