Socrates and Plato: Philosophy, Ethics, and the Soul
Socrates: Method and Intellectual Morality
Socrates, the Athenian, born in 470 BC, was a great critic of the Sophists. He was concerned about the moral vacuum into which the polis of Athens fell because of infighting. A critic of the superficial rhetoric of the Sophists, he advocated for direct dialogue as a philosophical method. His teacher was Archelaus. He left no writings of his own. What we know of him comes from his disciples and contemporaries. He was accused of impiety, of introducing new gods, and of corrupting the youth. He was convicted and sentenced to death (this process is described in the Platonic dialogue “Apology of Socrates”). He died in Athens in 399 BC. He had in common with the Sophists the time period, issues, and political concerns, as well as social and ethical issues.
Facing the Sophist’s adequacy, he continued rigorous, free education and was concerned about the issue of skepticism and relativism. Unlike the Sophists, he believed there is absolute and universal truth. To get to the truth, one must investigate it within ourselves, in our soul, as stated in the inscription of the Oracle of Delphi: “Know thyself.” The universal concept, the effectiveness of things, the true self, and the possibility of knowledge is within us.
To achieve this knowledge, Socrates proposed the Mayeutic method, a dialectic with three important steps:
- Irony: Recognition of one’s ignorance.
- Mayeutica: Inner search; an exercise in introspection.
- Definition: Conclusion; clarification of the problem; an inductive exercise from the particular to the general.
Socrates’ Epic Theory
Socrates’ epic theory is considered a finalist, eudemonistic, and deterministic. This last feature is given by the conditioning of human behavior based on their knowledge and learning: one who is wise and can discover the good cannot fail to act accordingly.
Intellectualism in Socrates and Morality
- Man is the great center of the author, and regarding man, the most important issue is morality. How should a man behave? How should he act to be happy?
- True wisdom does not come from outside. The truth is within us, and we must be relentless about it. We must deepen within ourselves and develop an exercise in introspection.
- Intellectualism identifies moral virtue with knowledge. He who is virtuous knows how to do good. The sage is good. He who does evil is not bad, but ignorant.
The Socratic Paradox
A man who is unjust, knowing that he is, is being more just than the one who is ignorant and acts unjustly out of ignorance.
Plato’s Fundamental Philosophical Problems
- Metaphysical: The scene of things, being, the true reality, true knowledge, etc.
- Anthropological: Man, immortality, virtue, behavior, and ethics.
- Political: Plato’s principal philosophical concern: justice, how society should be, political forms, and who should govern.
Plato’s Supersensible World
The idea of good is the idea of ideas. It is the light that illuminates everything, the supreme reality, the maximum true being. Nothing makes sense without the idea of good, as this allows the rest of the ideas to be what they are, at the same time being responsible for the existence of the material world. Plato establishes a hierarchy of ideas. Not all ideas have equal value. Plato presents a pyramidal structure. At the top is the idea of good. Then other ideas. For the philosopher, true wisdom is in the cognitive possession of these three supreme ideas (Good, Beauty, and Justice). The task of the human soul will be to reach the truth of the intelligible world of ideas. The philosopher’s mission will then be to get man out of appearance (the sensible world) and lead him to the true being of things (the intelligible world). (Reference to the Myth of the Cave in The Republic).
Plato’s Theory of Knowledge
With respect to knowledge, Plato maintains a dualistic distinction between two sources of knowledge (like Parmenides):
- Senses: Provide sensible knowledge, which is false and misleading. This knowledge is divided into two levels:
- Imagination (Eikasia): Knowledge of the appearance of images.
- Belief (Pistis): Knowledge of appearance or image.
- Reason: Enables true knowledge (wisdom, episteme) and is divided into two levels:
- Discursive Reason (Dianoia): Knowledge of mathematical entities.
- Intelligence (Noesis): Knowledge of ideas; science.
The senses are located in the body, and reason is in the soul. Plato rejects knowledge based on the senses and supports intelligible knowledge that appeals to reason.
Plato’s Anthropology
Plato’s concept of man is rich and complex. Man is a unit composed of body and soul. Again we see dualism. This union is accidental (like that which occurs between a rider and a horse, it has a beginning and an end). This Platonic conception has a strong influence on Western anthropology and Christian doctrine.
- Body: It is the prison of the soul. It is an evil, a heavy burden from which the soul must be released. The body forces the soul to lean on passions and material possessions.
- Soul: It is eternally superior to the body. It is our self, the real man, the true human essence. It is the true self. Man knows the truth thanks to the reason that lies in the soul. It belongs to the intelligible world and was ordered by the Demiurge, modeled on the ideas and from chaotic matter.
Tripartite Division of the Human Soul
- Rational Soul: Located in the brain, it is of divine nature. It is moral, and through it, we know the truth of the intelligible world of ideas.
- Irascible Soul: Located in the chest, it is a source of noble passions (hope, anger, etc.). It is mortal (thymos).
- Concupiscible Soul: Located in the lower abdomen, it is mortal. It is a source of vile passions (greed, sensuality, etc.) (epithymia).
This tripartite division is presented by Plato in the dialogue Phaedrus, particularly through the Myth of the Winged Chariot. This classification is connected by the philosopher with his design of ethics (virtue) and politics. The soul comes from the intelligible world, and it is already provided with ideas. These are forgotten when the soul drops (Myth of the Winged Chariot) into the human body. It is in earthly life when the soul frequently remembers the existence of ideas, from the contemplation of sensible reality.
Note: The fact of how Plato used myths is still at least a teaching method.