Plato's Interconnected Questions
I wanted to delve into the "trinity" of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, particularly focusing on Plato's philosophical system and method of questioning.
To start, Socrates was condemned to death in 399 BC. After Socrates' death, Plato carried forward the Socratic spirit of perpetual questioning, founding an academic institution that would become the Academy. It's important to note that Socrates himself did not create any formal school or institution. According to Socrates, he was not imparting knowledge in a didactic manner but simply engaging in inquiry, posing questions, and seeking understanding through dialogue.
However, Socrates did have certain core doctrines, such as the idea that the only true harm is harm to the soul and that the only injustice is anything that harms the soul. For Socrates, as long as one's soul is not harmed, one is good.
Plato, influenced by Socrates, went on to establish the Academy and developed a philosophical system that explored a wide range of interconnected questions. He sought to create a structured system rooted in Socratic questioning. His dialogues, such as The Republic, pose fundamental philosophical questions, many of which remain central to philosophy today. Plato's questions include: What is the right kind of life? What is the ideal society? What is knowledge, and how is it attained? What is the fundamental nature of reality?
These questions are not isolated; rather, they are interconnected, each depending on others. Plato believed that the answers to these questions must also be interconnected. For example, to understand the nature of reality, one might first need to understand knowledge itself. Plato’s method involves examining each question in a particular order, with the understanding that to answer one, you often need answers to several others. Thus, his philosophical system builds on a network of questions and answers, each supporting the others.
In this context, Plato was using Socrates' approach—continuous questioning—but advancing it in a systematic and academic way.
Now, concerning the "trinity" of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle: Socrates did not create an institution, but both Plato and Aristotle did. Socrates influenced Plato, and Plato, in turn, influenced Aristotle. Plato’s Academy would go on to shape Aristotle's thinking, although Aristotle later diverged significantly in his own philosophical pursuits.
On Plato himself: he came from a wealthy, aristocratic family and was generally apolitical in Athens. He believed that states should ideally be governed by philosopher-kings. The one exception to his avoidance of politics was his advisory role to the government of Syracuse, which he accepted because the ruler of Syracuse admired his philosophy. This provided an opportunity for Plato to apply his philosophical ideas to governance. Many of the characters in Plato’s dialogues are his own relatives or other influential Athenians, reflecting his connection to an elite social circle.
Plato aimed to create a comprehensive philosophical system that addressed nearly all the questions we still ask today. It is often said, though attributed to different philosophers, that "all of philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato." Plato's goal was to weave together these fundamental, pivotal questions into a coherent system, where answering one often required answering a set of sub-questions first. This systematic approach can be seen in his examination of essential questions such as: What is the ideal life? What is the ideal society? What constitutes knowledge, and how is it attained? And what is the true nature of reality?
To sum up, Plato was heavily influenced by Socrates' method of inquiry, and he sought to formalize it into a structured philosophical system. In future discussions, I will delve into specific questions and answers that emerge from Plato’s dialogues, such as The Republic, as well as explore Aristotle's work. By engaging with Plato’s and Aristotle’s writings, we gain insights into their philosophical systems and can trace the foundational questions that still shape philosophical thought today.
