transition to plato, apology copy - ancient greek...
TRANSCRIPT
Ancient PhilosophyCal State Fullerton
Instructor: Jason Sheley
Quiz Reviewmotive FP ontology knowledge ethics
Thales
Pythagoras
Xenophanes
Heraclitus
Parmenides
Sophists
Socrates
Transition to Plato
• The question we want to consider now is what motivates Plato to pursue his philosophy?
• (As we will see, Plato believes in Forms. Why did he resort to this?)
• 1) What is real? What is known? (Heraclitus and Parmenides)
• 2) The political climate (and Socrates...)
• 3) Sophistry and values
• CAN WE DO BETTER?
• The question: what does the identity of an object consist in?
• The answer(s): ???
• Reasons: ...
• Critique?
Another version...
Modern Greece
Part 1 - Plato’s World
Map of Ancient Greece: http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/gk_wrld.htm
• Some key events:
• http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/chrono.htm
• How does Ancient Athens strike you? What sort of place and environment was this?
Part 2 - The SophistsHow many of Plato’s dialogues either have the name
of a Sophist in the title or are concerned with sophistry somehow?
• What did Plato find so problematic about the Sophists and their influence on his society?
Sophistry and the Good Life
Relativism
• Protagoras - “A person is the measure of all things — of things that are, that they are, and of things that are not, that they are not.” (#8)
• #10, #5
Relativism
“Man is the measure of all things. Of those that are, that they are. Of those that are not, that they are not.” -
Relativism
• Cultural relativism - judgments about truth are dependent on the culture in which they are said
• Individual relativism - judgments about truth are dependent on the individual
Application: Rotten Tomatoes.com
Should we treat moral judgments the same way we treat judgments about art or food?
Can you think of any objections to relativism?
The most important question is this: can relativism do all of the work we
need it to do?
Can you think of any objections to
relativism?
Rules by Convention
• Antiphon #21, 22
The Law Courts
“The Only Truth”
http://cityfile.com/profiles/murray-richman
The Socratic Shock
Apology
• Socrates wrote nothing himself during his lifetime. We know most of what we know about Socrates through the writings of his students (Plato, Xenophon), as well as his enemies (Aristophanes).
• Socrates often appears as a character in Plato’s dialogues.
• To what extent should we trust that the characters’ views were the views of the historical Socrates?
Plato’s Apology
The Story...• Socrates was accused and brought to trial.
The dialogue Euthyphro recounts a conversation before Socrates goes to trial (we will read this one later). The Apology tells us what happened at the trial. Crito takes place when Socrates is awaiting his execution. And Phaedo recounts a conversation that Socrates has on the day of his death, before he drinks the poison.
Why dialogues?
• Let’s look at the Toolkit entry on “Dialectic”...
Apology
• The Greek term apologia means “defense,” which would probably be a better translation for the title.
• We won’t focus on it here, but what was Socrates accused of? (19b-c) What is Socrates’ reply to the charges?
The Oracle at Delphi
γνώθι σεαυτόν μηδέν άγαν
"Know yourself" "Nothing overmuch"
The Mission:
• Let’s look at 20d-23c
• What does the Oracle of Delphi say?
• How does Socrates respond to this?
• What is he looking for?
The Method
• Socrates practices a type of dialectic (see Toolkit).
• How does he proceed? Does anyone pass the test?
• (By the way, consider just how out of the ordinary this is...)
The Purpose• But why does Socrates bother testing people
at all? What’s the point? (We get our answer to this after Socrates is found guilty and sentenced to death.)
• Let’s look at 30e-31c (how Socrates sees his role)
• The Gadfly analogy
• See 29d-30c on what people should care about
• Some further texts:
• 28b-d (on whether one should care about death)
• 29a-c (On Socrates’ views about his own wisdom)
• 29c-30b