Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
Spring 2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Advisor(s)
Daniel E. Flage
Anne M. Wiles
Charles R. Bolyard
Abstract
This paper examines several key passages within Plato’s Philebus and analyses the underlying metaphysics that exists at the heart of the dialogue. Plato implements the metaphysics in the dialogue by utilizing the terminology of “the limit” and “the unlimited”. This paper examines the Pythagorean origins of the limit and unlimited and depicts how Plato has adapted the terms from their original intent. The Philebus is examined to show the metaphysical importance of the limit and unlimited. The dialogue displays an example of the metaphysics of the limit and the unlimited through the debate between pleasure and intelligence, which is a central theme within the dialogue. This paper attempts to shows how the metaphysical structure of the limit and the unlimited may be applied to other areas of his philosophy as well.
Recommended Citation
Lascano, Ashley, "A critical analysis of the metaphysics of limit and unlimited in Plato's Philebus" (2019). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 691.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/691
