Abstract
In this paper I argue that Socrates’s evocation of Protagoras’s ghost in Theaetetus foregrounds and assaults the sophist’s humanity in its physical and mental manifestations: his ghostliness ...renders him unfit to evaluate a doctrine that makes human beings the measure of all things, while his haste to return to the Underworld prevents him from partaking in dialectic and exhibiting his rationality. I also show the contextual relevance of the episode by suggesting that the passage is the last act of a three-act parody of Protagoras’s humanity, which aims to refute the man-as-measure doctrine. The first act is the so-called Protagoras’s Apology (165e8-168c1), the second act is the self-refutation argument (170a6-171c7), and the third act is the sophist’s ghostly appearance (171c10-d3).
Plato Plays Polis Bakewell, Geoff
Board game studies journal,
04/2022, Letnik:
16, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
At
422e1-423a2, while discussing Callipolis and its ability to wage war, Socrates makes a punning reference to the ancient boardgame
. In this contest, two opponents deployed sets of identical
...(counters) to surround and capture the enemy’s forces. Socrates’ allusion is not simply amusing; it is well-suited to the dialogue’s philosophical content and historical context. With regard to philosophy, Callipolis’ guardians resemble the
. Their training makes them equal and interchangeable, while their personal interests are subordinated to those of the group to discourage dissent (
) and promote unity. Elsewhere in the Platonic corpus, learning to play
is mentioned as part of a philosophical education. In the hands of a skilled practitioner like Socrates, dialectic is like playing
. With regard to history, the
’s main interlocutors (Socrates, Adeimantus, Glaucon) were soldiers known for their bravery. Moreover, its readers remembered the rule of the Thirty Tyrants and its aftermath. Indeed, the dialogue’s arguments about the just city and regime change are framed by an allusion to the movements of Thrasybulus and Critias and their respective troops around the game board of Attica. At Athens,
was played for high stakes, namely the polis itself.
In this paper, I intend to propound that Socrates’ choice of abstaining himself from writing not only leads to the “Socratic Problem” but also renders him vulnerable to misappropriations; a ...vulnerability he attributes to writing while substantiating his downright dismissal of it. The paper has been divided into three sections. In section one; effort is to contemplate “The Socratic Problem” which has been baffling scholars across centuries. Whether, for example, in Plato’s works, is it Plato’s or the historical Socrates’ views? Absence of Socrates’ own work has put his historical existence in a blurry picture and his character under shadows of doubts. In section two, there is an attempt to outline the debate between Phonocentrism and Oral tradition. Socrates is seen projecting phonocentric viewpoints in Plato’s Phaedrus, when he censures writing by invoking an Egyptian myth. In the last section, I have put forth a surmise that Plato’s Socrates must be an apotheosized and misappropriated version of the historical Socrates. And I question, if it can be taken as an insinuation that we need to consider possibility of misappropriation every time we read history without historicity.
Abstract
This paper argues that there are three distinct senses of possibility at play in the Republic’s discussion of whether the best city is possible: natural possibility, possibility for existing ...cities, and ideal possibility. It is argued that Socrates makes different claims about each of the three political proposals in Book v. (1) Women guardians are argued to be naturally possible. (2) Socrates considers it an open question whether the common family of guardians (the so-called ‘community of women and children’) is naturally possible. He argues, however, that it is ideally possible. (3) The philosopher-king is claimed to be possible in the strongest sense: it is not only naturally possible, it is also possible for existing cities. It is for this reason that the common family of guardians is ideally possible. This clarifies the sense in which the best city is best.
While committed to the argumentative and reasoned discourse recognizable in the work of contemporary professional philosophers, the actual practice that both Socrates and Diogenes routinely engaged ...in was in many ways more similar to stand-up and other forms of contemporary performative comedy. This paper analyzes the commonalities between Socrates’s and Diogenes's public philosophizing in Ancient Greece and performative comedy in the contemporary world, and emphasizes the subversive rhetorical efficiency and skeptical significance of public irony for their audiences. The paper begins by exploring the ways in which ancient philosophers relied on irony and humor to promote skepticism and critical thinking, analyzes contemporary comic performances that seem similar, and concludes with reflections on the varieties of philosophical activity and experience.
The tale of the tripod that the Seven Wise Men exchanged, until one of them decided to offer it to Apollo, the most knowledgeable in their circle, seems to form the subtext of the well-known episode ...of Delphi’s Oracle addressed to Socrates, recounted by Plato in his Apology. The philosopher rejects the title of “wisest of the Greeks” and reaffirms the superiority of divine wisdom. Drawing upon this template, Plato places the figure of Socrates within the context of ancient erudition and traditional pietas, categorically eschewing any affinity with the Sophists.
The article focuses on Nietzsche's philosophy of antagonisms to seek its formative repercussions considering art, science and education. The agonistic model present in Nietzsche's work is taken as ...the defining factor for assessing the subtleties of philosophical clashes, especially the dispute with Socrates. In the dispute dynamics, the power of praise, criticismand also self-criticism. This philosophical soil connects with the pedagogical soil, giving rise to methods of analysis and practice that configure a possible agonic education. In these terms, the educational dispute rescues vitality through the genealogical method that aims to discuss invention, discovery, explanation and interpretation considering the arrangement of concepts to contest their ontological immutability and generate new guidance in epistemological terms. Bewilling to think with Nietzsche, without necessarily abandoning Socrates, would imply reflecting on how the excess of fixity brought about by our pedagogical inventions has prevented more robust discoveries to make another education happen. It will be necessary, before all,to question the value of the truth that still reigns among us in order to bring the Nietzschean project of transvaluing all values to its final consequences.
O artigo debruça-se sobre a filosofia dos antagonismos de Nietzsche para buscar suas repercussões formativas considerando a arte, ciência e a educação. O modelo agonístico presente na obra de Nietzsche é tomado como definidor para as apreciações das sutilezas dos embates filosóficos, especialmente a disputa com Sócrates. Na dinâmica da disputa,a potência do elogio, da crítica e também de uma autocrítica. Este solo filosófico conecta-se com o solo pedagógico,fazendo surgir métodos de análise e de prática que configuram uma possível educação agônica. Nestes termos,a disputa educativa resgata uma vitalidade por meio do método genealógico que visa discutir invenção, descoberta, explicação e interpretação considerando o arranjo dos conceitos para contestar sua imutabilidade ontológicae gerar nova orientação em termos epistemológicos. Mostrar disposição em pensar com Nietzsche, sem necessariamente abandonar Sócrates, implicaria refletir sobrecomo o excesso defixidez instaurada pornossas invenções pedagógicas têm impedido descobertas mais robustas para fazer acontecer outra educação. Será necessário antes questionar o valor da verdade que ainda reina entre nós para levar às últimas consequências o projeto nietzschiano de transvaloração de todos os valores.
El artículo se centra en la filosofía de antagonismos de Nietzsche para buscar sus repercusiones formativas teniendo en cuenta el arte, la ciencia y la educación. El modelo agonista presente en el trabajo de Nietzsche se toma como un factor definitorio para la evaluación de las sutilezas de los enfrentamientos filosóficos, especialmente la disputa con Sócrates. En la dinámica de disputa, el poder de la alabanza, la crítica y también la autocrítica. Este suelo filosófico se conecta con el suelo pedagógico, dando lugar a métodos de análisis y práctica que configuran una posible educación agónica. En estos términos, la disputa educativa rescata la vitalidad a través del método genealógico que tiene como objetivo discutir la invención, el descubrimiento, la explicación y la interpretación considerando la disposición de los conceptos para impugnar su inmutabilidad ontológica y generar una nueva orientación en términos epistemológicos. Mostrar disposición para pensar con Nietzsche, sin abandonar necesariamente a Sócrates, implicaría reflexionar sobre cómo el exceso de fijación provocado por nuestros inventos pedagógicos ha impedido descubrimientos más sólidos para que otra educación suceda. Más bien, será necesario cuestionar el valor de la verdad que aún reina entre nosotros para llevar el proyecto nietzscheano de transvaluar todos los valores a sus últimas consecuencias.
