Platonic Piety: Philosophy and Ritual in Fourth-Century Athens

283 Pages·1990·18.904 MB·English

by  Michael L. Morgan

PLATONIC PIETY

MICHAEL L. MORGAN
Platonic Piety
PHILOSOPHY AND RITUAL IN
FOURTH-CENTURY ATHENS
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS New Haven & London
Published with assistance from the Morgan, Michael L., 1944-
foundation established in memory of Platonic piety : philosophy and
Philip Hamilton McMillan of the Class ritual in fourth-century Athens I
of 1894, Yale College. Michael L. Morgan
p. cm.
Copyright© 1990 by Yale University. Includes bibliographical references.
All rights reserved.
ISBN 0-300-04517-4 (alk. paper)
This book may not be reproduced, in
1. Plato-Religion. 2. Athens
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Religion. 4. Mysteries, Religious.
copying permitted by Sections rn7 and
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rn8 of the U.S. Copyright Law and
B398.R4M67 1990 89-38418
except by reviewers for the public
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Designed by Richard Hendel.
durability of the Committee on
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!098765432
In memory of
Lillian and Maurey Mor9an

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE
Socratic Piety as Plato Saw It 7
CHAPTER TWO
Religion, Politics, and Inquiry in the Meno 32
CHAPTER THREE
Philosophy and the Language of Ecstasy in the Phaedo 55
CHAPTER FOUR
Philosophy, Desire, and the Mysteries in the Symposium 80
CHAPTER FIVE
Education, Philosophy, and History in the Republic 100
CHAPTER SIX
Philosophical Madness and Political Rhetoric in the Phaedrus 158
Conclusion 188
Notes 193
Selected Bibliography 247
Index 263
vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
About a dozen years ago I decided that Plato's metaphysics and
epistemology should be understood within the framework of his
treatment of inquiry and learning. Some years later I came to think
that historians of philosophy should not forget historical context,
and the idea occurred to me that Greek ecstatic ritual and mystery
cults might provide a helpful vehicle for understanding Plato's
thought and its place in fourth-century Athenian life. I wrote a draft
of the first chapter of this book, and the project was born.
Thanks to the helpful comments of Walter Burkert, Quentin Skin
ner, Robert Parker, Tony Long, Myles Burnyeat, James Beckman,
and several others, I revised that initial chapter again and again
until its treatment of Plato's conception of Socratic piety began to
seem plausible and even captivating. Walter Burkert and Albert
Henrichs kindly provided me with offprints or copies of many of
their important essays; James Beckman sent me a copy of his out
of-print book on Socrates and religion. The remaining chapters fol
lowed-too long, too bulky, and with too many digressions. I want
to thank Robert Parker, Richard Kraut, Giovanni Ferrari, Alexander
Nehamas, David Reeve, and Quentin Skinner for reading the whole
manuscript or large parts of it and for encouraging and guiding me,
as I worked on revision after revision. I hope that the current prod
uct is more concise, clearer, and better; they tried to make it so,
and I can only hope that I have succeeded. I would also like to
thank Dan Richardson for his help with the proofreading and prep
aration of the index.
Throughout the process Quentin Skinner, Richard Kraut, and
Alexander Nehamas have been good friends and provided reassur
ance when I had doubts. I owe old debts to Reg Allen, Alan Bowen,
John Ackrill, David Gallop, Ken Seeskin, Paul Eisenberg, Julia An
nas, and Nick White. Chuck Taylor and I enjoyed an excellent
lunch together in Montreal a few years ago at a time when I des
perately needed to try to explain to someone what I was doing; he
ix
x Acknowledgments
was a patient, receptive, if critical audience. Over the years I have
learned a great deal from books and articles of Nick White, Terry
Irwin, and Gregory Vlastos. At times I conceive of this book as my
attempt to do for the Plato of the middle dialogues what Quentin
Skinner, Jim Tully, and others have done for early modern political
thought; I would be pleased if they thought that I had succeeded,
if only in a small way.
This book could certainly never have been written without the
special friendship of Emil Fackenheim. It is a book about humility
and aspiration, resignation and hope, despair and joy, the deep po
larities of religious and philosophical life. Emil has taught me a
great deal about these matters, as teacher, friend, and more. I shall
never be able to thank him enough.
My greatest debts and deepest love go to Aud, Deb, and Sara.
Together with our two cats, Tammy and Blaze, they remind me,
when I am inclined to forget, that intellectual aspiration takes place
in real life and flourishes best when the latter does.