Diego García Rincón

PhD project

Im my dissertation, I ask one question: how is it possible that everything in the physical world is in constant motion, and that nevertheless some order is maintained? I address this question in a philosophical and historical manner by interpreting two dialogues of Plato, the Theaetetus and the Timaeus.

I start with Plato’s critique of Radical Flux in the Theaetetus. I show that, according to Plato, a world in radical flux is inherently indeterminate. Then I examine the metaphysical principles Plato introduces in the cosmology of the Timaeus to account for order in the physical world. I dedicate one chapter to the Receptacle, one to Forms, and one to the Demiurge. I show how each of these metaphysical principles of the physical world help account for the latter's order, even though according to Plato it is in continuous transformation.