Platonism

The Basics

Unlike the Sophists, Platonists (taking the name from Plato, and including any of his followers…assuming there were any, considering the fact that Plato was actually kind of a pompous jerk) upheld the belief that there was an absolute Truth (hence the capital T). There is a Truth that is permanent, objective, ideal, unchangeable, and in itself, persuasive, and governs all things and situations. The major figure in this movement is, of course, Plato, but his teacher Socrates is also highly influential and worth mentioning. Because Plato so adored his teacher Socrates (relationships between teachers and their apprentices were very….close in that time), the two share most ideals. In Platonism, perfect Truth does not exist in our world, but somewhere in the heavens. In this heavenly body, dubbed the noumenal world, there were perfect forms of every object. Everything in our world is a sub-par imitation. We know what and how to imitate these forms because this knowledge was engraved on our souls; it was just a matter of discovering it through philosophical dialogue…as opposed to rhetoric.

Plato believed that rhetoric, as in the art of persuasion and effective speech, was toxic to the soul. He thought it distanced people even further away from the truth. The Sophists’ “Better illusions” and use of poetic language outright disgusted Plato. He much preferred philosophical dialogue or dialectic, inquiry, and long periods of introspection. It wasn’t uncommon to see these Platonists sitting and thinking under trees or debating the meaning of life for hours on end. These activities were supposedly conducive to the acquisition of wisdom.

However, according to Socrates and Plato, not everyone could acquire this wisdom and unearth the knowledge of the soul. They privileged white, landowning males, and those they deemed the most intelligent from that class. Plato referred to himself as the “philosopher King,” charged with the daunting task of bringing the Truth to the people (which roughly translates to bugging the heck out of everyone). Platonists thought that the intellectual salvation of the world could only be achieved if every “philosopher King” bred wildly with random women to produce a super race of really smart babies so eventually, the peons would die out and the super race would repopulate the world (either that or they had really huge libidos, and this is Ancient Greece, after all….). Plato expanded on the principle of absolute Truth in The Allegory of the Cave, which we will discuss shortly.

The Major Players (err “Philosopher Kings”)

Socrates-Plato's teacher. He, like Plato, was very much obsessed with the Truth and finding it. He engaged in long periods of introspection and again, like Plato, spent much of his time pestering random passerby in an attempt to get them to see the light. Still, he greatly influenced Plato, and consequently, Greek society, and (though he would hate to admit it) the rhetorical field.

Plato (duh)- Socrates’ devoted student. Since he worshipped the ground Socrates walked on, they shared the same ideas. He condemned rhetoric fiercely and sought to discover the knowledge of the soul instead. However, not everyone could partake in this introspective mind game, only “Philosopher Kings” like himself, and whoever else he deemed worthy. He is responsible for the theory of the Forms, and the accompanying Allegory of the Cave, but that thing is such a bear, its being relegated to another blog post. I’m sure Plato would be pretty offended if it didn’t have its own blog post anyway. He also wrote other works like Republic, which you might have to read later. Godspeed.

Take Away Points

• These guys DID believe in absolute Truth. In a BIG way.
• DID NOT like rhetoric. They thought it was all sugar-coating and flowery language and ultimately, took you away from the Truth and your own soul. They much preferred “dialectic” and pondering their existence.
• Believed in the existence of the “noumenal world” where perfect Truth and perfect forms existed, and that everything here below is a cheap imitation
• But we have the knowledge engrained in our souls we just have to find it
• Unlike the Sophists, these guys were huge elitists, and thought that only some privileged people had the capacity to reason at their level.
• Plato formed the Allegory of the Cave (see next post)
• Socrates and Plato are jerks.

Don’t worry. Things are going to look a lot less far-fetched and a bit saner eventually, but not before a quick foray into the Allegory of the Cave and the theory of the forms…