Diairesis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diairesis (or dihairesis or diaeresis; Greek: διαίρεσις) is used as a technical term in Platonic and Stoic philosophy.

[edit] Plato's method of definition

See also: Sophist (dialogue)#Method of definition

Diairesis is a method of definition based on division which occurs in the Platonic dialogues Phaedrus, Sophist, Statesman and Philebus. It is a means of reaching a definition by which a large group is continually divided into relatively equal parts until the definition has been found.

A complementary term is merismos (cf. English merism, Latin partitio: parsing or the distinguishing of parts, as opposed to diairesis, which is the division of a genus into its parts).

Here is an example of the use of diairesis in the Sophist. At 235b, the Eleatic Stranger is examining illusions, which consist of words and "visual objects." By using diairesis, he divides visual objects, by which it becomes clear he means works of art, into two categories: eikastikē technē, the art of making likenesses or eikones; and phantastikē technē, the art of creating illusionary appearances. The Stranger is much more fond of the former; the latter are only created to produce an appearance of beauty.

The method of diairesis was taken up and developed by Plato's nephew and successor Speusippus.^[1]

[edit] Diairesis in Stoicism

According to the Stoic philosophy of Epictetus, diairesis is the second-power Judgement, or Superjudgement, operated by the human proairesis and by which we are capable of distinguishing, among ordinary judgements about any situation, what is subject to our exclusive power and what is not subject to our exclusive power.

The following are some of the many illustrative examples of diairesis found in the Discourses of Epictetus:

1. "Today I must surely die. Must I groan too?" (Discourses I,1,22)
2. "Tomorrow I must be fettered. Must I moan too?" (Discourses I,1,22)
3. "I have been condemned to exile. Does anyone prevent me from being serene?" (Discourses I,1,22)

A proairesis that assumes an attitude in accordance with diairesis will, in case 1, die and not groan; in case 2, not moan when the body is fettered; in case 3, accept exile with serenity.
A proairesis that assumes an attitude in opposition to diairesis will, in case 1, groan and struggle against death; in case 2, attempt to escape and moan when the body is fettered; in case 3, try to avoid exile and experience the opposite of serenity.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ See John Dillon (1998). "Speusippus." In E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/A111SECT3

[edit] External links

• Method and Metaphysics in Plato's Sophist and Statesman, by Mary Louise Gill (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

This philosophy-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.