Abstract
Abstract
Although most scholars discover “Plato’s final theology” in Book 10, the Athenian’s three arguments are psychological, ethical, and political in character. They respond to the disorder of Kleinias’ soul and to his belief that chaotic motion characterizes nature. The first argument refutes materialists by presenting the heavens as governed by intelligence. This argument will engage the curiosity of the young atheist. For Kleinias and ordinary citizens, however, a “mythopoetic” interpretation is more appropriate: to “imitate the god” means to embrace the Athenian’s eudaimonism. In the second argument, the Athenian reforms the deists’ flawed conceptions of happiness. His presentation of the gods shows that they care for justice by exemplifying it in their own souls, rather than by intervening to support misguided ideas of happiness. The Athenian’s third argument will neither persuade nor dissuade “bribers.” Rather, it is best understood as an exhortation to Kleinias.