Book contents
- Searching for the Divine in Plato and Aristotle
- Searching for the Divine in Plato and Aristotle
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Traditional Theoria
- Chapter 2 Literary and Philosophical Texts on Theoria
- Chapter 3 Plato’s Contribution to Theoria
- Chapter 4 Aristotle’s Refinement of Theoria
- Chapter 5 Theoria and Its Objects
- Chapter 6 The Value of Theoria
- Concluding Remarks
- Bibliography
- Index of Passages
- General Index
Chapter 5 - Theoria and Its Objects
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 December 2021
- Searching for the Divine in Plato and Aristotle
- Searching for the Divine in Plato and Aristotle
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Traditional Theoria
- Chapter 2 Literary and Philosophical Texts on Theoria
- Chapter 3 Plato’s Contribution to Theoria
- Chapter 4 Aristotle’s Refinement of Theoria
- Chapter 5 Theoria and Its Objects
- Chapter 6 The Value of Theoria
- Concluding Remarks
- Bibliography
- Index of Passages
- General Index
Summary
The fifth chapter provides a synoptic chapter about the objects of theoria, both as they relate to traditional theoria and to philosophical theoria. The objects of the former kind of theoria, namely, festival- and sanctuary-attendance, are the images of the gods on temples or the gods themselves. In the case of philosophical theoria, or contemplation, the objects are more abstract entities, namely, forms, that Plato and Aristotle take to comprise the highest objects of philosophical study, or contemplation. The philiosophers consider that when we apprehend these objects, we are in possession of scientific knowledge that they compare to divine activity. In both kinds, the apprehension of the objects of theoria is reached through an activity that is directly perceptual or mediated by perceptual experience.
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- Searching for the Divine in Plato and AristotlePhilosophical Theoria and Traditional Practice, pp. 118 - 153Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021