Review: Plato's Forms, Mathematics and Astronomy

Plato's Forms, Mathematics and Astronomy by Theokritos Kouremenos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

...This material, especially the first third of the book, feels at times overwhelmed by its own footnotes. It is not unusual for pages to have more content in footnotes than above. In the case of quotes from the original Greek and suggestions for further reading, the footnote feels appropriate. Many amplifications of points could have added to the main content, rather than being shunted to the small-point footnotes. In this consideration of the Platonic worldview, there is only an onionskin of separation from considering a forms theory in the context of a contemporary philosophy. At times, the text returns instead to the Myth of Er and The Spindle of Necessity, where The Fates, the three daughters of the Goddess Necessity, keep the rims of the cosmos’ driving axle revolving. The hook, shaft, and whorl application can help convince us that probably Plato did truly recognize the retrograde motion of the Aristotelian planetary spheres. But, can we envision a dedication to mathematics as making more rewarding and profitable philosophical contemplation? Have any other propedeutics proven worthier? The rest is left as an exercise for the reader.

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