Descent of Socrates: Self-Knowledge and Cryptic Nature in the Platonic Dialogues

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Self-Knowledge & Cryptic Nature in the Platonic Dialogues Descent of Socrates Peter Warnek Descent of Socrates Warnek INDIANA INDIANA University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis http://iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796 Cover photo: Zeus and Typhon locked in mortal combat. Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich. Philosophy Since the appearance of Plato’s dialogues, philosophers have been preoccupied with the identity of Socrates and have maintained that successful interpretation of the work hinges upon a clear understanding of what thoughts and ideas can be attributed to him. In Descent of Socrates, Peter Warnek offers a new interpretation of Plato by considering the appearance of Socrates within Plato’s work as a philosophical question. Warnek reads the dialogues as an inquiry into the nature of Socrates and in doing so opens up the relationship between humankind and the natural world. Here, Socrates appears as a demonic and tragic figure whose obsession with the task of self-knowledge transforms the history of philosophy. In this uncompromising work, Warnek reveals the importance of the concept of nature in the Platonic dialogues in light of Socratic practice and the ancient ideas that inspire contemporary philosophy. PETER WARNEK is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oregon. He is co-translator (with Walter Brogan) of Martin Heidegger’s Aristotle’s Metaphysics θ 1-3 . He is a founding member of the Ancient Philosophy Society. Studies in Continental Thought—John Sallis, editor DESCENT OF SOCRATES Studies in Continental Thought John Sallis, GENERAL EDITOR CONSULTING EDITORS David Wood Robert Bernasconi Rudolph Bernet John D. Caputo David Carr Edward S. Casey Hubert Dreyfus Don Ihde David Farrell Krell Lenore Langsdorf Alphonso Lingis William L. McBride J. N. Mohanty Mary Rawlinson Tom Rockmore Calvin O. Schrag Reiner Schürmann Charles E. Scott Thomas Sheehan Robert Sokolowski Bruce W. Wilshire † Descent of Socrates Self-Knowledge and Cryptic Nature in the Platonic Dialogues Peter Warnek Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800–842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail iuporder@indiana.edu© 2005 by Peter Warnek All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Warnek, Peter A., date Descent of Socrates : self-knowledge and cryptic nature in the Platonic dialogues / Peter Warnek. p. cm.—(Studies in Continental thought) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-253-34677-0 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 0-253-21816-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Socrates. 2. Plato. Dialogues. I. Title. II. Series. B317.W37 2005 184—dc22 2005022355 1 2 3 4 5 10 09 08 07 06 05 To Zoe and Stephanie Indeed, as a physician one might ask: “How could the most beautiful growth of antiquity, Plato, contract such a disease? Did the wicked Socrates corrupt him after all? Could Socrates have been the corrupter of youth after all? And did he deserve his hemlock?” Nietzsche I am an absurd sort of physician; for my treatment makes the illness greater . . . (Plato’s) Socrates ...