In Book 10 of the Laws, Plato inaugurates a new way of speaking about the divinity, albeit reluctantly. He addresses a restricted group of individuals, young atheists who had not been convinced by the myths they had been told since childhood, or by the cult practices they had witnessed. Since he can no longer invoke traditional religion, Plato tries to give a demonstration of the existence of the gods, their providence, and their incor ruptibility, by calling on the regularity and the permanence of the motion of celestial bodies as his witnesses. This new kind of discourse on the gods, which, although based on traditional religion, seeks to transcend it by philosophical reflection, is intended to provide the foundation for the government of the whole of society.
Plato; Laws; myth; religion; demonstration of the existence of the gods