The Intelligible Creator-God and the Intelligent Soul of the Cosmos in Plato’s Theology and Metaphysics

ABSTRACT THE INTELLIGIBLE CREATOR-GOD AND THE INTELLIGENT SOUL OF THE COSMOS IN PLATO’S THEOLOGY AND METAPHYSICS Jason G. Rheins Charles H. Kahn and Susan Sauvé Meyer When Plato discusses the World-soul, cosmic intellect (nous), and the Demiurge, he approaches them theologically, i.e. as being the subjects of an account of the nature of the gods, but few works in the last half-century or more have addressed the ‘players’ in Plato’s theology as such. The major strata in the hierarchy of divine beings were referred to in the Neo-Platonist tradition as “hypostases”. My question is this: between intellect, the World-soul, the Demiurge, and even the Forms how many hypostases did Plato posit, what were their nature, and what overall functions did they play in his philosophical system? I analyze Plato’s various accounts of those divine things that are immanent in the world of change (e.g. the World-soul) and those that are said to be transcendent intelligibles (e.g. the Forms and the Demiurge) in order to determine what Plato’s gods are, and what roles they play in his system. I examine the entire Platonic corpus, but I focus on Plato’s late dialogues, in which theology and cosmology receive considerably more extensive and significant treatment than they do in his earlier works. My central texts are the Philebus, Timaeus, and book X of the Laws, supplemented secondarily by the Phaedo, Phaedrus, Republic, Statesman, and Epistle VII. I also make cautious use of the testimonia regarding Plato’s so-called “unwritten doctrines”. The invention of the World-soul is revealed to be Plato’s way of instantiating intellect in the cosmos in order to suit the demands of his natural and moral philosophy, while his esoteric account of the Demiurge resolves any tensions between his immanent theology and his metaphysics, and suggests, semi-literally, the role that timeless, intelligible goodness plays in organizing the sensible world of change

The Terror of Political Violence

The Reign of Terror was an infamous chapter of the French Revolution. It was a period of violence, suspicion, and mistrust. With Louis XVI&rsquo;s execution in January 1793, governmental factions and individual leaders vied for power as the new French government took shape. Internal threats posed by antirevolutionaries and external threats posed by hostile European countries coupled with economic issues set the country on edge. During the Terror, violence became an effective tool to crush opposition or threats to the new French government. To examine the use of political violence during the Terror, this paper will focus on three revolutionary politicians: Maximillien Robespierre, Georges Danton, and Collot d&rsquo;Herbois. Each of these men represents a different point on the political spectrum. Robespierre was an ardent advocate of the use of political violence and was known as an architect of the Terror. Danton believed that political violence served an important purpose, but that it not always the proper solution. Collot was the most radical of the three, arguing for pervasive and brutal methods of execution. By examining the contexts in which Robespierre, Danton, and Collot embraced political violence as a tool, its role within the Terror will become clear.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</p

Multiple Topical Applications of Arachidonic Acid to Mouse Ears Induce Inflammatory and Proliferative Changes

The response to daily topical applications of arachidonic acid (0.25 – 4 mg/ear/day) to the ears of outbred CD-1 mice was monitored. The first application produced erythema, extravasation of plasma proteins resulting in an increase in ear weight, and some neutrophil accumulation (detected histologically and quantified by myeloperoxidase content). The second application produced minimal edema but did cause erythema and a greater accumulation of neutrophils. Subsequent daily application caused erythema, neutrophil accumulation, and an increase in ear weight predominantly due to cell proliferation (epidermis and connective tissue). Daily applications of other unsaturated fatty acids did not match the response induced by arachidonic acid. Mast cell deficient mice (W/Wv) exhibited a smaller edema response to the first dose of arachidonic acid compared to either their wild-type controls or CD-1 mice. In addition, W/Wv mice exhibited a smaller ear weight increase and myeloperoxidase accumulation following eight daily doses of arachidonic acid. However, epidermal proliferation was similar in all the strains of mice tested. These data suggest that the edema caused by the first topical application of arachidonic acid is partly mast cell mediated. Mast cells also appear to be involved in the neutrophil infiltration induced by multiple topical applications, but not in the epidermal proliferation

Disease spread in age structured populations with maternal age effects

<p>Fundamental ecological processes, such as extrinsic mortality, determine population age structure. This influences disease spread when individuals of different ages differ in susceptibility or when maternal age determines offspring susceptibility. We show that Daphnia magna offspring born to young mothers are more susceptible than those born to older mothers, and consider this alongside previous observations that susceptibility declines with age in this system. We used a susceptible- infected compartmental model to investigate how age-specific susceptibility and maternal age effects on offspring susceptibility interact with demographic factors affecting disease spread. Our results show a scenario where an increase in extrinsic mortality drives an increase in transmission potential. Thus, we identify a realistic context in which age effects and maternal effects produce conditions favouring disease transmission. </p> <p>epi model R script.R</p> <p>This is the script for the SIR model as well as the associated script for life history data. </p> <p>main.body size.csv</p> <p>This is the data for the body size data collected in the main experiment. This was measured using imageJ, was recorded in pixels and converted into millimetres. </p> <p>main.exposed.csv</p> <p>This is the proportion of infected/not infected individuals from an exposed treatment group. This was a subset of individuals from the entire experiment. This was the result of the exposures from the main experiment. </p> <p>main.reproduction.csv</p> <p>This document records reproduction for individuals from old or young mothers. It is a count of the offspring born at each reproductive event, which occurs generally every three days, though variation in interclutch interval increases with age. This was from the main experiment. Only those who were unexposed to the parasite, where used for this portion of the experimental work. </p> <p>sm.body size.csv</p> <p>This records body size similarly to above, and was an independent replication of the main experiment. </p> <p>sm.infection status.csv</p> <p>This is infection outcomes of exposures carried out as above, in an independent replication of the main experiment. </p> <p>sm.total babies.csv</p> <p>This is the reproductive output, carried out similarly to above, but in an independent replication of the main experiment. </p

The intelligible creator-god and the intelligent soul of the cosmos in Plato\u27s theology and metaphysics

When Plato discusses the World-soul, cosmic intellect (nous), and the Demiurge, he approaches them theologically, i.e. as being the subjects of an account of the nature of the gods, but few works in the last half-century or more have addressed the ‘players’ in Plato’s theology as such. The major strata in the hierarchy of divine beings were referred to in the Neo-Platonist tradition as “hypostases”. My question is this: between intellect, the World-soul, the Demiurge, and even the Forms how many hypostases did Plato posit, what were their nature, and what overall functions did they play in his philosophical system. I analyze Plato’s various accounts of those divine things that are immanent in the world of change (e.g. the World-soul) and those that are said to be transcendent intelligibles (e.g. the Forms and the Demiurge) in order to determine what Plato’s gods are, and what roles they play in his system. I examine the entire Platonic corpus, but I focus on Plato’s late dialogues, in which theology and cosmology receive considerably more extensive and significant treatment than they do in his earlier works. My central texts are the Philebus, Timaeus, and book X of the Laws, supplemented secondarily by the Phaedo, Phaedrus, Republic, Statesman, and Epistle VII. I also make cautious use of the testimonia regarding Plato’s so-called “unwritten doctrines”. The invention of the World-soul is revealed to be Plato’s way of instantiating intellect in the cosmos in order to suit the demands of his natural and moral philosophy, while his esoteric account of the Demiurge resolves any tensions between his immanent theology and his metaphysics, and suggests, semi-literally, the role that timeless, intelligible goodness plays in organizing the sensible world of change