Flow and Flux in Plato's Philosophy

This study argues that traditional approaches to Plato's thought, which centre on Forms and their opposition to sensible flux, leave something essential out of account. There is in Plato a notion of ‘flow’ which is distinct from material ‘flux’. It applies both to souls and concrete sensible things (including the cosmos), is compatible with rather than opposed to 'being', and has a close relation to the notion of nous (intelligence). This notion is not only in play in many important developments in Plato's later thought, especially in cosmology. It may even be the driving force behind them. This volume is the first to offer a study of these notions of ‘flow’ and ‘flux’ in Plato’s thought.