Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31192/np.20.1.1
Inevitability of Aporia in the Attempts to Define Knowledge in the Plato’s Dialogues Theaetetus and Phaido, on the logos, and on the Scientificity of Theology
Josip Balabanić
orcid.org/0000-0002-5056-4715
; PhD, Grad. Biol., Grad. Theol., MA Biomed., Sci. Adv., Mus. Adv., Ass. Memb. of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Retired
Abstract
What this article is to show is how the participants in dialogue Theaetetus agreed that knowledge (ἐπιστήμη) is ‘true opinion (doxa) coupled with explanation’ (logos) (201 d), but that they failed to interpret what a logos is, and the dialogue ended in aporia. The present author by reference to the explanation of the logos in the Sophist dialogue (259e5) finds the reason for this failure. He said that in the reflection (diάnoia) logos »arises through the intertwining of ideas« (συμπλοκὴ tῶn eἰdῶν) and concludes that in things there is an intertwining of many ideas and that this intertwining or logos the mind (soul) cannot fully interpret. Therefore, on the basis of sensory experience, one does not come to true knowledge, to the knowledge of essence of thing. It turns out that the outcome of the search for knowledge about human life and dying, about the immortal soul, in the dialogue Phaedo, ended equally vaguely or in aporia (cf. 107b). The article goes on to say that for some monotheistic theology, Socrates /Plato’s eide are God’s thoughts. A parallel is drawn with thoughts woven into the products of intentional human action, but also with information in genetic programs in living nature. The conclusion is that all sciences come only to some knowledge, not to real knowledge, an understanding of the essence of them. Christian theology as a humanistic science is only in some advantage over other sciences by having the Word of Revelation, the divine Logos, Christ, so it can also speak of the meaning of things and man. Thus, there is a special review of Simia’s remark to Socrates (Faedo85c-d) to make true knowledge perhaps by means of a secure conveyance afforded by some divine doctrine (divine logos). Since for a theistic evolutionist anthropological substance dualism presents a special difficulty, in theology of creation a form of nonreductive physicalism is proposed.
Keywords
aporia; knowledge; Phaedo; substance dualism; Theaetetos; scientificity of theology
Hrčak ID:
274133
URI
Publication date:
17.3.2022.
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