Aetna and the Moon: Explaining Nature in Ancient Greece and Rome

Chapter 3: Scientific and Mythic Explanation in Dialogue

| �7 �7 c ha p ter 3 Scientific and Mythic Explanation in Dialogue Since antiquity, the recognized formats used to publish scientific work have not remained static. Some ancient formats, for example, the teaching text, continue to be used, while others have been discarded for scientific use, for example, poetry.1 In this chapter, I will focus on dialogue, a genre particularly associated with certain authors, especially Plato. While Plato was not particularly concerned with natural philosophical and mathematical subjects in his dialogues, some later authors used the dialogue form to discuss such topics. In the early modern period, two authors interested in promoting Copernican cosmology turned to the dialogue. Galileo Galilei wrote two important “modern” scientific dialogues, on the Two Chief World Systems (1632) and Two New Sciences (1638). Johannes Kepler produced a Latin translation of a Greek work that much influenced him: Plutarch’s (c. 4�-after 120 CE) dialogue On the Face on the Moon, which was appended to his own work, the Somnium (Dream) (published posthumously, 1634).2 Plutarch’s dialogue has clear resonances with Plato’s (c. 429347 BCE) dialogue the Timaeus. Both of these ancient dialogues are concerned with “scientific” cosmology, and both incorporate myth as part of their cosmological explanation. It could be argued that, for Plato, the only medium that is suitable for offering a scientific account of nature is the myth recounted within the dialogue.3 This is particularly interesting, because it goes against some of our conceptions about what constitutes science. The idea that in the ancient Greek world there was a transition from myth to �8 | Chapter 3| Chapter 3 Chapter 3 rational explanation—from mythos to logos—has been a powerful one. Some modern authors have referred to this alleged shift as a “miracle,” while others have hailed a revolution, or even revolutions.4 As was discussed in the first chapter, the suggestion that the emergence of philosophy depended on emphasizing logos (reason) and rejecting mythos (myth) is not a modern invention. A number of ancient Greek philosophers and other intellectuals sought to emphasize distinctions between what may be regarded as two different modes of explanation: the rational and the mythological. Some ancient thinkers—notably Plato—criticized poets and mythology.� And yet some ancient authors, including Plato himself as well as Plutarch, used both mythic and scientific explanations within the same work to address questions about the cosmos. Here I will focus on Plutarch’s dialogue On the Face on the Moon, while making some references to the Timaeus. I will ask whether the choice of dialogue as the genre is particularly relevant for Plutarch’s cosmological discussion, in which rational (even mathematical) explanations are offered, as well as myth. In thinking about the genre of dialogue as scientific discourse, I will also ask: Why are rational accounts juxtaposed with myth? Are any claims being made about the relative value of rational and mythological explanations? What role does expertise serve in providing and assuring knowledge (scientific or mythological)? Before turning to Plutarch’s work, we should consider the genre of “dialogue” more generally, in order to have some idea of what this choice may have meant as an authorial option. The Greek noun dialogos has a range of meanings. While “conversation” or “dialogue”arethemostprevalent,themeaningcanrangefrom“talk” or “chat” (Cicero Letters to Atticus �.�.2) to “debating arguments” (Aristotle Posterior Analytics 78a12); furthermore, and especially because of the active character of philosophy, the associated verbs also display a range of meaning.6 Etymologically, dialogos is related to logos, which itself has a wide range of meanings, including Scientific and Mythic Explanation in Dialogue | �9| �9 �9 “computation or reckoning,” “relation or correspondence,” “explanation,” “account,” “debate,” “narrative,” “utterance,” and “subject-matter.” This richness of possible reference is reflected in the ancient examples of dialogues that survive.7 As a genre, the dialogue is often understood as a “special literary-philosophical form of writing” that had its origin in the philosophical activities of Socrates (469-399 BCE).8 While others in Socrates’ circle wrote dialogues, for example Xenophon (c. 430- c. 3�4 BCE), Plato’s are normally regarded as influencing and shaping the entire genre. The dialogue form used by Plato generally conveys a sense of conversation, as well as argument and discussion of philosophical points; Socrates is often an important participant. While Plato chose the dialogue form for his publications, he never included himself explicitly as a speaker...