Plato's Tripartite Ontology: The Immanent Character

Abstract

The Platonic ontology and the participation scheme have been 'dissected' and reformulated by many scholars. The specific elements and dynamics of 'participation' have been continuing subjects of controversy in Platonic studies. This project is not intended to ratify Plato's doctrine of participation in order that it be 'corrected' . Rather, the thesis focuses on the examination of the details of the ontoloqy which Plato provides in the dialogues themselves. As he was developing the Theory of Forms and the relationships between the primary ontological entities, he recognized certain inconsistencies that spurred him on to readjust the theory. It is in the spirit of discovering the true elements of the reformed participation story that this thesis was developed. In a study of two dissenting interpretations of Plato's ontolgoy (the bipartite and tripartite interpretations), the tripartite ontology offers solutions to some of the more significant problems arising from the bipartite interpretation. The tripartite incorporation of an immanent character, along with the textual evidence supporting this interpretation, are integral to the proper elucidation of Plato's ratified participation story. Beyond unfolding Plato's immanent character it is important to understand the nature of this distinct (though not separate) entity, and the role it performs in the later ontology. It is with the desire to present the textual support for, and details of, the immanent character that this thesis diverges from traditional Plato scholarship.