Socrates & Plato

Phil 103
Jay Van Gerpen
December 11, 2012
The philosophical contributions of both Plato (42!34" #$%& an' (ocrates (4"0!
3)) #$%&, Gree* philosophers of hi+h repute, remain influential lon+ after their time,
Their concepts, an' in the case of Plato -ritten -or*s, ha.e sur.i.e' o.er t-o thousan'
years, an' e/ert a far reachin+ influence on facets of -estern ci.ili0ation,
The philosophical concepts put forth by (ocrates an' Plato can be 'ifficult to
'ifferentiate, (ocrates, -ho often en+a+e' others in en' lon+ 'ebates, ne.er transcribe'
any of his o-n con.ersations, 1early e.erythin+ -e *no- about the fi+ure (ocrates
comes from the -ritin+s of his stu'ent, Plato, 2fter (ocrates 'eath, Plato repro'uce'
many of the +reat e/chan+es in a set of .olumes *no-n as the Dialo+ues, 3f the
'ialo+ues, -hich can be separate' into the early, mi''le, an' late 'ialo+ues, the early
'ialo+ues are belie.e' to best represent the i'eas hel' by (ocrates, -hile the later boo*s
are compose' of i'eas that may perhaps be better attribute' to Plato himself,
To (ocrates, 2thenian 'emocracy mas4uera'e' as a 5ust an' fair entity, -hile in
truth it pro.i'e' a public arena for s*ille' rhetoricians an' speechma*ers to practice their
craft, 6ar+e cro-'s coul' be easily s-aye' by rousin+ orators -ho spo*e usin+
con.incin+ absolutes that pressure' people to form con.ictions on issues that may not be
as 'e.oi' of moral comple/ities as the 'ema+o+ues portraye' them, (ocrates e/ercise'
his routine of 4uestionin+ an' ar+umentation to e/pose an' 'iscre'it the men -ho tau+ht
or e/ploite' moral relati.ism to a'.ance their o-n a+en'as, These men carrie' no
concern for -hether their -or's actually hel' truth, only -hether they coul' persua'e
others to belie.e them, (ocrates -as con.ince' this style of thin*in+ -oul' result in a
'e+eneracy of morals an' ethics in society, (7obinson&
#oth (ocrates an' Plato belie.e' some of the fun'amental tenants of 'emocracy
to be inherently false, Democracy seeme' to hol' that each man shoul' possess an e4ual
say in the realm of politics, in'ifferent to his in'i.i'ual ability or 4uantity of e/perience,
To them it represente' a system -here .alues an' merit -ere thro-n by the -aysi'e,
Plato -oul' later remar*, after the e/ecution of (ocrates, -here he -as narro-ly
con.icte' by a 5ury of o.er fi.e!hun're' 2thenian citi0ens, that 'emocracy -as a corrupt
an' un5ust form of +o.ernment, 8e ha' come to reali0e that +roups of people,
manipulate' by acts of flattery an' 'ema+o+uery, coul' be ma'e capable of committin+
truly heinous 'ee's,
%.en to'ay, -hile -ithin our country 'emocracy is commonly haile' as 5ust
system of +o.ernment -ithout match, it can be e/tremely 'ifficult to ne+ate some of the
not insi+nificant shortcomin+s pre.alent in our mo'ern 'emocratic society, $iti0ens
complain of slo- ineffectual +o.ernment that is slo- to act an' often tri++er an
in'ecisi.e response, Tra.ersin+ +o.ernment bureaucracy to achie.e anythin+ can be a
len+thy pro+ress not -orth the effort, Just as (ocrates an' Plato -arne', public opinion is
a .ariable beast -here people9s opinions are hea.ily impacte' from information they
recei.e from the partisan ne-s, :n some part their ability to thin* for themsel.es may
ha.e 'eprecate' -ith time, These same in'i.i'uals are the ones -ho hol' an e4ual
measure of influence on ma*in+ 'ecisions than more enli+htene' peers,
(ocrates comes to the conclusion that the polis -ill ne.er be ma'e -ell until such
a time -hen it a'opts the +o.ernment of the philosopher *in+ as e.i'ence' in the
follo-in+ passa+e from Plato9s The Republic,
Unless the philosophers rule as kings or those now called kings and chiefs
genuinely and adequately philosophize, and political power and philosophy coincide in
the same place, while the many natures now making their way to either apart from the
other are by necessity excluded, there is no rest from ills for the cities, my dear Glaucon,
nor think for human kind, nor will the regime we ha!e now described in speech e!er
come forth from nature, insofar as possible, and see the light of the sun"# ;7epublic
4"3$<
The philosopher *in+ as characteri0e' in The 7epublic is one -ho places the
.alue of -is'om before ambitions of -ealth an' po-er, The *in+ is truly concerne' about
the -elfare of the soul of each citi0en of the state, 8o-e.er, -hile the philosopher *in+
must ensure that e.eryone is pro.i'e' for, he may be unmin'ful to the 'esires of the
people, 8is primary purpose is to teach the citi0ens, usin+ his o-n un'erstan'in+, -ho
bein+ untau+ht -ere i+norant to -hat their souls truly re4uire', (ocrates ten'e' to
minimi0e the importance of the natural sciences an' instea' concentrate' on
un'erstan'in+ the fun'amental nature of thin+s, (ocrates belie.e' that only after people
ha.e the truth illuminate' for them -ill they be ma'e content -ith their li.es, an' their
souls nurture', (7obinson&
The Republic, Plato9s most influential -or* is ac*no-le'+e' by scholars to
pro.i'e a cornerstone in the foun'ation of -estern philosophy an' systems of
+o.ernment, The Republic aims to flesh out the concepts behin' +oo'ness, reality, an'
*no-le'+e, the role of men an' -omen in society, an' 'i.inin+ the most 5ust an'
effecti.e form of +o.ernment,
:n Plato9s i'eal state society, -as to be or+ani0e' into 'i.isions of three 'istinct
social classes, the rulers, chief amon+ them the philosopher *in+, the +uar'ians -ho
'efen' the state, an' the farmers an' merchants, :t is of notable interest, that -hile
hol'in+ consi'erable po-er, the philosopher *in+ an' the +uar'ians -ere not allo-e' the
ri+ht to o-n property, money or e.en belon+ to a family, Plato belie.e' that
a'ministerin+ an' 'efen'in+ the state -as first an' foremost their most important
purpose, an' they coul' not be allo-e' to lose focus, %.erythin+ the +uar'ians an' the
philosopher *in+ re4uire' -as to be pro.i'e' by the state, (8oo*er&
The +uar'ians -ere to be born of marria+es compose' of stron+ men an' -omen
selecte' by the philosopher *in+, 2s +uar'ian chil'ren +re- they -ere inten'e' to only
be e/pose' only to teachin+ that supporte' .alues such as bra.ery, temperance, an'
obe'ience, any teachin+s that seeme' to ser.e contrary to that purpose -ere to be
suppresse', These i'eas seems to len' cre'ence to the claim that (ocrates hel' a stron+
appreciation for (partan culture, -hich he belie.e' -as a closer match to the i'eal state
then -as 2thenian 'emocracy, (7obinson&
(ocrates -as infamous -ith the inhabitants of 2thens for pioneerin+ his o-n
particular form of 4uestionin+ in 'ebate, an' for utili0in+ it to +reat effect, 8e -oul'
be+in by approachin+ those -ho confesse' to *no- some +reat truth an' then procee' to
as* them a series of 4uestions, 8is in4uiries often left the men feelin+ humiliate' an'
perhaps harborin+ resentment to-ar's him, (=yles& (ocrates impresse' many -ith his
le.el of insi+ht, but amasse' an association of in'i.i'uals -ho ha' been harme' by his
actions, (ocrates attempts to 'ispel the alle+ations a+ainst him at the trial by assertin+
that the only reason he ha' been brou+ht to trial -as because in'i.i'uals spurne' by his
metho' of 'ebate, ha' conspire' a+ainst him,
2t least one ancient Gree*, the bio+rapher Dio+enes 6aertius, cre'its the
philosopher Prota+oras as the ori+inator of the (ocratic =etho', but there can be little
'oubt that it -as (ocrates, as its name su++ests, -ho ma'e its use famous,
$lenchus ser.es as the primary techni4ue of the (ocratic =etho', (ocrates
conten'e' that the purpose of usin+ the elenchus techni4ue is to con'uct an impersonal
search for the truth, This framin+ of the purpose in a noble li+ht ser.es to 'iminish
another less attracti.e facet of the proce'ure, $lenchus seems in most cases, certainly
throu+hout many instances -ithin the 'ialo+ues, to she' the noble illusion an' e/pose an
interlocutor9s i+norance in a most unabashe' manner, The $lenchus techni4ue attempts to
'ra- out a''itional ne- statements, usin+ a series of 4uestions, from an ori+inal
statement, that the opposin+ 'ebater has alrea'y put forth, The follo-in+ 4uestions may
or may not appear to be relate', but -hen a''e' to+ether, the resultant a'missions coul'
only lea.e the opposin+ interlocutor the sole option of a'mittin+ that his ori+inal premise
-as in'ee' false,
(ocratic 4uestionin+, a mo'ern teachin+ techni4ue, at its name su++ests, -as
spa-ne' by the (ocratic metho', >se' by teachers to'ay, (ocratic 4uestionin+
approaches problems systematically, concentratin+ its focus on fun'amental concepts an'
principles, :t ur+es the stu'ent to reali0e the -hole of the problem, instea' of fra+mentin+
it an' e/aminin+ entities in'epen'ently of their relationship to others, (ocratic
4uestionin+, instea' of pro.i'in+ an ans-er, lea's one to analy0e their o-n ans-er an'
'etermine for themsel.es -hether their conclusion -as forme' as a result of a soun'
reasonin+ process,
Dialo+ues ser.e as a useful tool for e/aminin+ this process because they offer the
position of an outsi'e obser.er, #y ea.es'roppin+ on the con.ersations, one can9t help
but start e.aluatin+ the merits of both si'es an' be+in formin+ their o-n opinions, #y
maintainin+ an open perspecti.e on the problem throu+hout the entire process, an
in'i.i'ual can occupy a position of ob5ecti.ity an' continue on to i'entify the meanin+
an' 'isco.er the un'erlyin+ truth behin' it, Gi.en the fun'amental nature of the 4uestion,
one must come to a conclusion on his o-n to truly un'erstan' an' .alue the information
+leane',
Plato conten's that e/istence can be 'i.i'e' into t-o 'imensions? the physical
'imension inclusi.e of e.erythin+ that can be interprete' by the senses an' the secon'
'imension -hich houses the @forms,A To conclu'e that the forms are only simply
archetypes of physical ob5ects -oul' be an incomplete characteri0ation, Borms as
'escribe' by Plato also ha.e come to encompass less imme'iately tan+ible entities such
as .irtue but -hich in'i.i'uals still compare to some i'eali0e' mo'el, (7u++iero& The
realm of forms hol' all of the uni4ue icons, absolute perfect representations from -hich
all ob5ects percei.e' insi'e of the physical 'imension are compare' too,
Chen interlocutors en+a+e in 'iscussion of the forms, usin+ abstract concepts
such as .irtue are compelle', some-here 'o-n the line, to establish specific 'efinitions
for ambi+uous terms such as coura+e, beauty, an' 5ustice, (ocrates propose' that the
immortal soul -as at its base a simple lo+ical entity, free from all comple/ities, an' only
-hen boun' to the physical plane, 'i' it ac4uire the stru++les an' pains that came -ith
bein+ mortal, (ocrates affirme' that the bo'y -as in essence a ca+e for the soul 'urin+ its
time on earth,
(ocrates -as of the belief that each man ha' access to the forms an' only nee'e'
to be remin'e' of them, because at some point in time 'urin+ birth, -hen the soul is
boun' to the bo'y, a bein+9s co+ni0ance of the forms lea.es him, :t is from this notion
that Plato9s +roun's for belief ori+inates, an in'i.i'ual 'oesn9t in fact learn ne-
*no-le'+e he simply restores the *no-le'+e -hen his is remin'e' of the particular form,
(2nn, &
Plato9s concept of reco.ere' *no-le'+e an' its relationship -ith the theory of
forms is perhaps best illustrate' by the interactions of (ocrates an' an unlearne' sla.e
boy 'etaile' in the 'ialo+ue =eno, (ocrates 'irects the boy throu+h the fun'amentals of
the Pytha+orean theorem, an' then conclu'es -ith .ie- that the boy actually innately
*ne- the theorem the entire time, an' only nee'e' its use to be 'emonstrate' before him
to recollect it,
(ocrates an' his stu'ent Plato are responsible for the creation of e/tensi.e
concepts an' philosophical abstractions that continue to be per.asi.e in the mo'ern fiel's
of philosophy an' +o.ernment centuries after their li.es,
#urnyeat, =yles, :nter.ie- -ith #ryan =a+ee, The Great Philosophers, ##$
Corl'-i'e, 6on'on, 11, (ep, 1)",
Day, Jane =, %lato&s 'eno in (ocus, 1st e', 1e- Dor* $ityE 7outle'+e, 1))4, Print,
%merson, 7alph Cal'o, F%lato) or, the %hilosopher,F 7epresentati.e =en, 2rc =anor,
1G0,
8oo*er, 7ichar', FGree* Philosophy H Plato,F *ashington +tate Uni!ersity, 0I Jun 1))),
Ceb, 2 1o. 200), ;httpEJJ---,-su,e'uJK'eeJ+reeceJplato,htm<,
Plato, 1)GI, Great ,ialogues of %lato, Translate' by C, 8, D, 7ouse, 1e- Dor*E 1e-
2merican 6ibrary,
Plato, 1)"3, The Republic and other *orks, Translate' by #, Jo-ett, Gar'en $ityE
2nchor PressJDouble'ay,
7obinson, Daniel 1, Great :'eas of Philosophy, 2n' %'ition, $D, 2004,
7u++iero, Tim, FPlato 2n' The Theory 3f Borms,F %hilosophical +ociety, 2) July 2002,
Ceb, 2I 1o. 200), ;httpEJJ---,philosophicalsociety,comJ2rchi.esJPlato
L202n'L20TheL20TheoryL203fL20Borms,htm<,
Car', 2nn, FThe :mmortality of the (oul an' the 3ri+in of the $osmos in The Phae'oF
=ay 2G, 200) ;httpEJJ---,allaca'emic,comJmetaJp13"0))Min'e/,html<
Nuc*ert, $atherine, F(ocrates .s, the (ophistsOF %aper presented at the annual meeting
of the -merican %olitical +cience -ssociation, .ilton /hicago and the %almer
.ouse .ilton, /hicago, 0, (ep 02, 2004 ;1ot 2.ailable<, 200)!0G!2I
;httpEJJ---,allaca'emic,comJmetaJpI1"4GMin'e/,html<