The due measure: Between Statesman and Philebus

Abstract

In this paper I try to show the difference between the concep of tò posón, mathematical proportion, valid in the realm of cuantifiable realities, and the concept of tò métrion, the due measure, valid in the realm of not cuantifiable human activities. My argument connects these two concepts from Philebus with the two types of measure discussed in Statesman: that which measures contraries in relation to each other, and that which measures a pair of contraries in relation to the due measure, i.e., what is fitting, the right moment, what is as it ought to be.