Table Of ContentThe Bleak Political Implications
of Socratic Religion
AlsobyShadiaB.Drury
AquinasandModernity:TheLostPromiseofNaturalLaw(2008)
ThePoliticalIdeasofLeoStrauss(UpdatedEdition,2005)
TerrorandCivilization:Christianity,PoliticsandtheWesternPsyche(2004)
LeoStraussandtheAmericanRight(1998)
KojèveandtheRootsofPostmodernPolitics(1994)
ChauvinismoftheWest(inprogress)
ShadiaB.Drury
The Bleak Political
Implications
of Socratic Religion
ShadiaB.Drury
DepartmentofPhilosophy&ClassicsandDepartmentofPolitics
andInternationalStudies
UniversityofRegina
Regina,Saskatchewan,Canada
ISBN978-3-319-54441-0 ISBN978-3-319-54442-7(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-54442-7
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REFACE
Eversincehisdeathbyhemlockin399BCE,Socrateshasbeenlionizedas
a fount of wisdom, virtue, and intellectual freedom—a whirlwind of
insight whose philosophical prodding thrust humanity to unprecedented
intellectual heights as well as spiritual depths. By subjecting conventional
opinions to the tribunal of reason, he forced the West to transcend the
puerile polytheism of Homer in favor of a moral vision that was loftier,
moreadvanced,andmoresublime.Inthemostshamefulandcowardlyact
imaginable, Socrates was unjustly condemned to death by an ignorant
Athenian mob, harboring a venomous aversion to his genius and his
goodness. The death of Socrates was a backlash against the Greek
Enlightenment by men who were eager to preserve the childish myths
and superstitions of their society. However, they miscalculated, and lived
toregrettheirdastardlydeed:Socratesdiedamartyrfortruth,reason,and
morality.WiththeindispensablehelpofPlato,hebequeathedtotheWest
a new and more responsible conception of the self, a new and more
sophisticated conception of the good, and a new and more “advanced”
conceptionofthedivine.Sothestorygoes.ThisisthelegendofSocrates,
createdbyPlato(andechoedthroughtheages)thatthisbooksetsoutto
challenge.
ThosewhofollowPlatoinvalorizingSocrateshaveneverexplainedthe
supremehistoricalenigmathatisconcealedbythelegend.Howcanasage
who was pious and good be so closely associated with a treasonous
opportunist such as Alcibiades who betrayed his city and contributed to
her defeat in the Peloponnesian War? How can a sage who preached the
supremevalueofthemorallife,andtheimportanceofcaringforthesoul,
vii
viii PREFACE
haveamonghismostintimatestudentsandfriendsthelikesofCritiasand
Charmides,thebloodthirstyleadersoftheThirtyTyrantswholauncheda
reignofterrorinAthensafterherdefeatinthePeloponnesianWar?How
can these criminal thugs (both relatives of Plato) appear in the dialogues
without a word about the dastardly role they played in the history of
Athens?
It cannot be irrelevant to discover that the closest associates of a man
whodedicatedhislifetothemoralimprovementofthesoulwereguiltyof
criminal treachery and wickedness on a grand scale. It is not simply the
case that some of the students of Socrates suffered from the vices that
afflict ordinary mortals. No. Men such as Alcibiades surpassed ordinary
humanity in ambition, cunning, lust, and self-absorption. Men such as
CritiasandCharmidessurpassedalltyrantsknowntoancienthistoriansin
cruelty, violence, and murderous brutality. So, it is not simply that
Socrates failed to teach virtue. The source of the mystery is that he failed
sospectacularly.Anyone whoiswillingtoattendto thehistoricalfactsof
the case will soon realize that Plato’s legend cannot begin to explain this
enigma.Onthecontrary,Plato’sdialoguesunwittinglylegitimizethecase
for the prosecution. When the religious and political ideas that Plato
attributes to Socrates are taken together, it is easy to see how they could
inspire politicalextremism.
Thepurposeofthisbookistwofold.First,tomakesenseofthecasefor
the prosecution by showing that Plato’s legend is divorced from the
historical events surrounding the trial. The incriminating evidence—poli-
ticalaswellasreligiousisoverwhelming,andPlato’sdefenseisinadequate.
Indeed, Plato’s own dialogues legitimize the case for the prosecution,
becausethetotalitarianideasofPlato’slaterdialoguescannotbeseparated
from the ideas attributed to Socrates in the early dialogues—for they are
thelogicalconsequencesofSocraticideas.Itisnotdifficulttoseehowthe
ardor, intolerance, and intemperance of these ideas could incite political
violenceandextremism.
ThesecondobjectiveofthisbookistotacklePlato’sdefenseonitsown
terms. Plato’s defense of Socrates fails to address the issues head on.
Instead, Plato turns the trial into a contest of ideas. He defends Socrates
by arguing that the wisdom of Socrates was infinitely superior to the
political naiveté andreligious puerility of his contemporaries. I will argue
that Plato’s critique of Homer and the tragic poets is untenable. Their
religious,moral,andpoliticalperspectivescontainadegreeofsobrietyand
moderation that have been eclipsed by Socratic innovations. It is my
PREFACE ix
contention that the legend that Plato has created around Socrates has
succeeded only because the ideas that Plato attributes to Socrates have
triumphed in the history of the West. The point of this book is to argue
thatthistriumph hasbeen unfortunate anddeleterious.
Section 1, “The Political Case Against Socrates,” examines the histor-
ical context in which Socrates is tried and convicted. Socrates was not
prosecuted because he disagreed with the democratic principles of the
regime. He was not killed by the envy and resentment of the democratic
mob.HewasprosecutedbecausehewastheteacherofAlcibiades,Critias,
and Charmides. Three men who played leading roles in the defeat of
Athens in the Peloponnesian War, the oligarchic coup of 404 BCE, and
the reign of terror that followed. The prosecution was not motivated so
much by revenge, as by fear for the future of Athens, in view of his
radicalizinginfluenceand itspotentiallycalamitous results.
Section 2, “The Religious Case Against Socrates,” examines the
charge of impiety in the context of Greek civil religion. Impiety is
generallyconnectedtoactions,andisthereforedistinctfrombothathe-
ism and heresy. Were it not for the fact that members of his inner circle
wereaccusedandconvictedofdisfiguringtheHerms(statuesofthegod
Hermes) and profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries in 415 BCE, the reli-
gious innovations of Socrates might have been treated with neglect.
However,inviewofwhathastranspired,thesuspicionthathisreligious
teachingincitedtheviolenceandtreacheryofthenotoriousmembersof
the Socratic circle was only natural. The key to understanding the reli-
gious ideas of Socrates is Plato’s Euthyphro, where the radically subver-
sive Socratic conception of piety is revealed. Equally important is the
influence of Orphism—the earliest of the mystery religions. The fact is
that the religious ideas of Socrates have triumphed so completely in the
West that it is difficult to see how lethal that triumph has been, and
continues to be.
Section 3, “The Defense,” focuses on those aspects of Plato and
Xenophon’sdefenseofSocratesthatarerelevanttothehistoricalcircum-
stances of the trial: the edict of the Thirty Tyrants, the case of Leon of
Salamis, the case of the generals in the battle of Arginusae, Socrates’
refusal to escape, and more. Despite the inadequacy of Plato’s Apology,
the legend of Socrates has not diminished thanks to the beguiling tropes
thatPlatohasusedtocementthelegendoftheinnocentsagepersecuted
bythemob—theparableoftheship,themedicalanalogy,thecareofthe
soul,the Socratic paradox—areall seriously flawed.
x PREFACE
Section 4, “How Plato Legitimizes the Case for the Prosecution,”
explains how reading Plato’s dialogues—especially the Symposium,
Protagoras, and Laws—in light of the historical facts, allows us to see the
legitimacyofthecasefortheprosecution.Scholarshavelongassumedthat
there is a dichotomy between the early dialogues influenced by Socrates,
andthelaterdialoguesinwhichPlatoexpresseshisownideas—ideasthat
are supposedly at odds with Socrates. It follows that the early dialogues
provide a portrait of the historical Socrates, while the late dialogues
indicate that Plato’s ideas have parted company with the teacher of his
youth. Contrary to this view, I hope to show that there is a seamless fit
between the early and later dialogues. The repressive authoritarianism of
PlatointheLawsfollowslogicallyfromtheideasofSocratesaspresented
in the early dialogues. Far from being a betrayal of the Socratic spirit, as
some have maintained, Plato’s repressive authoritarianism is a logical
consequence of the wedding of Socratic religion and politics. After all, it
wasthereligionofSocratesthatwasmademandatoryonpainofdeathin
the Laws.
Section5,“Plato’sCritiqueofHomerRepudiated,”challengeswhatis
perhaps Plato’s most powerful defense of Socrates—the defense that has
hadthegreatestimpactonposterity.AccordingtoPlato,Socrateswasthe
best and wisest man of his time, and silencing him was silencing the true
and the good. Even if Socrates rejected the gods of the city, so what?
These Homeric gods were puerile and contemptible—based on lies that
had morally deleterious effects. This chapter highlights the merits of
Homeric religion that were eclipsed by the historical triumph of Socratic
ideas. I argue that the myths of Homer are superior to the Orphicmyths
to which SocratesandPlato were committed.
Section 6, “The Tragic Poets Defended,” recognizes that the Socratic
objectiontothetragicpoetsisphilosophical.IrejecttheHegelianviewof
tragedy as a conflict between equally valid moral claims. I also reject the
related claimthatSocrates isa tragic figure. Instead,I defendthe viewof
tragedyasinnocentsufferingagainsttheSocraticcontentionthatnoharm
can come to a just man. Using Sophocles’ Philoctetes, I illustrate why the
portrait of the just man provided by Sophocles is both morally and
intellectually superior to the Platonic ideal in which Socrates is the para-
digm of thejustman.
InSection7,“SocraticMischief,”Icataloguethedetrimentaleffectsof
Socraticreligionanalyzedinthebook—themorallydestructiveburdenof
guilt,therepressiveauthoritarianism,theeclipseofpluralism,thealliance
