Textual Paper: Plato and the Genesis 1 Story - Book Report/Review Example

Textual Paper: Plato and the Genesis Story. The two texts of Plato’s Timaeus and the biblical narrative in Genesis, chapter deal with one of themost fundamental problems that human beings have ever faced, namely how to figure out the meaning and purpose of existence. They both tell a similar story about a great and good Creator God fashioning the physical world in a distant past, long before the time when the actual narrative was written down. This paper examines both the content and the form of the two texts highlighting similarities and differences in their separate accounts of the origins of the world. Clearly, at the time of writing, no human being could possibly have spoken on this topic with any personal knowledge of the facts, and so the narratives that emerge have to base themselves on some kind of authority. Plato’s text takes the form of a dialogue involving the historical person of Socrates. This situates the discussion in fifth century Athens, within all the cultural traditions of that time and place. Within the text there is mention of an older learned man, or sage, called Solon, who attests aspects of the tale. The biblical text on the other hand, does not make it clear who the writer is, and starts immediately with the narrative, about creation: “In the beginning God created heaven and earth” (Genesis 1:1). The effect of this is to give the text a kind of timeless, placeless authority, as if it is revealed directly to all people, and not passed down through individual human writers. Plato’s text takes the form of a dialogue between the philosopher Socrates and some other men who have gathered around to learn from this great teacher. This dialogue format is a teaching technique in which the teacher, leads a discussion about a particular theme, and the students discuss this in a question and answer format. In this dialogue Timaeus does most of the talking and relates some tales he has heard from others for the benefit of his colleagues. This genre is popular in the discipline of philosophy because it allows students at an advanced level of study in Athens to propose theories and counter theories in order to understand difficult ideas. The concept of human reason was very important, and students of Socrates were expected to work out things for themselves by arguing from point to point in a logical way. Critias wants to tell a story involving the city of Athens, but he tells Socrates that before this story is told, Timaeus, who has studied astronomy and knows about the nature of the universe, will start off the narrative from the very beginning. A clue as to the nature and function of the text is then given by Socrates in the words “I see that I shall receive in my turn a perfect and splendid feast of reason” (Plato, Timaeus, p. 9). Between the lines the reader understands that Timaeus is trying to impress his teacher with a clear argument that is. above all, guided by reason. Socrates nods to the authority of the Greek Gods, at the start, reminding Timaeus of his duty to call upon the Gods, or in other words seek divine blessings on his endeavor. Timaeus asks these same Gods “that our words may be acceptable to them and consistent with themselves” (Plato, p. 9). From the start there is a distinction made between the dimension of human reason, which apprehends what is constant and permanent, and human opinion, which is obtained through temporary sensations. There is an underlying assumption, therefore that human beings can work their way towards an understanding of deep and mysterious things by using their faculty of reason. This contrasts quite sharply with the narrative which is given in Genesis Chapter 1. The creation of the world is narrated in short, definitive statements, and there is no element of dialogue or questioning involved. The figure of God is described, and his actions are narrated, as if they are self-evident and not open to interpretation beyond the very simple words that are used such as “darkness” and “light” (Genesis 1:2-3) and “waters” and “land” (Genesis 1:9). There is a chronological order to the story, and the events are measured into units of one day at a time. The text determines what actually happened, and what meaning is to be attached to the events, for example there are repeated indications that God saw how good the outcomes were, and the significance of the lights in the firmament (i.e. the sun, the moon and the stars) is explained: “to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Genesis 1:14). This reveals that the story is intended to be an explanation as well as a simple story. It caters for the basic need that human beings have to understand why things in the world are the way they are. In Plato’s text there is an explanation of the elements of earth, air, fire and water (Plato, Timaeus, p.12) and a description of how the Creator made a universe in the form of a perfect globe, all of which amounts to perfection of form. Some mathematical calculations and ratios are mentioned (Plato, Timaeus, pp. 12-13) and also a number of classical Greek theories about balance, motion and harmony. This shows that the author is referencing other fields of knowledge in the hope that the reader can follow the complex argument by remembering what has been taught by other philosophers and learned men. Complex ideas are arranged in such a way as to shore up this very basic narrative. The complete world view which results out of Plato’s narrative is one based on scientific observation, coupled with quite advanced logical reasoning. The text is difficult to follow and it places high demands on the reader. This is because it is intended as a demonstration of how to think, as well as what facts and figures to assemble in making an explanation of the way the world is. At one point Timaeus halts his explanation to confess that there are limits to human knowledge, and to recommend that people should just rely on the sayings handed down by previous generations of men: “To know or tell the origin of the other divinities is beyond us, and we must accept the traditions of the men of old time who affirm themselves to be the offspring of the gods” (Plato, Timaeus, p. 16). Reason therefore gives way to stories of the gods, and so ultimately the foundation of the Greek world view is a combination of reason and mythical narratives that have to be taken on trust. The Genesis narrative, on the other hand, is a model of simplicity. Even a child could understand what the elements of the creation story are, and it follows from one event to the next in a linear fashion. This is because the Jewish approach to learning is based on a single divine revelation, handed down to be memorised and believed as a point of faith, and not reason. There is no need to seek mathematical or other evidence, since this one clear narrative is the single authority which explains the origins of the world, and even the nature of man, who was created in God’s image, and is charged with having dominion over all creatures on the earth (Genesis 1: 26, 28). In summary, then, both texts offer explanations of how the world came into being, and both acknowledge the work of a Divine Creator, thus giving human beings a sense of purpose and importance, but the Jewish text is clearly intended as a divine revelation while the Greek text allows human reason to play a part in formulating this explanation. References Plato, Timaeus. Available online at: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/timaeus.html The Holy Bible. Genesis, Chapter 1. (King James Version). Read More