Greetings all,
This is more of a free flowing exploration of ideas from my abstract. Spoiler alert. In other news, I am aware that we are reading Aristotle, but I like Plato more. Favouritism is alive and well.
Plato places Socrates in the middle of several contradictions. He is a pauper welcomed by aristocrats, is ugly but loved by youths, and is the wisest man who claims to know nothing. Another tension in which we see him is between silence and company.
Socrates obviously endorses communion and company when philosophizing. Not only does the dialectic nature of Plato's writing intimate this, but Socrates himself is always presented as being among a group when travelling--or at the very least, not far away from one of his interoculars. Philosophy as much as Socrates must then depend on companionship to get by.
Socrates has another side, however. While he is not shown to be alone many times, Socrates does institute a sort of isolation when necessary.The Symposium shows him standing outside the doors of the party in a trance, and when questioned where he is and what he is doing, Socrates' companion mentions that he is prone to such trances.
Another time Socrates separates himself from the conversation is to be found in the Phaedo. Here, Socrates is not free to leave, but does take a long time before replying to Cebes. He seems to be imposing upon himself a level of isolation and reflection.
Why he does this is up for much debate. Perhaps he is merely taking a moment to gather his thoughts; even the quick witted Socrates cannot always have the answers right on hand. Maybe he views philosophy as organic and prioritises that above whatever else he is doing by taking the time to fully explore a thought as it comes to him. Perhaps still, he is talking to his daemon. Socrates could be about to do or say something against the divine will of the gods, and his daemon is reproaching him. Plato may be using this pause as a dramatic devise to either attract the readers attention, or suggest chewing the cud--to borrow from Nietzsche--of a particular idea either preceding or succeeding the action.
Could it be that Socrates is simply balancing contemplation and conversation? If philosophy is to be a way of life in the most holistic way, then it must encompass both the communal and the private. This might be Plato's only way of insinuating that idea in his dialogue format.
All of this an more--or less--I intend to grapple with in my essay.
I like this very much!
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