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Plato and Intellectual Development
Susanna Saracco
Plato and Intellectual

Development
A New Theoretical Framework Emphasising the
Higher-Order Pedagogy of the Platonic Dialogues
Susanna Saracco
Philosophy
Sydney, Australia
ISBN 978-3-319-52586-0 ISBN 978-3-319-52587-7 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-52587-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017934479
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
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Cover pattern © Harvey Loake
Printed on acid-free paper
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To the wonder of life.
And the courage to live it.
CONTENTS
1 Introduction 1
2 The Structure of Rational Engagement in the Reading

of Plato 13
3 Theoretical Childhood and Theoretical Adulthood 53
4 Plato’s Forms and Scientific Modelling 87
5 Theoretical Adulthood 107
6 ADDENDUM: “Journey to Critical Inquiry”: Students’

Analyses of Scenarios Designed to Promote Collaborative
Decision Making 125
Index 139
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 4.1 “Life span age differences in processing robustness

as measured by the inverse of fluctuations in cognitive reaction
times. Older adults and children show less robust processing”
(Li 2010, 27) 100
Fig. 4.2 The figure illustrates temporal features used for mapping time-
series for numerical lab tests (Valizadegan et al. 2013, 1130) 101
Fig. 4.3 “Entry and exit dynamics in computer and electronic product
manufacturing (black line) and healthcare services (grey line)”
(Tsvetkova et al. 2013, 91) 102
ix
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Abstract In this book I will argue that the function of the words written
by Plato is the epistemic stimulation of the readers. I will trace a new path
of cognitive development which is forged together by the writer and the
reader. This intellectual collaboration is at the base of a higher-order
pedagogy which is astonishing for its modernity. Modern and contempor-
ary sources taken from different disciplines will be used in this book not to
claim that Plato could foresee these developments of the research but to
help the modern reader to realize the intensity of a philosophical message
which is still able in the twenty-first century to demonstrate its innovative
character.
Keywords Interdisciplinary research Modern and contemporary litera-

ture Intensity of meaning
What you are going to read is a non-standard work in Ancient Philosophy.

In my view Plato’s overall message about human intellectual development
emerges from an interpretative effort that is not only focused on the words
of the dialogues but it also reconstructs the impact of the innovative
character of these words. The necessity that the individuals become
aware of the great potential that they possess as rational beings, and the
appropriate cultivation of this intellectual capacity, is central in Plato’s
dialogues. In this research, Plato’s ideas are developed using concepts
coming from different disciplines. I will argue that this interdisciplinary
© The Author(s) 2017 1

S. Saracco, Plato and Intellectual Development,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-52587-7_1
2 PLATO AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
methodology is indicated by Plato himself as fundamental for each indivi-

dual’s intellectual progress. However, the importance attributed by Plato
to disciplines such as arithmetic, geometry and astronomy (Republic, VII
518–537) is usually treated in the context of a hermeneutic effort whose
goal is a reconstruction of these subjects (Fowler 1999) that does not help
the modern reader to get a sense of the revolutionary power of the
philosophers’ ideas. My interpretation wants to give Plato’s readers the
chance to grasp this crucial feature of Plato’s thinking. The modern and
contemporary sources that I have utilized for this purpose, have not been
selected with the intention to demonstrate that Plato could foresee these
developments in the research. However, the analogies with the results of
modern research, facilitate the reader of the twenty-first century in the
realization of the great contribution of Plato’s philosophy, even in respect
to contemporary research.
For example, in this work I make significant use of an analogy between
Plato’s Forms and contemporary scientific models. Surely, however, it
cannot be claimed that Plato anticipated contemporary science or that
the way in which models are used in contemporary research is the outcome
of Plato’s elaboration of the notion of Forms. Nevertheless, Plato, in
introducing the Forms to his readers, leads them to realize that it is
possible that an intellectual construction exists not as direct description
of an object of investigation but as cognitive artefact useful for beginning
to analyse a specific research subject. The power of this innovation can be
grasped by the modern reader through the analogy between Plato’s Forms
and scientific modelling. In fact, models, for example, statistical models,
have the same function as Plato’s Forms: they are tools to elaborate
indirectly the intuitions of a researcher.
The analogy between the Forms and scientific modelling is not the only
one that I will make use of. As I said, my use of modern and contemporary
sources, in connection with Plato’s philosophy, is characteristic of the
pragmatic interpretative strategy that I have decided to utilize. In this
type of interpretation, the reconstruction of Plato’s message is accom-
plished by the rendition of the innovative power of this message. I believe
that my approach facilitates the reconstruction of Plato’s thought. In my
view, the way that Plato’s philosophy has been interpreted up until now
takes into consideration only half of the picture as if it was the whole
image. When Plato in the Republic presents his schematization of human
intellectual development, in connection with the objects of investigation
that human reason can grasp, he tells his readers that there is more to
1 INTRODUCTION 3
discover on this subject, and this is something that they have to do

(Republic, VII 534 a).1 In saying this, Plato calls for a collaboration
between writer and reader. The modes of this collaboration are not pre-
determined by the philosopher. Plato’s readers can choose to criticize
radically his philosophical system or they can choose to accept its basics,
as I have done. This intellectual freedom of Plato’s readers is consistent
with the respect that the philosopher has for human intellect. The way that
I have chosen to respond to the Platonic request of collaboration has
resulted in the elaboration of a new theoretical framework for engaging
with Plato’s dialogues.
This research has been informed by the novel hermeneutic approach
that has been mentioned before. Components of the theoretical frame-
work that I have constructed to elucidate Plato’s idea of human cognitive
progress come from modern and contemporary theories. Some of these
theories have an educational background. For, Plato recognizes the
human privilege represented by the possibility of using the rational faculty,
but he is also well aware of the fact that the human rational nature can
diverge from its positive capabilities, when its direction is determined by
messages that appeal simply to appetite. Education is the Platonic answer
to this human weakness: it is necessary to educate human beings to give
them the chance to make the most of their rational capacity. This intuition
is in itself extraordinary for its modernity. But what renders the Platonic
rational pedagogy even more astonishing is its character: Plato explicitly
says to his readers that they have to find the truth by themselves, using
what they are reading only as reminder of the rational power that they
possess (Phaedrus, 275 a–b). Plato’s is a kind of higher-order pedagogy, in
which students are not mere learners and teachers are not the depositories
of the truth, like that advocated nowadays as the best approach in the
development of the critical attitude of the students (Freire 1970).
The connection that I have just emphasized between Plato’s work and
modern pedagogy is a general one. It is not made with the intention of
relating Platonic stages of rational development to specific phases of
cognitive progress of contemporary, real, individuals. When I mention,
for example, Freire’s theories about a learning environment in which the
roles of the teacher and that of the student can be inverted (Freire 1970,
80), I do not want to claim that Plato’s exhortation of the reader to
collaborate with his work anticipates Freire’s modern research about
what pedagogical strategy proves to be more efficacious in favouring the
individual rational progress. Similarly, as I have emphasized, using the
analogy between the Forms and scientific modelling, I do not want to

entail that Plato could foresee the contemporary use of modelling. My use
of modern and contemporary sources, serves the function of rendering to
the reader the innovative power of Plato’s philosophy. The utilization of
these sources has to be contextualized within the theoretical framework
that I have developed, which is also related to a novel use of the standard
literature about Plato, that will be taken into consideration shortly.
My arguments about Plato’s idea of cognitive progress entail that
Plato’s readers play a vital role in determining Plato’s message. But this
does not imply that this message can be interpreted in just any way by its
readers. Even though the individual contributions of Plato’s readers can-
not be anticipated, this does not mean that there is an unlimited range of
possibilities available to them. Their contributions have to take place
within certain epistemic conditions established by Plato: they must be
grounded on detachment from the tangible, as a necessary condition to
reach what for the philosopher is the peak of human rational development,
the knowledge of the purely intelligible. Nevertheless, within these broad
conditions, Plato’s readers can decide to criticize Plato’s philosophical
system, even radically, and develop alternatives to it.
I will not be illustrating the kinds and degrees of criticism that Plato’s
writings can sustain this way. Instead, I prefer to reconstruct a more
sympathetic account of Plato’s idea of knowledge. A part of my recon-
struction represents the continuation of the schematization of human
cognitive development, traced by Plato in the Republic: I add four sub-
sections to the line segment used by Plato to represent cognitive progress
(Republic, VI 509 d–510). In this way, I indicate the necessity to envisage
the intellectual journey subject of the dialogues as one stage of the journey
of human rational growth. This reconstruction follows Plato’s own indica-
tions, which exhort readers to extend the scheme of intellectual progress,
using their intuitions. These indications do not provide specific details
about the last stage of cognitive growth. Thus, a part of the theoretical
framework that I have developed, is not based on a direct description
elaborated by Plato. This is not problematic: the strength of the message
that I want to convey does not depend on the specific details of the
reconstruction of the Platonic account of human intellectual development.
A reader who thinks that the last phase of the cognitive individual growth
has to be represented using three subsections of the line segment which
symbolizes intellectual development, or a reader who disagrees with the
sources that I have used to render the idea of what this rational progress is,
1 INTRODUCTION 5
is assuming the necessity to contextualize Plato’s written words in a

broader theoretical framework, represented by an extended line segment.
This reader, developing this type of criticisms, is also interacting with the
Platonic text, accepting the request of collaboration between reader
and writer that I have emphasized as fundamental for the philosopher.
This kind of criticisms does not undermine but reinforces the basics of
my work.
The main innovations that ground the present research are interlaced
and they all respond to the Platonic request of collaboration with his
written text. These innovations are: a new theoretical framework and a
new hermeneutic approach which comprises of a novel use of the standard
literature about Plato and an interdisciplinary use of literature, taken from
the work of modern and contemporary researchers. These innovations
ease the rendition of the intensity of the meaning of Plato’s words. The
standard literature about Plato, when elaborating a criticism or an appre-
ciation of the text of the philosopher, does not take into account the
relative utility of these words as rational stimuli. Plato’s written words
are stimulations which help the readers to develop an awareness of their
rational capacity. This awareness has to be used to reach the highest phase
of rational development, which is not directly described in the dialogues,
and that I have indicated extending the line segment of the Republic
(Republic, VI 509 d–510) representing human intellectual progress. I
analyse Plato’s words via the standard literature on the philosopher, con-
textualizing these contributions in the broader theoretical framework that
I have elaborated. This helps to grasp the epistemic function of the
Platonic written text, as part of a path of intellectual progress which does
not end with the words of the dialogues.
My hermeneutic approach is not only based on this new use of the
standard literature about Plato but also on an interdisciplinary use of
modern and contemporary literature. The connection of these more
recent resources with Plato’s text brings out its innovative character. As I
said mentioning the analogy between Plato’s Forms and scientific model-
ling and the relation between Plato’s words and modern theories about
the best learning environment to help cognitive development, the con-
nection of Plato’s text with modern sources is not made to claim that Plato
could foresee these recent outcomes of the research. The uses of literature
which are part of my new hermeneutic approach, directly related to the
broader theoretical framework that I have elaborated, help me to interpret
not only the meaning of Plato’s words but also the intensity of this
meaning, which is crucial to realize Plato’s fundamental contribution to

cultural progress. This contribution becomes evident when we consider, for
example, Plato’s recognition of the mistakes that the reason can make when
it follows the appetites and the necessity of an appropriate education to
guide the individual reasoning skills. The kind of education advocated by
Plato to avoid that the individuals lose some of the opportunities created by
their rational potential is not repressive of the human intellectual talent. On
the contrary, this talent is cultivated through a constant stimulation which
aims at sharpening the individual critical capacities. This type of rational
stimulation, lived in a learning context in which the students are left free to
express their intellectual ability, is at the base of modern pedagogical
theories (Freire 1970; Kohlberg 1981; Vygotsky 1986).
So far I have presented the basics of my research. Now I want to
provide the reader with more specific indications about the content of
each of the chapters which constitute this research. In the second chapter
of my work is introduced the dialogical interaction between Plato and his
readers, stressing that Plato asks his readers explicitly to transcend the text
(Foley 2008, 23. Also cf. Phaedrus, 275 a–b) to complete it with their
contributions. This Platonic request is at the base of the higher-order
pedagogy which permeates the dialogues, where the role of the readers
is not flattened to that of students who can merely absorb the content
proposed by their teacher. Plato’s readers are invited to become active
creators of the philosophical message. This invitation has not to be con-
sidered as a consequence of a lack in Plato’s argumentative ability. In fact,
the philosopher is able to stimulate his readers not only through explicit
requests but also via intellectual stimulations whose meaning is unveiled
gradually by the readers who progress rationally. The first hermeneutic
layer apparent to Plato’s readers is the mythical one: the reasons why the
Platonic myth has not to be intended in a traditional way but as an image
for the mind will be clarified. The second hermeneutic layer related to
Plato’s texts consists in the recognition of their nature of epistemic games:
this notion will be enlightened explaining the role of play in Plato. The
particular character of these games will be exemplified using excerpts taken
from the dialogues. The philosophical images grounded in knowledge
elaborated by Plato create a spectacle. This show has the purpose of
making Plato’s readers feel out of place in the cognitive realm which
they are used to consider the domain of the truth. This epistemic dis-
comfort is what makes them leave the realm of intellectual appearance to
reach the truth.
1 INTRODUCTION 7
This first part of my research presents two important notions: the

higher-order pedagogy that characterizes Plato’s dialogues and the notion
of epistemic games. These two concepts are interwoven: Plato asks his
readers to participate actively in the creation of the philosophical content.
To be able to do so, Plato’s readers have, at first, to develop an awareness
of their rational capacity; then, they have to sharpen this ability. This
rational progress starts and continues because of Plato’s written words:
they are rational stimulations which lead the readers to interrogate them-
selves about the function of Plato’s text. This questioning in itself signals
rational development and it gives the readers the chance to realize that
their epistemic certainties may be poorly grounded. This is a turning point
in the process of individual cognitive growth: the reader realizes that
Plato’s words are just a part of her intellectual journey. This consideration,
originated by the collaboration of the reader with Plato’s text, is at the
base of the broader theoretical framework to contextualize Plato’s dialo-
gues that I have elaborated and that it will be fully presented in the third
chapter of my work.
In the second chapter of this research, the idea of a broader theoretical
framework was already at the base of my criticism of part of the literature
about Plato, which did not take into consideration the possibility that
Plato’s words could be an epistemic game whose goal is the rational
growth of the individual till the point in which the textual stimulation is
not anymore indispensable to progress cognitively. The idea that the
literature about Plato has to be examined contextualizing the message of
the philosopher in a broader theoretical framework than that traditionally
used by Platonic scholars is part of my novel hermeneutic approach and of
the new use of the standard literature about Plato which constitutes it.
This hermeneutic strategy consists also of an interdisciplinary use of
modern and contemporary sources. In the second chapter of my work
modern sources have been cited to enlighten the notion of Platonic
higher-order pedagogy. This hermeneutic approach is applied more
extensively in the third chapter of my research where modern theories
are utilized to illustrate the two means, or techniques as I define them,
which favour intellectual development: the use of natural language
and mathematics.
In this third chapter modern sources are also utilized to illustrate the
scientific method at the base of the construction of the broader theoretical
framework for the contextualization of Plato’s dialogues. This use of a
scientific methodology is consistent with the importance that Plato
attributes to science as means to overcome the sensible and reach the

purely intelligible, which is for the philosopher the peak of human cogni-
tion. Even though modern and contemporary sciences do not aim at the
discovery of the purely intelligible, the Platonic recognition of the sig-
nificant role of this subject to progress intellectually, beyond the empirical
as exclusive dimension of investigation, is a confirmation of the philoso-
phers’ contribution to cultural progress.
As I said, the third chapter of my research is focused on the presentation
of my reconstruction of Plato’s account of human intellectual develop-
ment. This reconstruction takes on board a piece of scientific method:
when a testable element presents anomalies inconsistent with what it is
known about its nature, it is assumed that these variations are caused by
another element, not directly testable. In my case, the words of the
Republic on the necessity to continue the inquiry about human rational
development (Republic, VII 534 a) are the unpredictable effect, provoked
on the dialogues and testable as part of them, caused by a further stage of
cognitive progress. This additional phase of rational development, not
directly testable because not fully described by Plato in the dialogues, is
what I define as theoretical adulthood, successive to theoretical childhood.
The schematization of my reconstruction of Plato’s account of cognitive
growth is formed by the line segment, with the four stages of rational
progress, traced by Plato’s words in the Republic (Republic, VI 509–511).
These four subsections represent theoretical childhood. The length of the
line segment of the Republic is increased by four subsegments, added to
represent the stages of development of theoretical adulthood.
The cognitive progress of theoretical children is facilitated by the use of
natural language. The association of natural language with the tangible
determines its exclusion as means of rational progress at the level of
theoretical adulthood. This phase of intellectual development represents
the peak of human knowledge, which is, for Plato, coincident with the
detachment from the empirical realm. Mathematics promotes the cogni-
tive growth of theoretical children: mathematical notation enlightens the
essential structure of natural numbers, introducing theoretical children to
the purely intelligible domain. Mathematics has also a central role in the
intellectual development of theoretical adults. Different levels of mathe-
matical complexity justify the attribution to this subject of two cognitive
tasks. These levels of mathematical complexity can be understood in
association with two axiomatic approaches. The mathematics which facil-
itates the rational development of theoretical children has to be related to
1 INTRODUCTION 9
the axiomatic approach proper of Euclidean geometry: results are obtained

deductively starting from premises which are never questioned. A more
sophisticated axiomatic approach, connected with the intellectual progress
of theoretical adults, is based on premises which can be questioned in light
of the results obtained.
The broader theoretical framework described in the third chapter of
this work gives us the chance to realize that there are two phases,
theoretical childhood and theoretical adulthood, in the Platonic account
of human intellectual development. We have to keep in mind the exis-
tence of these two phases of rational growth to grasp the cognitive role
of Plato’s Forms: theoretical children who progress intellectually, begin
to question what the rational images created by Plato’s words stand for.
This questioning is crucial to make theoretical children become theore-
tical adults: in fact it leads theoretical children to reflect upon a cognitive
dimension beyond the empirical realm. The Forms are important to
reach a phase of rational growth, in which it can be grasped the purely
intelligible, which for Plato represents the peak of human cognition. The
purely intelligible is the most challenging concept that the human mind
can investigate. The complexity of this subject has to be unveiled gradu-
ally, through its indirect investigation. The possibility of this indirect
knowledge of the purely intelligible is given by the use of the Forms
as models.
This association of the Forms with scientific modelling is grounded on
the fact that crucial characteristics of the Forms match with fundamental
traits of scientific models. In the fourth chapter of my research the epis-
temic function of the Forms is analysed via the analogy between Forms
and scientific modelling. This analogy represents the most extensive exam-
ple of my use of modern and contemporary resources in relation to Plato’s
philosophy. The use of these sources is part of a new hermeneutic
approach that I have elaborated. The goal of this hermeneutic strategy is
to render the intensity of Plato’s meaning, his contribution to cultural
progress, without claiming that the philosopher could foresee these more
recent outcomes of the research.
Plato’s text (Symposium, 211 c–d) creates the possibility of the connec-
tion between Forms and models, clarifying the reasons why the Forms do
not function as an abstract direct representation, ADR, of the purely
intelligible but they are the technology elaborated by the philosopher to
ease the readers into the inquiry of the purely intelligible. The literature
about modelling is used to construct an analogy with Plato’s Forms. The
selection of characteristics taken from different kinds of models has not

the purpose of composing a new model, which begins and ends in the
notions of modelling elaborated in the modern literature about this
topic. Various properties of the scientific models are chosen because
they are able to enlighten traits of the Platonic Forms which make us
understand their epistemic role as means to pass from the investigation of
the sensible to the realization that its real significance can be found only
in the purely intelligible.
The analogy between scientific models and Plato’s Forms is further
clarified, utilizing examples of typical statistical models. The Forms as
models are not created to investigate directly the purely intelligible; none-
theless, their elaboration is informed by the existence of the purely intel-
ligible, the underlying principle which guides their construction. Similarly,
the statistical models are models whose existence is informed by an under-
lying principle: the same set of data can originate statistical models which
vary in complexity, in accord with the research questions they have to
answer. These research questions are the underlying principle which
determines the construction of the statistical models.
The fifth chapter of my work provides the last example of modern
resources used to recreate the intensity of Plato’s meaning, as part of a
new hermeneutic approach which aims at emphasizing Plato’s contribu-
tion to cultural progress, avoiding the misunderstanding that modern
research and Plato’s text are one the direct effect of the other. Plato in
the Philebus (Philebus 56 d-e) distinguishes between philosopher’s arith-
metic and ordinary arithmetic. When philosophers count, they take into
consideration the essence of the units involved in the process of counting.
The calculation of the philosopher involves numbers which are numbers
of pure units. The capacity of thinking abstractly, separating your reason-
ing from the empirical realm, is proper of theoretical adults. The episte-
mology of theoretical adults is reconstructed using structuralism.
Structuralism is a theory in the philosophy of mathematics, based on a
higher form of abstraction: it abstracts away from the numbers to the
structural relations among them. The reconstruction of theoretical adult-
hood that I elaborate in this chapter is not based on a direct Platonic
description. Nevertheless, this reconstruction is grounded on Plato’s text
because theoretical adulthood is a phase of human rational development
whose existence is suggested by the effects that it causes on another
phase of intellectual progress, which I define as theoretical childhood,
directly described by Plato.
1 INTRODUCTION 11
My research, as it has been highlighted, is a reconstruction of Plato’s

thinking, and when I mention theoretical childhood and theoretical adult-
hood I have no intention to refer my theories to the stages of rational
development of real children and adults living in the contemporary world.
Nonetheless, the Platonic exhortation to respect the rational gift that every
(Republic, VII 518 b–d) human being possesses, and the cultivation of this
privilege via the exercise of everyone’s critical skills, has informed the
elaboration of a project for students from 8 through 12 years of age, in
which philosophical pedagogy is used to promote social inclusion.
The project is focused on learning units: in the units brief excerpts
taken from Plato’s philosophy, examples, which clarify the connection of
the quotations with the everyday life of the children, and questions are
devised to make the students reflect on the process of decision making, on
the chance that the decisions made can be more fully informed by reasons,
and on the nature of these reasons, too. The project creates the opportu-
nity for the students to reflect on the variety of perspectives necessary to
solve problems successfully: they will work on the issues raised in the units
relying on an extended community which interacts online. Technology
will be used to connect students who attend schools in under-resourced
and more privileged communities.
NOTE
1. See Foley’s comment of these lines in Foley. 2008. “Plato’s Undividable
Line: Contradiction and Method in Republic VI.” Journal of the History of
Philosophy 46 (I): 23.
REFERENCES
Texts and Translations
Plato. Republic. 1997. Translated by Grube, G.M.A. Revised by Reeve, C.D.C. In
Plato: Complete Works, edited by Cooper, J. M. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Plato. Phaedrus. 1997. Translated by Nehamas, Alexander and Woodruff, Paul. In
Plato: Complete Works, edited by Cooper, J. M. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Plato. Philebus. 1997. Translated by Frede, Dorothea. In Plato: Complete Works,
edited by Cooper, J. M. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Plato. Symposium. 1997. Translated by Nehamas, Alexander and Woodruff, Paul.
In Plato: Complete Works, edited by Cooper, J. M. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Recent Works
Foley, R. 2008. “Plato’s Undividable Line: Contradiction and Method in
Republic VI.” Journal of the History of Philosophy 46 (I): 1–24.
Fowler, D. H. 1999. The Mathematics of Plato’s Academy: A New Reconstruction.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2nd. ed.
Freire, P. 1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Kohlberg, L. 1981. The Philosophy of Moral Development: Moral Stages and the
Idea of Justice. New York: Harper & Row Pub.
Vygotsky, L. 1986. Thought and Language. Translation revised by Kozulin, Alex.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
CHAPTER 2
The Structure of Rational Engagement

in the Reading of Plato
Abstract This chapter introduces the dialogical interaction between Plato

and his readers; in particular, it is taken into consideration the higher-
order pedagogy which permeates the dialogues, in which Plato’s readers
are invited to become active creators of the philosophical message. Plato is
able to stimulate his readers not only through explicit requests but also
through intellectual provocations whose meaning is unveiled gradually as
the readers progress rationally. The first hermeneutic layer apparent to
Plato’s readers is the mythical one. The reasons why the Platonic myth
should not be interpreted in a traditional way but as an image for the mind
will be clarified. The second hermeneutic layer related to Plato’s texts
consists in the recognition of their nature as epistemic games.
Keywords Intellectual stimulation Written reminders Images for the

mind Epistemic games Theoretical children Theoretical adults
Plato chose to convey his thinking exclusively by writing dialogues. This is

not a mere formal choice but, as will be emphasized in this research, a
philosophical decision. It is a request for collaboration from the writer to
his reader. Modern pedagogists have stressed the importance of coopera-
tion for rational development. Vygotsky highlights how cooperation
allows learners to work with people who know more than they do
(Vygotsky 1986, 189). When we, as learners, are challenged by someone
who knows more than we do, this stimulation makes us gradually leave
© The Author(s) 2017 13

S. Saracco, Plato and Intellectual Development,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-52587-7_2
what we are able to do to move in the direction of a successive phase of

rational development. When this kind of cooperation takes place the
person who knows less does not merely absorb notions transmitted by
the person who knows more. The person who knows more uses her
intellectual maturity to stimulate intellectually the learner, offering in
this way a rational guidance which is not compulsion to be the same
rational entity that the person more intellectually developed is.
This exposure to the reasoning of someone who has reached a high
level of intellectual development is, according to Kohlberg (Kohlberg
1981, 27), well portrayed by the Socratic questioning, in which the
interlocutors of the philosopher are challenged by a more refined
reasoning than theirs. In fact, Socrates’ methodological sophistication
is informed by his capability of recognizing ignorance. Socrates has
acquired a clear awareness of how partial one’s knowledge can be,
even though it may seem that it possesses no deficiency (Apology, 21
d). This intellectual maturity is not utilized to transform Socrates’
interlocutors into rational copies of the philosopher. As Kohlberg
notices, if teachers used Socratic questioning, they would stimulate
their “students in such a way as to arouse disagreement and uncertainty
as to what is right” (Kohlberg 1981, 27) and this would “stimulate
stage growth”: (Kohlberg 1981, 27) the involvement in a dialectical
exchange with someone intellectually more sophisticated than we are,
opens up a cognitive horizon characterized by a controversiality that
has to be analysed using our critical skills.
If we take into consideration the words used by Plato in reference to the
simile of the divided line presented in the sixth book of the Republic
(Republic, VI 509 d-510),
But as for the ratios between the things these are set over and the division of
either the opinable or the intelligible section into two, let’s pass them by,
Glaucon, lest they involve us in arguments many times longer than the ones we
have already gone through. (Republic, VII 534 a. My emphasis)
we realize that the philosopher points to a further degree of complex-

ity of this schematization of intellectual progress, which requires a
high level of cognitive development to be investigated. This content,
controversial for the reader of Plato who does not possess the level of
reasoning of the philosopher, is introduced as a stimulus for rational
progress.
2 THE STRUCTURE OF RATIONAL ENGAGEMENT IN THE READING OF PLATO 15
These lines have been interpreted as a Platonic request for active

participation of his reader with the text. This participation is not meant
to be a simple approval or criticism of the words of the philosopher; rather,
this call for collaboration is designed to “force a thoughtful reader to
transcend the text” (Foley 2008, 23. My emphasis) as Foley, commenting
the previous excerpt from the Republic, emphasizes:
the passage shows that Plato is not willing to set forth his views on the
further complexities that have emerged. It is a task that he intentionally
leaves for his readers, revealing that his final assessment of the role of the
divided line is to force a thoughtful reader to transcend the text. One sig-
nificant aspect of the divided line is exactly that Plato refuses to explain its
point. (Foley 2008, 23. My emphasis)
Foley’s words reveal a crucial insight: Plato’s text is a stimulus for a

rational investigation which is not meant to end in the written words of
his dialogues. Foley’s view about the Platonic intention to leave to the
reader the investigation of the further complexities, related to the
stages of intellectual development represented by the four subsections
of the line segment traced in the Republic (Republic, VI 509 d-510),
can be considered as an indication to look for further complexities
about the four subsegments themselves. My research will show that
the words of the Republic commented by Foley are compatible with a
reconstruction of a process of cognitive growth which starts with the
words of the dialogues but continues with the contributions of their
readers.
Plato uses the written words as a tool to make his readers progress
intellectually until the moment in which these words will not be necessary
anymore because Plato’s readers will have acquired the capacity to develop
an intellectual research, selecting the means which are more appropriate to
express the results of their investigation. I will reconstruct what these
stages of human intellectual development are, starting from the Platonic
account of cognitive progress made in the Republic and I will reconstruct
what are the techniques proposed by Plato to make the human being
advance in this rational growth. This research will show that the four
subsections of the line segment traced in the Republic (Republic, VI 509
d-510) are only a part of the Platonic account of human intellectual
development and it will stress the necessity of contextualizing the written
words of the dialogues in a larger framework.
We will also see that the Platonic texts promote rational development
through a higher-order pedagogy: Plato has not written a textbook whose
content can merely be summarized by the readers. He has created a text to
which they are required to respond and the act of responding to the text is
as important as the text itself: the two of them taken together complete
Plato’s task. If we want to use an image to express this concept, we can
compare a textbook to a “bidimensional” way of conveying thoughts, in
which the only two dimensions accepted are given by the author’s think-
ing and the words that he uses to express it. Plato does not want to convey
a static description of how things are. He has created a text that calls out
for completion by the readers’ further contributions. This does not mean
that Plato’s words are incomplete in the sense that they communicate
thoughts which have not yet reached a good degree of elaboration. On the
contrary, it means that the words written by Plato are so well mastered by
their author that they are able to stimulate the reader to overcome them,
as Foley was highlighting. In this way, Plato is adding a further dimension
to his texts: they are not only composed by words which have the goal of
expressing the thinking of their author but they comprise the thinking of
their users, too. The readers of Plato’s texts occupy a third dimension
which adds rational volume to Plato’s work.
The dialogical character of Plato’s work is opposite to the will of
indoctrinating or just instructing the readers. In fact, as Kohlberg states
about modern pedagogical techniques, dialogical interaction differs from
indoctrinative approaches because
it tries to move student’s thinking in a direction that is natural for the

student rather than moving the student in the direction of accepting the
teacher’s moral assumptions. It avoids preaching or didacticism linked to
teacher’s authority. (Kohlberg 1981, 28. My emphasis)
This antithesis between dialogue and indoctrination in education is also

stressed by Freire who states that when a dialogue takes place between a
student and the teacher “the teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-
teaches, but one who is himself taught in a dialogue with the students,
who in turn while being taught also teaches” (Freire 1970, 80). The
dialogue between Plato and his readers takes place via the written words
of his texts, which allow the continuation of the cognitive exchange
between the philosopher’s rational heritage and his readers’ intellect. In
this way the student who is not the mere passive receptor of a content
discovers herself as author of the content: she discovers her “creative

power” (Freire 1970, 73) and her rational abilities. This result is obtained
using dialectical interaction as a way to engage the students in critical
thinking (Freire 1970, 83).
The dialogical interaction with the readers, and the consequent free
development of their thinking abilities, does not mean that the Platonic
philosophy can be developed in any way. The intellectual stimulation of
Plato’s words consists in the exhortation to contribute in an original
and creative way to the development of what Plato thinks that knowl-
edge is. Plato tells his readers clearly what his idea of knowledge is: the
highest point of intellectual development is reached when we are able
to abandon the empirical completely to reach the purely intelligible.
Only when our rationality is disentangled from the distracting stimuli
which come from the tangible realm, we are able to grasp the purely
intelligible truth. Nonetheless, the individual contributions of Plato’s
readers can mould the concept of Platonic knowledge into the shape
their intellect suggests. Furthermore, it remains possible at any point
for Plato’s readers to use their rational capabilities, sharpened through
the texts written by the philosopher, to criticize his conception of
knowledge, abandoning in this way Plato’s philosophical system. My
present work does not go in this direction; I have decided to accept the
Platonic idea of knowledge. I have chosen to respond to the Platonic
intellectual stimulation, proposing a new theoretical lens which is help-
ful for understanding better both the theoretical and pedagogical goals
of Plato’s dialogues. We will begin to familiarize with this theoretical
lens, and with the way in which I am using the term theoretical in this
context, at the end of this chapter.
I have just claimed that we can decide to depart from Plato’s idea of
what knowledge is or we can choose to interact with his texts accepting
this idea. This acceptance is compatible with the creative exercise of our
intellectual capacities because following the basic guidelines of Plato’s
philosophy does not prevent us from choosing freely among the myriads
of ways in which it is possible to contribute to the development of Plato’s
thinking. Plato’s philosophy is a system because it is shaped around Plato’s
knowledge, but it is not a definitive system because its shape is made to
possess a plastic nature whose flexibility allows it to be moulded by Plato’s
readers. In fact, the rational activity of Plato’s readers, is stimulated to
question the text and in such a way that, even when channelled, it is not
directed to predetermined outcomes by the philosopher.
An example of the importance of the investigative freedom of the

rational creature is found in the dialogue Meno where Meno’s slave will
discover that he possesses the intellectual ability to find an answer to a
geometrical problem thanks to the dialogical interaction with Socrates.
The slave is not pressured to accept the point of view of an earlier theorist
or Socrates’ beliefs; indeed, Socrates never expresses his point of view but
he questions his interlocutor to develop in him the awareness of his
intellectual abilities. The cognitive growth of Meno’s slave takes place in
the fictional stage of the Meno: the slave’s answers are decided by Plato as
part of his fictional creation but this creation points at the importance of
the independent rational activity of the subject of a dialogical interaction.
Even when the contribution of Meno’s slave is limited to an affirmative or
negative answer his replies reveal his own rational activity, stimulated by
the words of his interlocutor but developed independently from them (see
in particular Meno, 81 c–e). In fact, the solution of a geometrical problem
by someone who has never studied geometry requires a reasoning which,
even if it is not fully recorded in the dialogue, is present in the correctness
of the slave’s answer.
We, as readers of the Platonic dialogues, are in the same position of the
slave in the Meno: we are rationally stimulated by Plato to discover a
rational sophistication of which we were not aware. We are guided by
someone who knows more than we do, but we are guided by him
through a dialogical exchange. This method makes us discover the
rational resources which give us the chance to critically evaluate the
thoughts of the person who is intellectually guiding us, acquiring at
the same time the capability of completing his own system and the
independence from its content.
This non-indoctrinative method of cognitive growth takes place even in
those dialogues in which the answers of the interlocutors may seem
perfunctory. There, as we have just seen in the Meno, the answers are
not perfunctory because they are signalling a process of active reflection,
required to reply correctly to the questions presented. This kind of answer
can be found in the Sophist. In this dialogue, a philosopher visiting from
Elea, explains his own conception of who the sophist is. In doing this, the
visitor uses the method of collection and division, which is based on the
assumption that the understanding of each thing has to pass through the
understanding of the similarities and differences between that thing and
others. When this method is applied, for example, to the subject of angling
(Sophist, 218–220), angling is subsumed under different classes, and
several times the person to whom the class is presented only assents or
dissents to the choice of his interlocutor. These answers, as happened in
the Meno, are not perfunctory because they are the result of an active
reflection, encouraged by the dialogical stimulation.
Each dialogue, therefore, represents a potential intellectual stimulus,
which creates the occasion to enter a rational realm which is not only
criticizable as every written work is, but also promotes this criticism as part
of its own content. The criticisms of Plato’s words are not mere accidents:
their occurrence is provoked by the dialogical interaction to make them
become part of the philosophical message itself. As we said, this rational
stimulation is not meant to make us accept Plato’s idea of truth: in the
Meno the slave is not questioned to learn Socrates’ truth; he is questioned
to discover that there is truth in himself.
Through the dialogues, Plato is inviting us to reflect on our cognitive
resources to develop them autonomously. He says this explicitly in
the Meno:
As the whole nature is akin, and the soul has learned everything, nothing
prevents a man, after recalling one thing only – a process men call learning –
discovering everything else for himself, if he is brave and does not tire of the
search, for searching and learning are, as a whole, recollection. (Meno, 81 c–d)
It is useful to read these lines together with an excerpt from the Phaedrus,
where Socrates is reporting a dialogue about the art of writing which takes
place between Thamus and Theuth:
O most expert Theuth, one man can give birth to the elements of an art, but
only another can judge how they can benefit or harm those who will use
them. And now, since you are the father of writing, your affection for it has
made you describe its effects as the opposite of what they really are. In fact, it
will introduce forgetfulness into the soul of those who learn it: they will not
practice using their memory because they will put their trust in writing,
which is external and depends on signs that belong to others, instead of
trying to remember from the inside, completely on their own. You have not
discovered a potion for remembering, but for reminding; you provide your
students with the appearance of wisdom, not with its reality. Your invention
will enable them to hear many things without being properly taught, and
they will imagine that they have come to know much while for the most part
they know nothing. And they will be difficult to get along with, since they
will merely appear to be wise instead of really being so. (Phaedrus, 275 a–b)
Let us consider this passage in connection with the passage of the Meno
cited above: in the Meno Plato tells us that learning is a process of
“recollection” (Meno, 81 d) and in the Phaedrus we read that the written
words will not help us to remember but they can only be used as reminders
because they do not lead to ourselves but they rather depend on signs that
“belong to others” (Phaedrus, 275 a). In the Phaedrus Plato explicitly
connects the process of learning with remembering something that is
inside us: what is inside us makes us remember, recollect, a wisdom that
is merely reminded by the written words.
It seems unlikely that the author of these passages would conceive of his
own written words as the final destination of knowledge, but rather as a
stimulus to reach that destination, which is internal to us. Thus, the
Platonic words are only a reminder of the necessity of looking for knowl-
edge where the answers to the dialogical questions come from, inside us,
in the organ capable of remembering which is, for Plato, the soul and its
main component, the reason. Consistently, Plato’s dialogues do not end
in the flat form shaped by the thoughts of the author and the words, the
reminders, that he has selected to convey them, but they are enriched by
the volume represented by the multitude of rational memories prompted
by the autonomous investigations of Plato’s readers.
The written word exists for Plato to remind the rational faculty of what
it can achieve using its potentialities. This is a hermeneutically derived
point but, because it is about the written word, it has immediate metho-
dological implications for the epistemic function of the dialogues them-
selves: it has been pointed to the role of the words in relation to our
rational ability through a common procedure utilized to comprehend a
topic, which is based on the analysis of passages about the topic in ques-
tion, examined to understand how much information they are providing
for the development of that inquiry. In fact, it is possible to operate on the
Platonic texts, as on any other text, in this way and I disagree with readings
of Plato, like that of Alan Bowen, which state that
Both the philologist and the philosopher are primarily concerned with single
dialogues: the former, because passages have their meaning essentially in
their context and because each dialogue is a literary unit; the latter, because
his inquiry is to be guided by what Plato has written and because the
dialogues are presented as philosophically independent – there are no footnotes
or cross-references that make the arguments interdependent. (I do not deny
that philosophical reflection on more than one dialogue at once is desirable,
but I doubt that it should occur first or that it involves comparing passages
rather than philosophical interpretations: in short, such comparison belongs
to a stage of inquiry far beyond the text). (Bowen 1988, 64. My emphasis)
My disagreement with Bowen is centred on his statement that a compara-

tive work on Plato’s dialogues is “far beyond the text” (Bowen 1988, 64.
My emphasis). As we have seen, my interpretation of Plato is focused on
the philosopher’s exhortation to transcend his written words. Thus, I
cannot disagree with the necessity of going beyond Plato’s text. I disagree
with Bowen’s interpretation of this need as something not compatible with
the nature of Plato’s dialogues. In my opinion, the lack of an explicit
indication of a connection between two or more dialogues does not mean
that Plato intended that a comparative approach to his dialogues was
contrary to their nature but rather that this comparison, even if possible,
was not essential. We can be rationally stimulated to complete the message
of Plato’s words using passages taken from different dialogues, as we have
done with the Meno and the Phaedrus, but the same intellectual investiga-
tion might be instantiated analysing only one dialogue, or few lines of a
dialogue.
For example, if we take into consideration only the excerpt from the
Meno, we realize that we can start from it to ask ourselves how recollection
takes place, whether it is an internal process or whether it is stimulated by
something external to ourselves. In this way we begin a very basic line of
reasoning, accessible even to someone who has never been philosophically
educated, which can lead to the reflections that we saw in the passage
quoted from the Phaedrus. Plato leaves his readers free to choose the way
in which they want to complete his words because, as I said, the goal of his
work is to stimulate rational progression rather than to force the indivi-
duals to follow only one way in which this goal can be attained.
Since I think that Plato does not suggest one particular way of com-
pleting his texts but he leaves the readers free to choose their investigative
path, my position in respect to the organization of Plato’s work differs
from that of the scholars who have proposed only one solution to this
issue. The concern about the plausibility of the definition of the dialogues
as a corpus has been addressed in ancient times by Thrasyllus1 and in more
recent times scholars have proposed an organization of Plato’s texts in
terms of development (Ross 1951, Chapter I, 1–10 and Brandwood
1990), or they have focused their attention on the dramatic aspect of
the dialogues (Strauss 1953, Chapter II, 50–138).
I propose an ordering principle which maintains the desirability of

having a corpus while being open to the possibility that there is not a
prescribed arrangement of texts. What this means can be understood by
considering the peculiar way in which the Platonic texts rationally stimu-
late their reader: every dialogue invites the reader to complete its meaning,
offering her original contribution to construct or abandon the Platonic
philosophical system. We have seen, using the Meno and the Phaedrus, that
this kind of investigation can be instantiated through a comparison of
passages which are about the same topic but it has not necessarily to pass
through this kind of development; the same results can be achieved
examining a single excerpt taken from one of Plato’s dialogues. The
various ways in which the readers of Plato can interact with his texts do
not imply a lack of connection among all the dialogues. On the contrary,
this connection exists and it is given by the nature of the Platonic dialo-
gues as I understand them: they are rational stimuli, elaborated by Plato to
make their complete meaning depend on the contribution of the readers.
In this sense, the Platonic dialogues together can be defined as a corpus
but, at the same time, the fact that the completion of their meaning can be
carried on in different ways supports the claim that the corpus has not to be
intended as a rigid succession of definitive concepts.
For the Platonic corpus formed by the dialogues as rational stimulations
I propose an ordering which is based on the stages of rational evolution of
the reader of Plato’s works: the dialogues present contents of different
complexity, which can be completed by individuals who are at different
stages of their rational evolution. The Platonic dialogues can be ordered
according to the cognitive complexity of their content, relative to the
variety of the phases of intellectual development of the individuals who
will complete them. As we will see more in detail, Plato’s philosophy
promotes the rational evolution of its readers using contents that present
different degrees of complexity. In this way Plato’s readers are engaged
cognitively, from the very beginning of their rational evolution till to the
point in which they do not need anymore the guidance of the written
words.
We have discussed a way in which the completion of the Platonic text
by its readers can be freely decided by the readers themselves. This
approach introduces a flexibility which detaches the Platonic dialogues
from a notion of corpus as rigid series of contents. For this reason, I do not
think that the understanding of Plato requires us to establish in an incon-
trovertible way the order in which Plato composed the dialogues: the
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Porträt des Verfassers, farbig (Titelbild)

Askari auf der Rast
Bogenschütze
Affenbrotbaum
Verpflegung bringende Weiber
Kilimandjaro
Verpflegung bringende Eingeborene
Askari (eingeborener Soldat)
Signalschüler (Mustapha bin Mabruf)
Askari (Hamiß)
Askari (Hassan Silal Mohamed)
Askarifrau (Mamatabu)
Träger
Askarifrau (Aidia Binti Abdalla Saidi)
Askarifrau
Verwundet
Gefallen
Operation im Feldlazarett
Trägersafari
Massaiposten
Europäermahlzeit
Inhalt der Kartentasche

1 Übersichtskarte von Afrika (1 : 56000000)
1 Karte mit eingezeichneter Marschroute des Hauptteiles der
Schutztruppe (1 : 8000000)
21 Bewegungs- und Gefechtsskizzen von der Hand des Verfassers
Erstes Buch
Die Ereignisse bis zum Eintreffen
der Südwest-Afrikaner
M.-G. Gruppe
Erster Abschnitt
Vor Kriegsbeginn
A ls ich im Januar 1914 in Daressalam landete, da ahnte ich kaum,

welche Aufgabe an mich nach einigen Monaten herantreten
würde. Aber seit einem Jahrzehnt hatte der Weltkrieg mehr als
einmal so nahe gedroht, daß ich mir ernsthaft die Frage vorlegen
mußte, ob die mir unterstellte Truppe in einem solchen Kriege
überhaupt eine Rolle zu spielen berufen wäre und welches ihre
Aufgabe sein könnte. Nach der Lage der Kolonie und der Stärke der
vorhandenen Kräfte — die Friedenstruppe war nur wenig über 2000
Mann stark — konnte uns nur eine Nebenaufgabe zufallen. Ich
wußte, daß das Schicksal der Kolonien, wie das jedes deutschen
Besitzes, auf den europäischen Schlachtfeldern entschieden werden
würde. Zu dieser Entscheidung mußte jeder Deutsche ohne
Rücksicht darauf, wo er sich gerade befand, das Seinige beitragen.
Auch in der Kolonie hatten wir die Pflicht, im Falle eines Weltkrieges
für das Vaterland zu tun, was in unseren Kräften stand. Die Frage
war, ob wir die Möglichkeit hatten, die große heimische
Entscheidung von unserem Nebenkriegsschauplatze aus zu
beeinflussen. Konnten wir mit unseren geringen Kräften erhebliche
Teile des Feindes vom Eingreifen in Europa oder auf anderen,
wichtigeren Kriegsschauplätzen abhalten oder den Feinden eine
nennenswerte Einbuße an Personal oder Kriegsgerät zufügen? Ich
habe damals diese Frage bejaht. Allerdings ist es nicht gelungen,
alle Instanzen in solchem Maße hierfür zu gewinnen, daß sämtliche
für einen Krieg wünschenswerte Vorbereitungen ausgeführt werden
konnten.
Es war zu überlegen, daß sich feindliche Truppen nur dann
fesseln lassen würden, wenn wir den Feind wirklich an einer für ihn
empfindlichen Stelle angriffen oder zum mindesten bedrohten. Es
war ferner zu bedenken, daß durch eine reine Verteidigungstaktik mit
den vorhandenen Mitteln nicht einmal der Schutz der Kolonie zu
erreichen war. Handelte es sich doch um eine Grenz- und
Küstenlänge ungefähr so groß wie die von Deutschland. Von diesem
Gesichtspunkt aus ergab sich die Notwendigkeit, die geringen
vorhandenen Kräfte nicht zu lokaler Verteidigung zu zersplittern,
sondern im Gegenteil zusammenzuhalten, den Feind an der Kehle
zu packen und ihn dadurch zu zwingen, seine Kräfte zu seinem
eigenen Schutz zu verwenden. Gelang es, diesen Gedanken
auszuführen, so wurde damit zugleich aufs wirksamste unsere Küste
und unsere unendlich lange Landesgrenze beschützt.
Legte man sich nun die Frage vor, wo ein für den Gegner so
empfindlicher Punkt lag, daß er uns Aussicht auf einen erfolgreichen
Angriff oder wenigstens auf ein Drohen mit einem solchen bot, so
kam man von selbst auf die Grenze zwischen Deutsch- und Britisch-
Ostafrika. Längs derselben führt, auf wenige Tagemärsche entfernt,
die Lebensader des britischen Gebietes, die Uganda-Bahn, also ein
Objekt, das bei seiner Länge von gut 700 Kilometer für den Feind
außerordentlich schwer zu schützen war und deshalb bei wirksamer
Bedrohung einen großen Teil seiner Truppen festlegte.
Meine im Januar 1914 angetretene erste Erkundungs- und
Besichtigungsreise führte mich von Daressalam zu Schiff nach
Tanga, von dort nach Usambara und weiter in die Gegend des
Kilimandjaro und Meru-Berges. In Usambara fand ich in dem mir von
der Kriegsschule her gut bekannten Freund, dem Hauptmann a. D.
von Prince, einen begeisterten Anhänger des Gedankens, daß wir
Ostafrikaner bei einem etwaigen Kriege gegen England nicht
stillsitzen dürften, sondern mit zugreifen müßten, falls sich auch nur
die Spur einer Aussicht ergab, dem Kriege in Europa Entlastung zu
verschaffen. Er konnte mich zugleich darüber orientieren, daß in
dem Gebiet von Usambara, am Kilimandjaro und am Meru-Berge
freiwillige Schützenkorps in Bildung waren, die voraussichtlich bald
fast alle waffenfähigen Deutschen dieser Nordgebiete umfassen
würden. Bei der dort dichten Pflanzerbesiedlung war dies von großer
Bedeutung. Wenn wir im Verlaufe des Krieges im ganzen etwa 3000
Europäer haben bei der Schutztruppe in Dienst stellen können, so
lieferten gerade diese Gebiete der Usambarabahn den
Hauptbestandteil. Allerdings war es schwer, eine haltbare
militärische Organisation dieser Freiwilligenvereinigungen zu finden
und den vielen guten Willen auch wirklich nutzbar zu machen.
Immerhin wurde im großen und ganzen erreicht, daß alle, auch die
nicht gesetzlich hierzu Verpflichteten, bereit waren, sich im
Kriegsfalle der Schutztruppe zu unterstellen. Auch bei den
Bezirksämtern fand ich großes Entgegenkommen, leider aber auch
das berechtigte Bedenken, ob solche Freiwilligenorganisationen in
einem Weltkrieg, der uns mit Sicherheit vollständig von der Heimat
abschnitt und auf uns selbst stellte, die nötige Festigkeit haben
würden. Schlecht sah es auch mit der Bewaffnung aus; wenn auch
fast jeder Europäer eine brauchbare Pirschbüchse hatte, so war
doch die Verschiedenartigkeit der Modelle und die entsprechende
Schwierigkeit der Munitionsbeschaffung bisher nicht behoben
worden. Anträge auf gleichmäßige militärische Bewaffnung dieser
Schützenvereine waren noch in der Schwebe und blieben bis zum
Ausbruch des Krieges unerledigt.
In Wilhelmstal traf ich eine schwarze Polizeiabteilung unter ihrem
tüchtigen aus Dithmarschen stammenden Wachtmeister.
Während die eigentliche S c h u t z t r u p p e dem Kommandeur
unterstand, hingen die einzelnen Abteilungen der P o l i z e i t r u p p e n
von den Verwaltungsinstanzen ab, und so hatte jeder
Bezirksamtmann zum Zwecke der Steuererhebung und um seinen
Befehlen die nötige Autorität zu geben, eine Truppe von etwa 100
bis 200 Mann. Es herrschte das Bestreben vor, diese Polizeitruppe
immer mehr auf Kosten der Schutztruppe zu vergrößern. Neben der
Schutztruppe war eine zweite, ebenso starke Truppe entstanden, die
ihrer ganzen Natur nach eine Karikatur militärischen Wesens war
und kaum etwas Besseres sein konnte. Der Bezirksamtmann, ein
Zivilbeamter, verstand von militärischen Dingen häufig wenig und
legte die Ausbildung und Führung seiner Polizei-Askari[1] in die Hand
eines Polizeiwachtmeisters. Dieser arbeitete eifrig mit dem
Pflichtgefühl eines alten Unteroffiziers; aber die Anleitung durch
einen höheren militärischen Vorgesetzten wurde ihm selten zuteil, da
der Polizei-Inspekteur, ein Offizier, jeden Bezirk nur ab und an
bereisen konnte. Die Polizei-Askari verbummelten daher vielfach
und entbehrten der straffen Zucht, die notwendig war, um sie für ihre
Funktionen, die doch Zuverlässigkeit erforderten, geeignet zu
erhalten. Bedauerlicherweise entzog die Polizei der Schutztruppe oft
die alten schwarzen Chargen und damit die besten Elemente,
welche dann bei der Polizei ihre guten militärischen Eigenschaften
verloren. Im großen und ganzen war es so, daß zugunsten einer
Polizeitruppe, aus der bei den gegebenen Grundlagen nie etwas
Brauchbares werden konnte, die Schutztruppe in ihrer Qualität mehr
und mehr verschlechtert wurde.
Von Neu-Moschi, dem Endpunkt der Usambarabahn, begab ich
mich über Marangu, wo ein englischer Pflanzer wohnte, und wo ich
den englischen Konsul King aus Daressalam traf, in die Gegend des
Kilimandjaro und von da nach Aruscha. Mehrere deutsche Pflanzer,
zum Teil ehemalige Offiziere, die ich während des Marsches auf
ihren Besitzungen besuchte, bestätigten mir, daß auch die dortigen
deutschen Ansiedler wertvolles militärisches Material wären.
Ich lernte die reizende Besitzung des Kapitänleutnants a. D.
Niemeyer kennen, dessen Gattin uns mit vortrefflichem,
selbstgezogenem Kaffee bewirtete. Später hat sie uns gelegentlich
ein bißchen gestört; als ihr Mann nämlich im Kriege im Lager von
Engare-Nairobi war, nordwestlich des Kilimandjaroberges, hatten wir
ihr für ein Gespräch mit ihrem Gatten vorübergehend einen
Telephonanschlußapparat geliehen. Unmittelbar darauf stockte der
gesamte Fernsprechverkehr, und nach langem, langem Suchen
kamen wir endlich dahinter, daß unsere anmutige Wirtin von früher
den Apparat nicht wieder ausgeschaltet hatte und auch keine
Absicht zeigte, dies zu tun.
Auf seiner in der Nähe gelegenen Pflanzung bot uns
Korvettenkapitän a. D. Schoenfeld gastlich ein ausgezeichnetes
Glas Moselwein in einem militärischen Kommandoton, der schon
damals auf den energischen Führer hindeutete, welcher später die
Rufijimündung so zähe gegen feindliche Überlegenheit verteidigte.
Kurz vor Aruscha traf ich auf der Kaffeepflanzung meines alten
Kadettenkameraden Freiherrn von Ledebur bei Tisch auch den
liebenswürdigen alten Oberstleutnant a. D. Freiherrn von Bock. Wir
unterhielten uns über die freiwilligen Schützenvereinigungen, die am
Meru-Berge im Entstehen begriffen waren, und ich ahnte nicht, daß
wenige Monate später der über sechzig Jahre alte Herr einer
unserer zähesten Patrouillengänger am Ostrande des Kilimandjaro
sein und oft mit seinen paar Leuten, zum großen Teil Rekruten,
erfolgreich gegen mehrere feindliche Kompagnien fechten würde.
Seine echte Ritterlichkeit und väterliche Fürsorge gewannen ihm
bald die Herzen seiner schwarzen Kameraden in solchem Maße,
daß er in ihren Augen der tapferste aller Deutschen war, und sie mit
rührender Treue an ihm hingen.
In Aruscha fand zum ersten Male die Besichtigung einer
Askarikompagnie statt. Der Geist und die Disziplin der schwarzen
Truppe zeigten die treffliche Erziehung durch meinen Vorgänger, den
Oberst Freiherrn von Schleinitz, aber die Ausbildung im Gefecht
gegen einen modern bewaffneten Gegner war, den bisherigen
Verwendungsgrundsätzen entsprechend, weniger gepflegt worden.
Die Kompagnie war — wie der größte Teil der Askarikompagnien —
noch mit dem alten rauchstarken Gewehr Modell 71 bewaffnet.
Vielfach war die Ansicht vertreten, daß diese Bewaffnung für eine
schwarze Truppe zweckmäßiger wäre als ein modernes
rauchschwaches Gewehr. Die Truppe war bisher niemals gegen
einen modern bewaffneten Gegner, sondern nur in
Eingeborenenkämpfen verwandt worden, wo das größere Kaliber ein
Vorteil ist, die Nachteile der Rauchentwicklung keine Rolle spielen.
Nach Ausbruch des Krieges freilich lernten auch die begeistertesten
Anhänger des Infanteriegewehrs Modell 71 um. Gegen einen
rauchlos-modern bewaffneten Feind war nicht nur bei den weiten
Entfernungen des Gefechts in der freien Ebene, sondern auch im
Buschkrieg, wo die Schützen oft nur wenige Schritte voneinander
entfernt sind, das Modell 71 unbedingt unterlegen. Der rauchlos
schießende Schütze bleibt eben verborgen, während die
Rauchwolke nicht nur dem scharfen Auge des eingeborenen
Askaris, sondern auch dem an Bureauarbeit gewohnten Europäer
den Feind schnell und sicher verrät. So bestand im Anfang des
Krieges die größte Belohnung, die einem Askari zuteil werden
konnte, darin, daß man ihm statt seines alten rauchstarken
Gewehres ein modernes Beutegewehr gab.
Bei der Verteilung der Truppe in einzelnen Kompagnien über das
Schutzgebiet hatte der Nachteil mit in Kauf genommen werden
müssen, daß die Verwendung in großen Verbänden und die
Schulung der älteren Offiziere im Führen derselben nicht geübt
werden konnte. Es war klar, daß im Kriege die Bewegung und
Gefechtsführung von Truppenkörpern über Kompagniestärke auf
große Schwierigkeiten und Reibungen stoßen mußte. Entsprechend
der nach meiner Auffassung doppelten Aufgabe der Truppe, sowohl
gegen einen äußeren, modernen, wie gegen einen inneren,
eingeborenen Feind zum Kampfe bereit zu sein, fiel die
Gefechtsausbildung in zwei verschiedene Gebiete. Die
Gefechtsübungen im Eingeborenenkriege lieferten hierbei ein Bild,
welches von unseren europäischen Besichtigungen stark abwich. In
Aruscha marschierte bei dieser Gelegenheit die Kompagnie durch
dichten Busch, das Pori, und wurde nach Eingeborenenart auf dem
Marsch überfallen. Der Feind wurde dargestellt durch Merukrieger,
die im vollen Kriegsschmuck mit Lanzen und ihrem Kopfputz aus
Straußenfedern sich versteckt hielten und dann auf wenige Schritte
mit ihrem Kriegsgeheul die Safari, die Marschkolonne, überfielen. In
einem solchen Nahkampfe, wie ihm 1891 die Zelewskische
Expedition bei Iringa erlegen war, spielt sich die Entscheidung bei
geringer Entfernung und in wenigen Minuten ab. Die Truppe ballt
sich schnell um die Führer zusammen und geht dem Feind zu Leibe.
Diesem ganzen Charakter des Eingeborenenkampfes entsprechend
war eine sorgfältige und gründliche Schießausbildung der Askari im
modernen Sinne bisher nicht notwendig gewesen. Sie stand daher
auch auf einer ziemlich tiefen Stufe, und für den Soldaten dürfte es
interessant sein, daß beim Schießen stehend-freihändig bei 200
Meter nach der Ringscheibe bei manchen Kompagnien kaum der
Ring 3 im Durchschnitt erreicht wurde; nur ganz wenige Kompagnien
brachten es auf etwas über Ring 5. Auch für eine gründliche
Maschinengewehrausbildung war der Charakter des
Eingeborenenkampfes kein ausreichender Antrieb. Erfreulicherweise
fand ich bei allen Europäern der Truppe aber sehr bald vollstes
Verständnis für die Wichtigkeit gerade dieser Waffe im modernen
Gefecht. Trotz dieses nicht gerade hohen Ausbildungsgrades waren
im Gefechtsschießen auch bei großen Entfernungen die Ergebnisse
nicht unbefriedigend, und dem Askari kam hierbei sein scharfes
Auge, mit dem er die Geschoßeinschläge beobachtete und
dementsprechend seinen Haltepunkt verbesserte, in hohem Maße
zustatten.
Die Reise führte mich weiter über die Mission Ufiome, wo der
treffliche Pater Dürr saß, nach Kondoa-Irangi, Kilimatinde und zurück
nach Daressalam. Der Eindruck dieser ersten Besichtigungsfahrt
war der, daß militärisch noch vielerlei vorzubereiten war, wenn wir für
den Fall eines Krieges der Engländer gegen uns ernsthaft gerüstet
sein wollten. Leider gelang es nicht, die maßgebenden Stellen
hierfür genügend zu erwärmen. Es herrschte die Meinung vor, daß
wir mit England außerordentlich günstig ständen, und daß ein Krieg,
wenn er überhaupt käme, in weiter Ferne läge. So kam es, daß, als
der Krieg nun wirklich nach wenigen Monaten ausbrach, wir
unvorbereitet waren.
Die Reise war für mich, der ich neu nach Ostafrika gekommen
war, nicht nur von militärischem Interesse gewesen. In Boma la
Ngombe, einem Ort zwischen Moschi und Aruscha, war eine Menge
alter Askari noch vom verstorbenen Oberstleutnant Johannes
angesiedelt worden; sie trieben dort meistens Viehhandel und waren
zu Wohlstand gekommen. Die Nachricht von meinem Eintreffen war
mir vorausgeeilt, und die Leute erschienen vollzählig, um mich bei
meiner Ankunft zu begrüßen. Ich habe den Eindruck gewonnen, daß
diese Loyalität nicht rein äußerlich war; die Leute erzählten mir
begeistert von den Deutschen, unter denen sie früher gestanden
hatten, und stellten auch nach Ausbruch des Krieges unaufgefordert
und ohne den geringsten Druck eine große Summe Geldes zur
Unterstützung der Truppe zur Verfügung. In der dortigen Gegend
sah ich auch die ersten Massai, die im Gegensatz zur Mehrzahl der
ostafrikanischen Stämme reine Hamiten sind und in einem
besonderen Reservat leben. Erwähnt mag werden, daß Merker, der
beste Kenner der Massai[2], in ihnen die Urjuden sieht. Sie haben in
ausgesprochenem Maße die Eigenschaften des reinen
Steppenbewohners. Gelegentlich führte mich einer dieser großen,
schlanken und sehr schnellen Leute auf meinen Jagdausflügen; ihr
Sehvermögen, sowie die Fähigkeit, Spuren zu lesen, ist erstaunlich.
Daneben ist der Massai klug und, wenigstens dem Fremden
gegenüber, außerordentlich verlogen. Er lebt in geschlossenen
Dörfern aus Lehmhütten und zieht, wie alle Nomadenvölker, mit
seinen Herden durch die Steppen. Zum Waffendienst bei der Truppe
meldet er sich selten. Ackerbau treibt der Massai so gut wie gar
nicht, während dieser bei den übrigen Stämmen die
Hauptbeschäftigung ist und erst eine dichte Besiedlung ermöglicht.
So ernähren die Bananengebiete am östlichen Abhange des
Kilimandjaro eine eingeborene Wadschaggabevölkerung von rund
25000 Menschen, und diese Zahl könnte leicht weiter vergrößert
werden. Der große Viehreichtum in der Gegend von Aruscha, in der
Massaisteppe und bei Kondoa-Irangi zeigte mir, daß die
Tsetsefliege, dieser Hauptfeind des afrikanischen Viehbestandes,
dort verhältnismäßig selten ist. Vergleichsweise mag angegeben
werden, daß der Rindviehbestand in dem einen Bezirk Aruscha
größer geschätzt wird als derjenige in ganz Südwestafrika. Bei
Kondoa-Irangi und bei Singidda waren die Leute von weit her
gekommen und hatten sich zur Begrüßung am Wege aufgestellt.
Kein Reisender, der diese Gebiete durchmißt, kann sich der
Beobachtung entziehen, daß in dem fruchtbaren und hoch
gelegenen Inneren Raum zur Ansiedlung von Hunderttausenden von
Europäern ist.
Einen Eindruck, den ich erst später, während des Krieges,
gewonnen habe, möchte ich hier einfügen. Wir sind manchmal durch
fruchtbare Gebiete gezogen, die von den Eingeborenen ganz
verlassen, bekannterweise aber noch ein Jahr vorher dicht besiedelt
waren. Die Leute waren einfach fortgezogen, hatten sich in dem
reichlich zur Verfügung stehenden, menschenleeren und fruchtbaren
Lande anderswo niedergelassen und dort neue Äcker angelegt.
Nutzt man das bebauungsfähige Gebiet wirklich aus, so könnte in
dem bisher nur von rund 8 Millionen bewohnten Deutsch-Ostafrika
wohl eine Bevölkerung ernährt werden, die hinter der Einwohnerzahl
Deutschlands kaum zurücksteht. Ein in Mahenge während des
Krieges gefangener Engländer äußerte, daß aus Ostafrika wohl ein
zweites Indien zu machen wäre, und ich glaube, daß er mit dieser
Auffassung recht hatte. Durch die Erfahrungen des Krieges bin ich in
meiner Meinung bestärkt worden, daß viele wirtschaftliche
Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten bestehen, die man vor dem Kriege kaum
geahnt hat.
In Singidda sah ich eines der Gestüte des Landes. Als
Zuchtmaterial befanden sich dort zwei Pferdehengste, keine
Pferdestuten, einige Maskateselhengste und in der Hauptsache
eingeborene Eselstuten. Über die Zuchtziele habe ich keine rechte
Klarheit erlangen können; jedenfalls war es nicht gelungen, von den
Pferdehengsten und Eselstuten Zuchtprodukte zu erzielen. Das
Gebiet ist aber für Pferdezucht außerordentlich günstig, und der dort
stationierende Regierungstierarzt Hoffmeister zeigte große Lust, sich
in dieser Gegend als privater Farmer und Pferdezüchter
niederzulassen. Ähnliche Gestüte befanden sich in Kilimatinde,
Iringa und Ubena. Von Singidda nach Kilimatinde zog ich den
Mpondifluß entlang; es wird den Jäger interessieren, zu hören, daß
diese Gegend als dasjenige Gebiet in Ostafrika gilt, wo die besten
Büffel stehen.
Schon einige Tage vorher hatte ich auf Büffel mit Erfolg gepirscht,
doch war es mir nicht gelungen, einen starken Bullen zum Abschuß
zu bringen, und so war ich, soweit es meine Zeit irgend zuließ, dem
Büffel auf der Spur. Außer einem eingeborenen Jungen hatte ich als
Spurenleser zwei ausgezeichnete Askari der Kondoakompagnie.
Sobald ich nach Schluß eines Marsches in das Lager kam und vom
Maultier stieg, fragte ich Kadunda, einen dieser Askari, der den
Marsch zu Fuß mitgemacht hatte, ob er bereit sei zur Jagd. Er
stimmte jedesmal mit größter Passion zu, und fort ging es auf der
Fährte durch den Busch, der manchmal so dicht war, daß man unter
den Zweigen kriechen mußte, um überhaupt vorwärts zu kommen.
Solch eine Fährtenjagd durch dichten Busch und das
übermannshohe Schilf, stundenlang in der prallen Sonne, ist für den
an afrikanisches Klima zunächst nicht gewohnten Europäer eine
außerordentliche Anstrengung. Der angeschossene Büffel gilt in
Ostafrika als das gefährlichste Jagdtier; er nimmt oft schnell und mit
großer Entschlossenheit an. Am Mpondi hatte einige Zeit vorher ein
angeschossener Büffel einen Jäger so überraschend angegriffen,
daß dieser zwar erfreulicherweise auf dessen Nacken zu sitzen kam,
aber kaum sein Leben gerettet hätte, wenn ihm nicht im kritischen
Moment sein Tropenhut heruntergefallen wäre. Das Untier
attackierte nun diesen Hut, und der Schütze hatte Gelegenheit, ihm
die tödliche Kugel aufs Blatt anzutragen. Aus dieser und ähnlichen
Erzählungen wird man begreifen, daß die Spannung, wenn die
Fährte, der man folgt, wärmer und wärmer wird, außerordentlich
wächst und die Sinne sich schärfen. Aber obgleich ich den Büffel oft
auf wenige Schritte neben mir atmen hörte, war das Dickicht so
groß, daß ich nicht zum Schuß kam. Ich hatte die Erfüllung meines
Wunsches schon aufgegeben und mit meiner Karawane den
endgültigen Abmarsch angetreten, als wir morgens um 7 Uhr eine
ganz frische Büffelfährte kreuzten. Der Wald war an dieser Stelle
lichter, und die Führer zeigten Lust, der Fährte zu folgen. So ließen
wir die Karawane weitermarschieren und bekamen nach
vierstündiger anstrengender Pirsche den Büffel zu Gesicht. Als ich in
einer Lichtung auf 100 Meter den Kolben hob, verbot Kabunda es
und bestand darauf, daß wir den Büffel, der im ganz lichten
Stangenholz an uns vorüberzog, bis auf dreißig Schritt anpirschten.
Zum Glück durchschoß die Kugel die große Schlagader; der Büffel
lag sofort, und etwaige weitere Stadien dieser Episode waren damit
abgeschnitten. Wie es oft vorkommt, fanden wir auch hier eine
steckengebliebene Kugel aus einem Eingeborenengewehr im Innern
des Tieres bereits vor. Im übrigen bestand die Jagdbeute aus einer
großen Anzahl Antilopen und Gazellen verschiedener Gattungen;
Löwen haben wir oft gehört, aber nicht zu Gesicht bekommen.
Auf diesem Zuge durch das „Pori“ lernte ich zu meiner
Verblüffung die Tatsache kennen, daß ein spurloses Verschwinden
selbst im Inneren Afrikas nicht leicht ist. Ich war losgezogen, ohne zu
hinterlassen, welchen Weg ich nehmen würde. Da erschien plötzlich
während des Marsches mitten im Pori ein Eingeborener und brachte
mir die Überseepost. Die gegenseitigen Mitteilungen der
Eingeborenen geben einander eben Kunde von allem, was in ihrer
Nähe vor sich geht. Zurufe, Feuerzeichen und die Signaltrommel
dienen dazu, die Neuigkeiten auszutauschen und schnell zu
verbreiten. Die unglaubliche Ausbreitungsfähigkeit der zahllosen
Gerüchte, die ich späterhin kennenlernen sollte, ist zum großen Teil
auf diese Mitteilsamkeit zurückzuführen.
Nach der Rückkehr nach Daressalam von der ersten
Besichtigungsreise im März wurde sogleich die Umbewaffnung von
drei weiteren Kompagnien — es waren bisher erst drei Kompagnien
mit modernen Gewehren bewaffnet — in die Wege geleitet. Es
wurde von größter Wichtigkeit, daß wenigstens diese Waffen, mit der
dazugehörigen Munition, noch gerade rechtzeitig vor Ausbruch des
Krieges im Schutzgebiet eintrafen.
Bei einer Besichtigungsreise im April nach Lindi, wo ich die dritte
Feldkompagnie sah, hatte ich mir bei einem Fall in ein Steinloch
Kniewasser zugezogen und konnte daher meine nächste große
Reise erst Ende Mai antreten. Obgleich der öffentliche Verkehr der
Zentralbahn erst bis Tabora freigegeben werden konnte, war der Bau
doch so weit gediehen, daß ich bis Kigoma (am Tanganjika-See) mit
der Bahn gelangte und so schon eine oberflächliche Kenntnis dieses
wichtigen Verkehrsmittels gewann, das unsere Küste in unmittelbare
Verbindung mit dem Tanganjika, seinen reichen angrenzenden
Gebieten und weiter mit dem Stromsystem des Kongo brachte. In
Kigoma war der Dampfer „Goetzen“ erst im Bau, und ich fuhr noch
mit dem kleinen Dampfer „Hedwig v. Wißmann“ nach Bismarckburg.
In Baudouinville, im Kongogebiet, machte ich einen kurzen Besuch
bei dem dortigen Bischof der Weißen Väter, ohne eine Ahnung zu
haben, wie bald man mit diesem Gebiet im Kriege sein sollte. Die
wundervolle Kirche würde bei uns ein Schmuck für jede Stadt sein.
Sie war von den Vätern selbst erbaut und im Innern mit reichen
Schnitzereien versehen. Geräumige, prachtvolle Obstgärten
umgeben die Station. Die Löwenplage muß dort sehr groß sein; die
Väter erzählten mir, daß vor kurzem ein Löwe des Nachts über die
Mauer in das Innere des Hofes gesetzt war und ein Rind geschlagen
hatte. Unsere Aufnahme war sehr freundlich und ein Glas schönen
Algier-Weines der Willkommgruß.
Auch in der Mission Mwasije, auf deutschem Gebiet, wo auch
Weiße Väter, zum größten Teil Belgier, lebten, wurden wir gut
aufgenommen. Während des Krieges erbeutete Korrespondenzen
bewiesen aber, daß die französischen Missionare, die gleichfalls aus
Stationen des Tanganjika-Gebietes leben, keineswegs nur das
Christentum zu verbreiten suchten, sondern auch bewußt nationale
Propaganda trieben. Ein Brief eines Missionars enthält einen
Bezeichnungsunterschied zwischen einem „missionaire catholique“
und einem „missionaire français“; der letztere sei verpflichtet, neben
dem Christentum auch französisch-nationale Propaganda zu treiben.
Bekanntlich ist diese nationale Propaganda etwas, von der sich die
deutschen Missionare im allgemeinen fernhielten.
Diese Missionen, die sich naturgemäß in den dicht bevölkerten
gut angebauten Gegenden finden, haben auf die Erziehung der
Eingeborenen einen außerordentlich großen Einfluß. Der Missionar
ist meist der einzige dauernd ansässige Weiße, der Land und Leute
gut kennenlernt und Vertrauen erwirbt. Recht verdient haben sich die
Missionen durch die Einführung der europäischen Handwerke
gemacht; Tischlereien, Schuhmachereien und Ziegeleien findet man
überall eingerichtet.
Die weiteren Reisen zeigten mir, daß das so überaus fruchtbare
Gebiet um Langenburg und Ssongea, wo sich viele Weizenfelder
befinden und dessen dichte Besiedlung sich auf der Karte schon aus
den zahlreich vorhandenen Missionen verrät, nur durch eine einzige
Kompagnie geschützt war, zu der nicht einmal eine unmittelbare
Drahtverbindung bestand. Wollte man Langenburg telegraphisch
erreichen, so war dies von Daressalam nur über Südafrika auf der
englischen Linie möglich. Die vorhandene heliographische
Verbindung von Iringa bis Langenburg war ihrer Unzuverlässigkeit
wegen kein ausreichender Ersatz. Erwähnt mag werden, daß in dem
dortigen Gebiet die Eingeborenen nicht nur durch die Missionen und
die deutsche Verwaltung zur Kulturarbeit herangezogen worden
sind, sondern daß dort auch nennenswerte Eingeborenenindustrien
alteinheimisch bestehen. Bei eisenhaltigem Boden begegnet man
zahlreichen Schmieden, deren Blasebalg in ursprünglicher Weise
aus Fellen und durchbohrten Ästen gebildet ist. Recht schön sind
auch die Webearbeiten der Eingeborenen; Korbflechtereien gibt es
hier wie fast überall im Schutzgebiet. Ihre Erzeugnisse sind
geschmackvoll und so dicht, daß die Eingeborenen zum Trinken
geflochtene Becher benutzen. Die großen Viehbestände einiger
europäischer Farmer — es kommt hier besonders Mbejahof
zwischen Nyassa- und Tanganjika-See in Betracht — litten bei den
unentwickelten Verkehrsmitteln unter der Schwierigkeit des
Absatzes.
Bei der Mission Mbosi lagerte ich, und der dortige Missionar
Bachmann, ein langjähriger und ausgezeichneter Kenner von Land
und Leuten, erzählte mir, daß ein auffallender Wechsel in den
Köpfen der Eingeborenen vor sich ginge. Fremde Araber und
Suaheli zeigten sich im Lande und erzählten den Leuten, daß die
Deutschen nun bald fortgehen und die Engländer das Land in Besitz
nehmen würden; das war im Juni 1914.
Die Weiterreise führte mich bei Iringa auch zu den Stätten, wo
der große Häuptling Kwawa in der ersten Zeit den Deutschen
getrotzt hatte, und bei Rugano konnten mir einzelne der zahlreich
versammelten Eingeborenen ihre eigenen Beobachtungen von der
Vernichtung der Zelewskischen Expedition an Ort und Stelle
mitteilen.
Trotz des Bemühens, mich in den Umkreis meiner
ostafrikanischen Obliegenheiten einzuarbeiten, galt ich bei alten
Afrikanern als Neuling. Immerhin hatte mich meine Dienstlaufbahn in
gewisser Art auf die mir vom Schicksal gestellte Aufgabe vorbereitet.
Es mag ungefähr zu der Zeit gewesen sein, als ich, ein früh aus
der pommerschen Heimat verpflanzter Kadett, Cäsars Bellum
Gallicum studierte, daß dem deutschen Vaterlande durch Bismarck
seine ersten Kolonien geschenkt worden sind. Im Jahr 1899-1900
habe ich im Generalstab unsere eigenen wie viele ausländische
Kolonien bearbeitet. Während der Chinawirren (1900-1901) lernte
ich in Ostasien alle mit uns kämpfenden Truppenkontingente,
besonders auch die Engländer, dienstlich wie kameradschaftlich
kennen. Der Herero- und Hottentottenaufstand in Südwestafrika
führte mich (1904-1906) in die Eigenart des Buschkriegs ein. Nicht
nur mit Eingeborenen, sondern auch mit Buren machte ich damals
im Stabe des Generals v. Trotha wie als selbstständiger Kompagnie-
und Detachementsführer reiche persönliche Erfahrungen. Die
ausgezeichneten Eigenschaften des seit Menschenaltern in der
afrikanischen Steppe heimischen niederdeutschen Volksstammes
gewannen mir Achtung ab. Daß das Burentum später entscheidend
— und in gewissem Sinne tragisch — dabei mitwirken würde, den
deutschen Teil Afrikas englisch zu machen, ahnte ich nicht.
Im Jahre 1906 wurde ich in Südwest verwundet. Dies führte mich
nach Kapstadt, so daß ich auch die Kapkolonie oberflächlich
kennenlernte. Auf der Rückreise streifte ich damals auch die spätere
Stätte meines Wirkens, Deutsch-Ostafrika, zum erstenmal.
Meine spätere Stellung als Kommandeur des 2. Seebataillons in
Wilhelmshaven gab mir Einblicke in das innere Leben unserer kräftig
aufstrebenden Marine, die mit der deutschen Überseearbeit so eng
zusammenhing. Ich nahm an Übungen und Fahrten auf großen und
kleinen Schiffen, an Flottenmanövern und an einer Flottenreise nach
Norwegen teil, wobei sich immer neue Seiten des allgemeinen wie
des militärischen Lebens auftaten.
Auch bei der Rückkehr in die Armee gab mir der Wechsel
zwischen Front- und Stabsdienst viele Anregungen und Gelegenheit
zu Vergleichen. So war ich durch meine Entwicklung darauf geführt
worden, mich rasch in neuen Verhältnissen zurechtzufinden. So
dankbar ich für jede Erweiterung meines Gesichtsfeldes war, das
Beste verdanke ich doch der heimischen Armee, bei der es mir unter
der Anleitung vortrefflicher Kommandeure vergönnt war, den
rechtverstandenen Geist militärischen Lebens und echter Disziplin
kennenzulernen.
[1] Askari heißt „Soldaten“ und bedeutet keinen besonderen

Stamm.
[2] M. Merker, Die Massai, Berlin 1901 (2. Aufl. 1910).

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Textbook Plato and Intellectual Development A New Theoretical Framework Emphasising The Higher Order Pedagogy of The Platonic Dialogues 1St Edition Susanna Saracco Auth Ebook All Chapter PDF

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Plato and Intellectual Development: A

New Theoretical Framework

Socratic Ignorance and Platonic Knowledge in the

Ascent to the Good The Reading Order of Plato s

The Bioarchaeology of Structural Violence A Theoretical

The Sovereign Consumer: A New Intellectual History of

Designing an Innovative Pedagogy for Sustainable

Languages and Languaging in Deaf Education A Framework

Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy Liberation

Socrates Daimonic Art Love for Wisdom in Four Platonic

Plato and Intellectual

ISBN 978-3-319-52586-0 ISBN 978-3-319-52587-7 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017934479

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017

Cover pattern © Harvey Loake

Printed on acid-free paper

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature

2 The Structure of Rational Engagement in the Reading

3 Theoretical Childhood and Theoretical Adulthood 53

4 Plato’s Forms and Scientiﬁc Modelling 87

5 Theoretical Adulthood 107

6 ADDENDUM: “Journey to Critical Inquiry”: Students’

Fig. 4.1 “Life span age differences in processing robustness

Keywords Interdisciplinary research Modern and contemporary litera-

What you are going to read is a non-standard work in Ancient Philosophy.

© The Author(s) 2017 1

methodology is indicated by Plato himself as fundamental for each indivi-

discover on this subject, and this is something that they have to do

analogy between the Forms and scientiﬁc modelling, I do not want to

is assuming the necessity to contextualize Plato’s written words in a

meaning, which is crucial to realize Plato’s fundamental contribution to

This ﬁrst part of my research presents two important notions: the

attributes to science as means to overcome the sensible and reach the

the axiomatic approach proper of Euclidean geometry: results are obtained

selection of characteristics taken from different kinds of models has not

My research, as it has been highlighted, is a reconstruction of Plato’s

The Structure of Rational Engagement

Abstract This chapter introduces the dialogical interaction between Plato

Keywords Intellectual stimulation Written reminders Images for the

Plato chose to convey his thinking exclusively by writing dialogues. This is

© The Author(s) 2017 13

what we are able to do to move in the direction of a successive phase of

we realize that the philosopher points to a further degree of complex-

These lines have been interpreted as a Platonic request for active

Foley’s words reveal a crucial insight: Plato’s text is a stimulus for a

it tries to move student’s thinking in a direction that is natural for the

This antithesis between dialogue and indoctrination in education is also

discovers herself as author of the content: she discovers her “creative

An example of the importance of the investigative freedom of the

My disagreement with Bowen is centred on his statement that a compara-

I propose an ordering principle which maintains the desirability of

nach Originalen von Hauptmann W. v. R u c k t e s c h e l l

Porträt des Verfassers, farbig (Titelbild)

Inhalt der Kartentasche

A ls ich im Januar 1914 in Daressalam landete, da ahnte ich kaum,

[1] Askari heißt „Soldaten“ und bedeutet keinen besonderen

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