History of philosophy & Plato’s Apology

Lecture 4

PHIL 1000 Introduction to Philosophy

Dr. Robert Stufflebeam Department of Philosophy

The University of New Orleans

Four periods n  History of Western philosophy can be

divided into four periods: Ancient Medieval Modern Contemporary

Ancient philosophy n  6th century BCE - 4th century CE

n  Pre-Socratics (600 - 400 BCE) n  The Milesians n  Pythagoras (570 - 495 BCE) n  Xenophanes (570 - 470 BCE) n  Anaxagoras (500 - 428 BCE) n  Sophists

n  Socrates (470 - 399 BCE) n  Plato (429 - 347 BCE) n  Aristotle (384 - 322 BCE) n  Stoics: Marcus Aurelius (120 -180 CE) n  St. Augustine (354 - 430)

Medieval philosophy n  Especially 11th - 14th centuries

n  St. Anselm (1033 -1109) n  Islamic & Jewish philosophers n  St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274) n  William of Ockham (1285 - 1349) n  Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)

n  Thomas Hobbs (1588 - 1679)

Modern philosophy n  Especially 17th - 18th centuries

n  Rationalism n  Rene Descartes (1596-1650) n  Benedictus Spinoza (1632-1677) n  Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716)

n  Empiricism n  John Locke (1632-1704) n  Bishop George Berkeley (1685 - 1753) n  David Hume (1711 - 1776):

n  Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) n  G.W.F. Hegel (1770 - 1831)

Contemporary philosophy n  19th century - present

n  Continental philosophy

n  Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855): Danish n  Karl Marx (1818-1883): German n  Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900): German n  Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) German n  Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980): French n  Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986): French n  Neo-Marxism n  Deconstructionism n  Post-structuralism n  Feminism

Contemporary philosophy n  19th century - present

n  Anglo-American philosophy

n  John Stuart Mill (1806-1873): British n  William James (1842-1910): American n  Bertrand Russell (1872-1970): British n  Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1959): Austrian n  Gilbert Ryle (1900 - 1976): British n  Karl Popper (1902 - 1994) Austrian-British n  W. V. O. Quine (1908 - 2000): American n  John Searle (1932 - ): American

Socrates (470 - 399 BCE) n  wrote nothing n  teacher of Plato n  had disdain for empirical enquiry n  focused on universals (justice, goodness, etc.)

and the improvement of the soul n  father of moral philosophy n  the Socratic method (a.k.a. “dialectic” by Plato):

method of discovering (or “remembering”) a truth already within one’s examinee by skillful use of questions-and-answers

n  Socrates considered himself the “midwife to truth”

Plato (429 - 347 BCE) n  father of idealism, rationalism, and social-

political philosophy n  prolific writer (“dialogues”) n  founded The Academy c385 BCE

n  the prototype of all Western U’s n  its subjects were the quadrivium

[Latin]: geometry, mathematics, astronomy, and harmony, as well as Platonism and dialectic

n  Aristotle studied there for 20 yrs n  the academy was destroyed in 529

CE by the Christian Emperor Justinian (900 yrs!)

n  divine illumination via dialectic

Reading philosophy n  Take a look at the study questions. n  Be an active reader

n  Note answers to study questions n  Note major definitions, claims, evidence. n  Note your questions. n  Essay topic?

n  Re-read.

The Apology n  Format (dialogue) n  Where? When?

n  Athens (399 BCE) n  “pure democracy” n  501 judges/jury

n  Who is on trial? n  Socrates. Plato was present. n  70 years old; first time in court n  The piece begins after the accusers have made

their case. n  he will tell the truth

Accusers n  Who were his accusers?

n  There are two “classes” of accusers n  2nd: Current: Meletus, Anytus, Lycon

n  Charges: (1) corrupting the youth (2) impiety

n  1st: Historical: Slanderers (Aristophanes, etc.) n  Charges: “Socrates is an evil-doer …” (p. 7).

n  This class concerns him the most. n  He deals with their charges first.

n  Defense

n  “I have nothing to do with physical speculations” (p. 7).

n  ~teacher n  ~take money n  ~sophist

n  Origin?

Origin n  Chaerephon asked the Delphi oracle if there

was anyone wiser than Socrates; to which the oracle said . . . .?

n  What does Socrates do?

n  “What can the god mean? … I know that I have no wisdom, great or small” (p. 8).

n  He had a “religious duty” to find out.

Making enemies n  Politicians

n  “When I began to talk with him …” (p. 8) n  “I neither know nor think I know” (p. 9)

n  Poets n  “not by wisdom to poets write poetry, but by a sort

of genius and inspiration” (p. 9).

n  Artisans (skilled craftsmen) n  “because they were good workmen they thought

that they also know all sorts of high matters” (p. 9).

His interpretation n  “He, O men, is the wisest who, like

Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing” (p. 9).

n  Religious duty

His students n  How did his followers make more enemies of

Socrates?

n  “they like to hear the pretenders examined, and they often imitate me, and proceed to exam others” (p. 9).

n  “there are plenty of persons, as they quickly discover, who think that they know something, but really know little or nothing” (pp. 9-10)

n  They become angry; repeat “ready-made” charges;

n  “I cannot expect to get rid of such a mass of calumny all in a moment. … Hence has arisen the prejudice against me” (p. 10).

2nd class of accusers n  “I have said enough in my defense against

the first class of my accusers; I turn to the second class” (p. 10).

n  Each represents a group he alienated:

n  Meletus: Poets n  Anytus: Politicians & Artisans n  Lycon: Rhetoricians

Socrates’ defense n  Questions Meletus using his method

n  Re: Charge 1: Corrupting the youth

n  What does Meletus say?

n  EVERYONE in Athens improves and elevates the youth EXCEPT Socrates (p. 10).

n  Socrates intentionally corrupts the youth.

Socrates’ defense n  Re: Charge 2: Impiety

n  What does Meletus say?

n  Socrates is an atheist and teaches atheism (p. 11)

n  Socrates’ response? (p. 12)

n  Contradiction n  Inconsistency

Socrates’ defense n  Re: Charge 2: Impiety

n  Religious duty n  “God orders me to fulfill the philosopher’s mission of searching

into myself and other men” (p. 13). n  “I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of

philosophy … greatest improvement of the soul … virtue” (p. 13).

n  “I shall never alter my ways, not even if I have to die many times”

n  “gadfly”!!

n  Does NOT fear death

Guilty! n  281 guilty / 220 not guilty

n  31 votes shy

n  Accusers recommend death

n  What does Socrates recommend?

Sentencing phase n  Full room and board at the state

retirement home (p. 15). n  No imprisonment. n  No fine (no money). n  No exile. n  No stopping. n  OK, small fine. 1 …. 30 minae. (p. 16)

The sentence n  DEATH!

n  360 death / 141 no death n  Includes 71 people who voted to acquit!

n  Does not fear death.

n  Final favor.