THE DEMIURGE AND HIS ROLE IN PLATO'S TIMAEUS

The main aim of this paper is to explain the nature of the maker of this cosmos, the demiurge, as presented by Plato in his Timaeus. In the first chapter, the reasons for Plato's use of the demiurgic scheme are stated and it is explained why the maker needs to be understood as distinct from its product. The following chapter deals with the actual making of the world and with the related question of likening the world to something. It is first argued that in certain respects the world is being likened to the demiurge himself and this thesis consequently leads to a further inquiry into his nature. Since the demiurge's most important characteristic is his possession of, the text proceeds to an analysis of this concept and its relationship to the soul. In accordance with the results of this inquiry, the demiurge is interpreted as a primordial non-bodily, non-ensouled, yet alive and intelligent deity who is a very peculiar part of the realm of eternal beings. The final chapter deals with the closely related question of the model which the demiurge looks to when creating the world. It distinguishes between holistic and non-holistic readings of the model and presents arguments in favour of the latter.