The Timaeus is a peculiar Platonic dialogue. Its themes bring it close to the pre-Socratic philosophers: it is a treatise "on nature," the only work of Plato that deals with the natural world.

Its structure is entirely different from the dialogues of maturity: the dramatic setting is spare, the dialogical form is maintained only in the prologue, and the role of Socrates is taken by the astronomer and natural philosopher Timaeus, who describes the creation of the world in an extensive monologue.

The exposition is systematic, aiming to be comprehensive, acknowledging its axiomatic assumptions and goals, and striving for consistency - Timaeus resembles more an Aristotelian treatise than a Platonic dialogue.

What, then, is Plato's relationship with natural philosophy? How does he address the pre-Socratic physiologists and to what extent does he prepare the cosmic system of his great disciple? How does Timaeus, a later dialogue, reconcile with the radical condemnation of the sensible world that is foundational to the classical theory of Ideas? Is there a break or continuity in Platonic philosophy?

[Excerpt from the text of the prologue]