by Roy Jackson
WHY IS PLATO’S WORK SO IMPORTANT?
‘The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.’
A. N. Whitehead, Process and Reality, p. 39, Free Press, 1979
Plato was very creative and a great innovator. However, no one works in a vacuum and, as we have seen, there were many philosophers before him and Socrates who influenced Plato’s thought. Although we know so very little about these shadowy figures of the past, it is apparent that the term ‘philosophy’ for most of them covered a broad and varied school of thought. What they generally all have in common is a quest to find a unifying principle, an arche, of the cosmos – an order for the apparent chaos of the world they occupied.
Although also concerned with matters relating to cosmology, Plato and his teacher Socrates are very different from the Presocratic philosophers before them because of their more rigorous and rational method of enquiry. What they did was to invent the method and terminology of philosophizing that is still used today. The Socrates we know today is ultimately Plato’s creation, and the Platonic dialogues are not just works of philosophy, but novelistic in their development of characters. The main protagonist, Socrates, is deliberately used by Plato to engage in his own (and to some extent Socrates’) thought experiments and in his mission to establish philosophy as a discipline. This is best expressed in his greatest work: Republic.
While nothing is certain, we can be fairly confident in stating that it is Plato, not Socrates, who introduced to the world the analysis, cogent argument and a rational approach to thought that laid the foundations for all philosophers who came after him. This is why the British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) famously said that European philosophy is but ‘a series of footnotes to Plato’. (See Chapter 11 for a Case Study on Whitehead.)
According to the philosopher (and Plato’s pupil) Aristotle (384–322 BC), Socrates did not come up with the famous Theory of the Forms (see Chapter 4) that is so central to Plato’s philosophy (although Aristotle is not always the most reliable narrator either). While remaining inevitably speculative, a picture emerges of Plato’s Socrates as much more abstract, doctrinal and theoretical and less personable than Socrates actually was, which is why we should see Plato’s works as to some extent works of fiction when it comes to his characterization. It may well be that in Plato’s early years (reflected in some of his writings) his main concern initially, like that of Socrates, was with moral philosophy – with how we ought to live our lives. However, although this was his main inspiration, as he matured his writings covered many of the branches of philosophy, including political philosophy, education, aesthetics, metaphysics and epistemology. Plato was also something of a poet, and his writings are regarded as not only monumental works of philosophy, but great literature as well. Plato is the earliest philosopher whose own writings have survived to such an extent, and so they provide an important insight into the culture and beliefs of the complex and cosmopolitan society of Athens as it existed two and a half thousand years ago.
Plato founded the Academy in Athens and this institution has often been described as the first European university. Here people studied works of philosophy, mathematics, politics and the sciences for nearly a thousand years. A great deal of religious thought in Europe was intermingled with Plato’s philosophy; for example, in the writings of the Christian theologian St Augustine (AD 354–430) and in medieval Islamic thought where it was translated and preserved in Arabic. Plato’s works were later re-translated into Latin and Greek and re-emerged as a force during the Renaissance. In the 19th century, Plato’s work was a basis for Victorian values in Britain. His controversial political and educational views have also played an important part in more recent debate. It is certainly true to say that no student of philosophy can afford to ignore Plato and his works.
Plato’s world
Sparta
Also known as Lacedaemon, this Greek city-state was located on the banks of the Eurotas River in the region of Laconia. In fact, the word ‘laconic’ derives from the name of this region because the Athenians said the Spartans always spoke in a precise way. People have been fascinated by Sparta because of its unique social system. It was a disciplined military state with a strict hierarchical structure. Its classes were divided into Spartiates (free men born in Sparta), Mothakes (free men not originally from Sparta but raised as Spartans), Perioikoi (literally ‘dweller around’; free men but not citizens of Sparta) and helots (slaves).
According to the Greek historian Herodotus, in the 5th century BC there were seven helots for each Spartan, so it was important that such a massive, potentially rebellious, population was kept under control. One way of doing this was through an annual event, called the Crypteia, whereby the Spartan leaders (ephors) would declare temporary war on the helots, allowing the Spartan citizens to kill helots without any repercussions. This was a properly organized affair: each autumn a group of young Spartan men who had completed their educational and military training were chosen to practise their skills and were sent out at night with knives to kill helots that they encountered, especially those helots who were considered troublesome. That way the population was controlled and potential troublemakers were disposed of. Hence the name Crypteia, which means ‘secret’ or ‘hidden’, since the chosen Spartans (cryptes) would also need to spy on the helots and engage in stealth in order to determine who were suitable targets. It was this training that made Sparta a state to be feared. In 480 BC it famously made a last stand against a massive Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae. Though defeated, a small number of Spartans – 300 being the usual number given – inflicted much higher casualties on the Persians. It was this event that was depicted in the 2006 film 300.
To understand Plato and his work it helps to have some idea of the world in which he lived. The Athenian empire at that time consisted of a league of semi-autonomous ‘city-states’ (or polis, see Chapter 1) united by language and culture and formed as a defence against the threatening Persian empire. During Plato’s long life he witnessed the decline and fall of this Greek federation. It was an age of war and political upheaval, yet it was also a period of great cultural activity. Athens, especially, was an exciting and cosmopolitan place. The famous Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, was built in the mid-5th century BC, and Plato would also have been able to see some of the greatest Greek tragedies performed in the squares and theatres of the city. Yet Plato’s philosophy, his belief in order and suspicion of democracy, was also moulded by the political climate of the recent past:
• Between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, Athens and Sparta became the two dominant cities of Greece. Each of these city-states united their weaker neighbours into a league under their dominance. Sparta, a state Plato admired for its order and discipline, was highly militarized and a supporter of aristocracy. Whereas Sparta established its league largely through conquest, Athens unified mostly (although not always) through mutual and peaceful agreement.
• In the early part of the 6th century BC, a limited form of democracy replaced hereditary Athenian kingship. This was the start of the greatest period of Athenian history economically and culturally. The Athenians also succeeded in defeating an invading Persian fleet, despite seemingly overwhelming odds. As a result, Athens became the most influential state in Greece, and the Delian League, which at first was voluntary, was formed with Athens at its head. However, as Athenian power grew it became more tyrannical towards other states in the league.
• During the 5th century BC, under the leadership of Pericles (c. 495–429 BC), Athens entered its Golden Age: the Parthenon was built during this time; tragedians such as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides reached their zenith; and the constitution was reformed to make Athens more democratic. During the latter half of the century, however, Athens was constantly at war with Sparta. Most likely Plato would have fought in the cavalry against the Spartans.
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� From 431–404 BC the Athenian Empire was engaged in the Peloponnesian War with Sparta (as head of the Peloponnesian League). In 404 BC Athens was defeated by Sparta, and the victors established an oligarchy over the city known as the Thirty Tyrants. Two of these ‘Tyrants’ were close relatives of Plato. This reign, however, lasted for only a year or so before democracy and independence were restored, but Athens was now in decline, as was the whole of Greece. Its northern neighbour, Macedonia, began its expansion, which would eventually lead to Macedonian supremacy under Alexander the Great in 336 BC.
Women in Athens
In Athens in the 5th century BC, women were considered as objects of disgust and fear. Aristotle argued that during menstruation a mere glance from a female could infect the air around her. The lawmaker Solon declared that any woman found walking the streets should be considered a prostitute.
Plato: a life
‘Plato’ is, quite possibly, a nickname from the word platon, meaning something like ‘broad’ or ‘breadth’. Sources say that Plato was something of a gymnast, especially in wrestling, and he was nicknamed ‘Plato’ because of his broad shoulders, although it has also been suggested that he was so named due to the breadth of his knowledge. Regardless, he adopted the name as his own, although his actual name was possibly Aristocles, named after his grandfather (although even this name is disputed). Plato was a wealthy and well-connected man who, though absent for Socrates’ actual death, did witness the trial. It was the trial and subsequent execution of Socrates that led Plato to write his philosophy, quite possibly having written nothing philosophical until after the death of Socrates, with the possible exception of the dialogue Lysis which discusses friendship. Plato would have been in his late twenties when Socrates was executed and would have been close friends with him for probably the whole of his adult life.
Plato, befitting a member of the aristocracy, would have had the finest education Athens could offer in terms of philosophy, grammar, music and gymnastics. His father was Ariston (died c. 424 BC), who legend states was descended from Codrus, the ancient and semi-mythical king of Athens of the 11th century BC. Plato’s mother was Perictione (c. 5th century BC). Ariston died when Plato was a young boy and his mother then married her uncle Pyrilampes, who was a statesman and friend of Pericles (see above). Plato had two older brothers, Glaucon and Adeimantus – both of whom feature in Republic and other dialogues – and an older sister, Potone. Plato’s half-brother Antiphon makes an appearance in the dialogue Parmenides in which Antiphon states he has given up philosophy so he can spend more time on his horses! Incidentally, Plato also had an aunt called Charmides, which is the title of another dialogue written by him; he obviously had no reticence in including his family in his works and perhaps, together with the setting of the dialogues during the life of Socrates, the works represent for Plato a much happier time.
Plato’s ancestry can be traced to the great Athenian statesman and poet Solon (c. 638–c. 558 BC). Like so many of these early Greeks we know very little of Solon, although legend credits him with laying the foundations for democracy in Athens. One account states that he was selected to be ruler of Athens due to his considered wisdom, which resulted in constitutional, economic and moral reform. As the Greek historian Plutarch (c. AD 46–120) wrote:
‘In philosophy, like most of the wise men of that age, he was concerned above all with applying morals to politics.’
Plutarch, The Rise and Fall of Athens.
Solon is considered one of the Seven Sages, all of whom are from the 6th century BC.
The Seven Sages
Also referred to as the Seven Wise Men, this is a title given to various philosophers, law-givers and statesmen from the 6th century BC. Each of the seven is associated with an aphorism, for example Solon with ‘nothing in excess’. Other figures include the presocratic philosopher Thales (see Chapter 1) with his aphorism ‘know thyself’, the Spartan politician Chilon (‘you should not desire the impossible’) and the legislator Bias (‘most men are bad’).
What qualifies them as a ‘Sage’ is their intent to incorporate the poetic and philosophical outlook into practical politics. This was a mission that Plato was wholly sympathetic with in his concept of the Philosopher-Kings (see Chapter 7). Indeed, one of our sources for Solon is Plato himself, who crops up in many of his dialogues. Plato’s uncle (possibly!) was Critias (c. 460–403 BC) who was a writer of tragedies, friend and pupil of Socrates and also one of the leading members of Thirty Tyrants (see above) that were installed by the Spartans to rule Athens after they defeated it in the Peloponnesian War. Although the Thirty Tyrants ruled for just 13 months, it was a violent and oppressive time resulting in the killing, by some estimates, of up to 5 per cent of the Athenian population.
As stated, Socrates’ death had a profound impact upon Plato. Undoubtedly the fact that his friend and teacher was condemned by democrats was one reason why Plato distrusted democracy and, as he saw it, the rule of the mob. He was determined to keep the spirit of Socrates alive by engaging in philosophy in the Socratic tradition. In addition, Plato had witnessed first-hand the humbling of the once-mighty Athens as a result of the Peloponnesian War, and saw this defeat as a result of poor decision-making and lack of political wisdom on the part of the Athenian state, and so he regarded it as his mission, through the mouthpiece of Socrates, to question the Athenian political system and to suggest alternatives. This resulted in his greatest work, Republic.
However, because of Plato’s close friendship with Socrates his own safety was compromised. Perhaps for this reason Plato decided to leave Athens and undertake a 12-year exploration of the known world. His travels seem to have included Egypt, where he was impressed by the theocratic system – the rule by an educated priestly class. It has even been speculated that Plato reached as far as the banks of the River Ganges – but despite certain similarities between his own philosophy and eastern religions it remains an unlikely hypothesis. What is more credible, however, is his encounter in Italy with the Pythagoreans, a community founded upon the principles of Pythagoras (c. 582–c. 500 BC). In around 530 BC, Pythagoras settled in a Greek colony in southern Italy called Crotona where he established and led a tightknit community of like-minded people. Pythagoras’ teachings survived and spread over southern Italy and Greece. These communities were well-ordered and strict in terms of diet, dress and moral codes.
The Pythagoreans believed in the immortality of the soul and in reincarnation as well as the notion that nature was subject to a mathematical order. The name of Pythagoras is, of course, associated with the mathematical theorem that equates the square of the sides of a right-angled triangle to the square of its hypotenuse (the nightmare of many a schoolchild!). However, the theorem was most likely developed later on by his followers. Nonetheless, the importance of mathematics and the belief that ‘all is number’ had a profound effect on Plato. For Pythagoras, numbers held the key to understanding the universe. Everything could be explained in terms of numbers, which existed in an abstract and harmonious realm beyond the flux of the everyday world. It was the Pythagoreans who discovered the link between number and musical harmony and envisioned the movement of the planets as the ‘music of the spheres’.
Plato, too, believed there is a timeless unchanging order to the universe and that there is an underlying ‘form’ to the world that can, through reason and mathematics, be perceived. It is said that above the door to his Academy was written: ‘Let no one unacquainted with geometry enter here.’ What developed was Plato’s famous Theory of the Forms: the very ‘stuff’ of the universe that provides the key to understanding.
Plato also travelled to Syracuse in Sicily, the most powerful city-state west of the Greek mainland. The ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius, seemed keen to discuss philosophy with Plato but it turned out that Dionysius was an impatient and intractable individual and expelled Plato from his land after a series of arguments. During his time in Syracuse, however, Plato had a long and turbulent relationship with the rule
r’s brother-in-law, Dion, for whom he wrote poetry and described him as his lover who drove him mad with desire.
At the wiser age of 40 Plato returned to Athens and bought a plot of land in the Grove of Academe, named after a mythical hero called Academus. Here Plato established a school of intellectuals modelled on the Pythagorean model. When Plato was about 60, Dionysius died and was succeeded by his son, and Dion’s nephew, Dionysius II. Dion persuaded the reluctant Plato to return to Syracuse to teach the new ruler to be a ‘philosopher-king’ in the mould of Plato’s own political views. However, like his father before him, the new ruler proved a reluctant and impatient philosopher and, once again, Plato fled back to Athens, preferring to stay out of politics from then on.
At the age of 80, Plato – who never married – died and was buried in the Academy. The Academy itself continued to thrive, producing such notable alumni as the philosopher Aristotle (a student of Plato) and developing important schools in, for example, mathematical science and astronomy. The Academy was closed down by the Roman Emperor Justinian in AD 529.
Plato’s works
‘Reading the Socratic dialogues one has the feeling: what a frightful waste of time! What's the point of these arguments that prove nothing and clarify nothing?’
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value
A very rare thing indeed is that we are fortunate to possess copies of the entire corpus of Plato’s writings. That is to say, whenever a writer from history refers to a work by Plato, a copy still exists. The same thing cannot be said for most of the Ancient Greek writers. As we have seen, virtually nothing exists for the Presocratics, and even for Aristotle (who came after Plato) works have been lost. Perhaps this indicates just how important Plato was for the Greeks themselves for them to ensure that none of his works suffered the same fate.