The Intellect and the cosmos

Abstract

The complex, and even contradictory character of the demiurge in Plato’s Timaeus has given rise to multiple interpretations from Antiquity to our time, even if the demiurge is usually considered as an intellect: intellect of the world soul, productive aspect of the Forms, Prime Mover, divinity carrying out a plan like the God of Genesis, instrument of the Good. The debate remains open, but it is important to note the originality of the Timaeus: it is the only cosmogony of Antiquity that involves a divinity that works, and that imposes mathematics as a privileged instrument of order.

Keywords

• Plato
• Timaeus
• demiurge
• work
• mathematics