In the previous chapter, we examined Plato's conception of god in the Timaeus as the teleological agent par excellence, and showed how that agency relies on bodily conditions, so that god turns out to be immanent to the universe. Now, why should this matter from an ethical perspective? What, if anything, are we to learn from this god, both through its mythical description and through the more rigorous study of astronomy?

I shall argue that Plato thinks we have indeed much to learn. In the course of my treatment, it will also become clear in what ways the Timaeus can be seen as a response to the Republic (and in that regard it may be no accident that the dialogue should start with an account reminiscent of that work). However, rather than claiming, as has been done recently, that the Timaeus keeps “the basic ethical and political ideology of the Republic”, I set out to show how the Timaeus can, to a large extent, be seen as an attempt by Plato not just to resume but also to move beyond some important Republic conclusions.

In particular, I shall emphasise how Plato's ethics in the Timaeus takes us away from the elitism of the Republic, presenting instead an independent way to happiness that is available to everyone. How is that possible? It is possible, I argue, precisely because everyone can share the universe as a common paradigm, and internalise its order.