Abstract
The Philebus contains what may be called a Pythagorean semiotics. That
is, the dialogue has a number of embedded references and allusions to central
aspects and ideas of Pythagoreanism. T
hese act as signposts to the informed
reader/auditor which illuminate certain topics of discussion in the dialogue
and furnish a rich subtext which, when properly decoded, imparts a greater
degree of sophistication and meaning to the text as a whole. One l
evel of this
may be observed in the Pythagorean allusions by themselves, of which there
are many. A deeper level of Pythagorean semiotics arguably occurs in the very
fabric of the dialogue itself. It has been argued that the Platonic dialogues
have been de
liberately structured according to a Pythagorean division of the
musical canon, with certain themes corresponding to the consonance or
dissonance of a given "note" on the scale. This, along with the relevant
symbolism present, will be examined in greater d
etail.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 83-96 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Athens Journal of History |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2016 |