Plato and Aristotle : the genesis of western thought

70 Pages·2010·1.13 MB·English

by  Louis Aryeh Kosman

P
LATO AND
A :
RISTOTLE
THE GENESIS OF
WESTERN THOUGHT
COURSE GUIDE
Professor Aryeh Kosman
HAVERFORDCOLLEGE
Plato and Aristotle:
The Genesis of Western Thought
Professor Aryeh Kosman
HaverfordCollege
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PlatoandAristotle:
TheGenesisofWesternThought
ProfessorAryehKosman
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CourseSyllabus
PlatoandAristotle:
TheGenesisofWesternThought
AboutYourProfessor ...................................................4
Introduction ...........................................................5
Lecture1 Plato(withNodstoSocrates) .................................6
Lecture2 TheEuthyphro:TheVirtueofHoliness ..........................9
Lecture3 TheCharmides:TheVirtueofQuietSelf-Control .................14
Lecture4 TheRepublic:JusticeandtheVirtueofJustice...................17
Lecture5 TheRepublic:JusticeandthePhilosopherKing ..................21
Lecture6 TheSymposium:IsthePhilosopherCapableofLove?.............25
Lecture7 ThePhaedo:DeathandthePhilosopher........................29
Lecture8 Aristotle:PatiencewithComplexity ............................33
Lecture9 TheOrganon:SubstanceasthePrimary
ModeofBeing ............................................36
Lecture10 TheMetaphysics:WhatIsPhilosophy? .........................40
Lecture11 BiologyandOntheSoul:LifeandConsciousness ................46
Lecture12 TheNicomacheanEthics:EthicsandtheGoodLife ...............52
Lecture13 PlatoandAristotle:
ThePoliticsandthePoetics..................................58
Lecture14 PlatoandAristotle:AFinalReviewandSummation ...............64
CourseMaterials ......................................................68
3
man
AryehKos About Your Professor
of
courtesy Aryeh Kosman
Photo
AryehKosmanistheJohnWhiteheadProfessorofPhilosophyatHaverford
CollegeinHaverford,Pennsylvania.ProfessorKosmanbeganhisstudiesat
theUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeleyandcompletedhisdoctoralworkat
HarvardUniversity,withstudybetweenatHebrewUniversityinJerusalem.
HejoinedtheHaverfordfacultyin1962andhastaughttheresince,except
duringvisitingappointmentsatPrincetonUniversity,theUniversityof
CaliforniaatLosAngeles,theUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeley,the
UniversityofWashington,andtheUniversityofPittsburgh.Hehasbeenafel-
lowatHarvard’sCenterforHellenicStudiesandattheWoodrowWilson
InternationalCenterforScholarsinWashington,D.C.ProfessorKosmanhas
lecturedandwrittenextensivelyonancient,medieval,andearlymodernphi-
losophy.Hismainareasofinterestinthehistoryofphilosophyincludemeta-
physics,ethics,philosophicalpsychology,andthephilosophyoflanguage
andliterature.Histeachinginterestsalsoincludecontemporaryissuesinaes-
theticsandthephilosophyofliterature.ProfessorKosmanistherecipientof
severalteachingawards.Heisalsothefatherofthreegrownandsuccessful
sons.HepresentlylivesinHaverfordwithhiswife,DeborahRoberts,aclas-
sicistandtranslator,andtheiryoungdaughterHannah.
4
m
Clipart.co
©
SchoolofAthens
DetailofPlatoandAristotle
StanzadellaSegnatura,StanzediRaffaello,Vatican
byRaphael(1483-1520)
Introduction
Thiscourseisanintroductiontothephilosophicalthoughtofthetwomost
importantphilosophicalfiguresofancientGreece.Byworkingthroughparts
oftheircentraltextsandthoughts,wewillgainanunderstandingofPlatoand
Aristotle’srelevanceinthepastandtodayaswell.
PlatoandAristotleofferedtheoriesandphilosophiesdistinctiveoftheirindi-
vidualworldviews.Plato,sometimesremarkedonforhis“otherworldliness,”
andAristotle,characterizedmoreby“thisworldliness,”approachedtheir
explorationofthehumanconditionindifferentways.Butinthisexamination
ofthemindsandworksoftwoofourfirstphilosophers,itistheirsimilarities
thatshinethrough:theircommitmenttoreasonascriticaltomoral,political,
andspirituallives;theirunendingdesiretounderstandtheworld;andabove
all,theirmutualloveofwisdom,thefruitsofwhichhaveinspiredandenriched
thelivesofinquisitivemenandwomentothisveryday.
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Lecture1:
Plato(withNodstoSocrates)
TheSuggested ReadingforthislectureisXenophon’sConversations
ofSocrates.
Inordertocomprehendwhoweareaspeoplewemustbegintounderstandthe
philosophicalgiantswhohaveshapedourthinking.Wewillthinkthroughthe
philosophicaltextsofPlatoandAristotleandnotsimplymakealistoftheirideas.
Inreadingthetextswewillstrivetounderstandwhatthephilosopherswere
attemptingtoarticulate.Remembertwoprimaryconcernsasyouconsiderthese
works:(1)Beconcernedalwayswithphilosophicalrelevance,and(2)Becon-
cernedwithtruthandhistoricalaccuracy.
Considerthis...
1.DidAristotlepayhomagetoPlatotothesamedegreethatPlatopaid
toSocrates?
2.WhydidSocratesfeaturesoprominentlyinPlato’swritings?
I.PlatoandAristotle(withNodstoSocrates)
A.NodiscussionofPlatoandAristotlewouldbecompletewithoutfirstmen-
tioningSocrates.
1.SocrateswasanimmenselyimportantfigureinAthenianlife.Asa
teacherandthinkerhehadanenormous,thoughcontroversial,influ-
ence.HewasaclosefriendofPlato’sfamily.
2.Socrateswas,ineffect,thefounderofmoralphilosophyandamasterof
philosophicalinterrogation.Hecharacteristicallyaskedquestionsof
meaning,suchas,“Whatis…?”Whatisjustice?Whatiscourage?
B.PlatowasborninAthensin428BCEtoawealthyandaristocraticfamily.
Heaspiredtofollowinhisfamily’sfootstepsandbecomeanaristocratic
politician,butSocratesinspiredhimtofollowacourseofphilosophy.
1.Socrateswascondemnedtodeathfor“corruptingtheyouth.”Itwasthe
influencethatSocrates’life,trial,anddeathhaduponPlatothatturned
himtowardalifeofstudyingphilosophy.
2.AfterSocrates’deathPlatoleftAthenstotravelthroughItaly.Onhis
returnhefoundedtheAcademy.Thisinstitutionwasdevotedtoresearch
E andinstructioninphilosophyandthesciences.Plato’slifebecamethat
N
O of,inessence,thefirstaccreditedphilosophyprofessor.Hedevotedhis
E lifetoteachingandguidingtheAcademy.
R
U
T C.AristotlewasastudentofPlatoandeventuallythetutorforAlexander
C
E theGreat.
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1.Helosthisfatheratanearlyageand
wasbrought,attheageof17,to
SOCRATES’ DEATH
Plato’sAcademy,whereheremained
forapproximatelytwentyyears.
Socrateshimselfcarriedoutthe
2.Laterinlife,hefoundedhisown
sentenceofdeathwhenhe
schoolinAthenscalledtheLyceum.
dranktheprescribedhemlock
3.AlthoughastudentofPlato,hedis- potion.Itwasadeaththatcould
agreedwithseveralofPlato’sfun- wellhavebeenavoided.Priorto
damentalideas,likethoseofthe trial,theprosecutorsfully
IdealForms. expectedSocratestoleavethe
jurisdiction.Indeed,hisfriends
D.Plato and Aristotle were extraordinari-
offeredanopportunityforhimto
ly prolific. Both had a wide range of
escapetoThessaly,asugges-
interests and wrote on subjects
tionthatSocratesrejected,
including (among others) meta-
insistinginsteadthatsucha
physics, epistemology, ethics, biology
courseofactionwouldbewrong
and politics. Our lectures will, at dif-
andwoulddenyrespectfordue
ferent times, touch on all these sub-
processofthelaw.Atthetrial
jects. In beginning our discussion, we
itself,Socratesshowedhiscon-
will look first at the works of Plato.
temptfortheprocessbyonly
II.AnIntroductiontoPlato’sWork defendinghimselfthroughanar-
A.Plato wrote 26 dramatic texts—his rationofthefactsofhislife
Dialogues—that have become the ratherthanaddressingthe
foundations of the history of issuesathand.Hisdeathhas
Western philosophy. sometimesbeencharacterized
asasuicideconsideringthe
B.Plato’sDialoguesarewritteninadra- circumstancessurrounding
maticorpoeticstylethatismimetic theevent.
(seesidebaronpage8).Hisactual
voiceneverappearsdirectlyinthese
dialogues;allofhiswordsandideas
areexpressedthroughthecharacters
hecreatesintheseworks.DialogueisaninstrumentinPlato’shands.
AswithShakespeare,itisforthereadertodetermine,withinthecontext
ofanoverallunderstandingoftheworkandofthecharacters,whatmay
havebeenPlato’sactualviews.
Summary:
Inordertocomprehendwhoweareashumanbeings,itmayhelpusto
understandtheworkandthoughtofPlatoandSocrates.Platomayhave
beenanearlyphilosopher,buthewasnotaprimitivephilosopher.Inhisdia-
loguesSocrates“plays”themaincharacter,andasthischaracter,encour-
agesustoconsidertwoimportantpoints:
1.Truewisdomistherecognitionthatoneisnotwise.
2.A devotion to philosophy may take the form of joyful, almost erotic
play; the word philosophy means love of wisdom.
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FOR GREATER UNDERSTANDING
(cid:1)
Questions
1.HowisreadingPlatoalwaysaninterpretiveendeavor?
2.ForwhatreasonsisreadingPlatoadifficultandcomplextask?
3.AsSocratesplayssuchavitalcharacterintheDialogues,isitpossibleto
assumethatPlatointendedthe“character”ofSocratestobehis
spokesperson?
4.WouldPlato’swritingbeasrichifheusedhisownvoiceinsteadofthat
ofSocrates?
5.Whatisthepointofthepropositionthat“truewisdom”istherecognition
thatoneisnotwise?
Suggested Reading
Xenophon.ConversationsofSocrates.NewYork:Penguin,1990.
Other Books of Interest
Bodeus,Richard.AristotleandtheTheologyoftheLivingImmortals.Albany,
NY:StateUniversityofNewYorkPress,2000.
Brickhouse,ThomasC.,andNicholasD.Smith.Plato’sSocrates.Oxford:
OxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,1996.
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Lecture2:
TheEuthyphro:
TheVirtueofHoliness
TheSuggested ReadingforthislectureisPlato’sTheDialoguesof
Plato,Volume1:Euthyphro,Apology,Crito,Meno,Gorgias,Menexenus
(translatedbyR.E.Allen).
TheEuthyphroisanearlydialogueofPlato’sthatconcernsitselfwiththe
virtueof“holiness.”Likeallthedialoguesitispresentedasadramaticscene
withcharacters.InthiscasethecharactersrepresentedareSocratesand
Euthyphro.Thedialoguetakesplaceonthestepsofthecourthousewhere
Socratesisabouttobetried.Euthyphroispresentatthecourttoprosecute
hisfather,whohebelievesisresponsibleforthedeathofoneofhislaborers.
Considerthis...
1.Whatdoes“Euthyphro”meaninGreek?
2.WhydoesSocratesobjecttoEuthyphro’saccountsofholiness?
I.TheSubjectMatteroftheEuthyphro
A.TheEuthyphroportraysSocratesandEuthyphroattemptingtounder-
standthenatureofpietyorholiness.
B.TheconversationbetweenSocratesandEuthyphrooccursbecause
Euthyphroclaimstohaveanexpertknowledgeconcerningpiety,thatis,an
understandingofwhatthegodswouldrequireofsomeoneinhisposition.
C.It’sthatknowledgethatSocrates,himselfontrialforbeingunholy,asks
Euthyphrototeachhim(us)about.
II.SomeFeaturesoftheEuthyphroCharacteristicofEarly
PlatonicDialogue
A.Thedialogueisdevotedtothesearchforthedefinitionormeaningofa
conceptorentitysuchasholinessorpiety.
B.Euthyphrooffersaseriesofdefinitionsdesignedtoarticulatethedefinition.
C.Socrates,ontheotherhand,questionsEuthyphro’ssuggestionsand
cross-examineshisclaimstoknowledge.Noneofhisdefinitionsseem
satisfyingtoSocrates.Sononeworksinthesenseofwithstandingthe
questionsthatSocratesposes.
D.Theconversationsinthesedialoguesendsaporetically;thatis,they
endwithnoapparentsolutiontothequestionraised.
III. Some Further Thoughts About These Features
A.We might wonder how Socrates can criticize Euthyphro’s suggested
definitions if he doesn’t already know the nature of piety. This sug-
gests that they’re not looking for definition in an ordinary sense of the
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