What are Plato's unwritten doctrines?

Plato's unwritten doctrines are metaphysical theories ascribed to him by his students, such as Aristotle, and other ancient philosophers, though they are not clearly formulated in his written dialogues. Sometimes called his principle theory, these teachings involve two fundamental principles—The One and The Indefinite Dyad—from which the rest of the system derives. Twentieth-century researchers known as the Tübingen School attempted to systematically reconstruct these esoteric teachings, though critics argue the available evidence is insufficient.

What we know

• Plato's unwritten doctrines are metaphysical theories ascribed to him by his students and other ancient philosophers that are not clearly formulated in his written works. [1, 2]
• First-generation members of Plato's Academy, most notably Aristotle, are the main sources ascribing these esoteric doctrines to Plato. [2]
• The Tübingen School reconstructed Plato's unwritten doctrines to comprise a monistic principle called The One and a principle of indeterminacy called The Indefinite Dyad. [1, 2]
• Plato restricted certain teachings to students in the Academy because he believed they could not be adequately explained in writing for general readers. [2] · medium confidence

Still open

• Critics of the Tübingen School argue that the available evidence is insufficient to establish that Plato deliberately withheld a systematic metaphysical doctrine from his written dialogues.

Where to go next

• whoWho were the members of the Tübingen School?
• how we knowHow does Aristotle describe Plato's principles?
• the bigger pictureWhat is Plato's Theory of Forms?
• a case in pointWhat happens in the Allegory of the Cave?
• what followedHow did Neoplatonists interpret Plato's dialogues?
• an unexpected connectionHow did ancient esoteric philosophy influence modern poetry?Interpretations of Plato's hidden layers and unwritten meanings spread during the Renaissance to heavily influence literary symbolism among poets like Shakespeare and Dante.

Sources

• [1]Plato's unwritten doctrines (Wikidata Q1251340) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Plato's unwritten doctrines · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Allegory of the cave · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Allegorical interpretations of Plato · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Plato · CC BY-SA 4.0