Tag: Alcibiades I
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2,497 words
Part 6 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, Part 7 here)
The final part of the Alcibiades I deals with the self and self-knowledge. Most ancient commentators held that this discussion is the core of the dialogue.
From Self-Cultivation to Self-Knowledge
Socrates has finally gotten Alcibiades to admit that he needs to pursue self-cultivation. But what is self-cultivation? We must answer that question lest we mistakenly cultivate something other than ourselves. (more…)
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1,887 words
Part 5 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 6 here)
In our previous installment, we examined the speech Socrates made to break Alcibiades out of his complacency and spur him to educate and cultivate himself if he wishes to attain world renown.
Back to Dialogue
To borrow a term from classical music, the Alcibiades I has a “sonata” form: ABA. The first part (A1) consists of Socrates’ initial dialogue with Alcibiades. Part B is the speech about the Persian and Spartan queens. The third part (A2) is a return to the dialogue form. Socrates and Alcibiades first return to the idea of justice. Then they discuss self-knowledge. (more…)
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2,744 words
Part 4 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 5 here)
In our previous installment, Socrates has convinced Alcibiades that he is ignorant of justice. Therefore, he should not go into politics until he is educated. But Socrates undermines his argument by pointing out that none of the other eminent Athenians, even Pericles himself, knows what justice is. From this, Alcibiades concludes that if his rivals for power are equally ignorant, he has no need to waste time on education, because he is confident that he can beat them based on his superior nature. (more…)
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Part 3 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 4 here)
In the second part of this series, Socrates shows Alcibiades that he doesn’t know what justice is, so he should not be too eager to get involved in politics before he gets an education. But Alcibiades thinks he’s found a way around Socrates’ argument. Granted, he doesn’t know what justice is. But politics doesn’t really deal with justice (δικαιοσύνη). It deals with the expedient or advantageous (συμφέροντα). (more…)
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Part 2 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 3 here)
In the first part of this series, Socrates accuses Alcibiades of wanting to be a tyrant and argues that if he wishes to fulfill this ambition, he must study philosophy. Alcibiades won’t admit that he aspires to be a tyrant, but “if” he did, he wants to know what Socrates would teach him. (more…)
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2,700 words
Part 1 of 7 (Part 2 here)
Author’s Note: I am typing up and editing my lecture notes on Plato’s Alcibiades I and Gorgias to incorporate them into a new book tentatively entitled Tyranny and Wisdom: An Introduction to Platonic Philosophy. The Phoenician neoplatonist philosopher Iamblichus (c. 245–c. 325) placed the Alcibiades I first and the Gorgias second in his curriculum of Plato’s dialogues, and with good reason, for together they constitute an excellent introduction to Socratic moral and political philosophy.