In this bold new study, Andrew J. Mason seeks both to shed light on the key issue of flux in Plato s work, and to show that there is also in Plato a notion of "flow" that needs to be distinguished from flux. Mason brings out the importance of this hitherto neglected distinction, and proposes on its basis a new way of understanding the development of Plato s thought.

The opposition between the being of Forms and the becoming or flux of sensibles has been fundamental to the understanding of Plato from Aristotle to the present day. One key concern of this volume is to clarify which kinds...