Mythmaking, Love Potions, and Role Reversals Dana Trusso
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Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 2015 The rE otic Charms of Platonic Discourse: Mythmaking, Love Potions, and Role Reversals Dana Trusso Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Trusso, D. (2015). The rE otic Charms of Platonic Discourse: Mythmaking, Love Potions, and Role Reversals (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1294 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EROTIC CHARMS OF PLATONIC DISCOURSE: MYTHMAKING, LOVE POTIONS, AND ROLE REVERSALS A Dissertation Submitted to McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Dana M. Trusso May 2015 Copyright by Dana M. Trusso 2015 ii THE EROTIC CHARMS OF PLATONIC DISCOURSE: MYTHMAKING, LOVE POTIONS, AND ROLE REVERSALS By Dana M. Trusso Approved March 25, 2015 ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Patrick Lee Miller Dr. Ron Polansky Associate Professor of Philosophy Professor of Philosophy Committee Chair Committee Member ________________________________ Dr. Michael Harrington Associate Professor of Philosophy Committee Member ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. James Swindal Dr. Ron Polansky Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate Chair, Department of Philosophy School of Liberal Arts Professor of Philosophy Professor of Philosophy iii ABSTRACT THE EROTIC CHARMS OF PLATONIC DISCOURSE: MYTHMAKING, LOVE POTIONS, AND ROLE REVERSALS By Dana M. Trusso May 2015 Dissertation supervised by Dr. Patrick Lee Miller Socrates engages his audience in Phaedrus with speeches that include revised or newly composed myths that express his theory of philosophical eros. The aim of the speeches is to generate a love for truth that spills over into dialogue. Speeches are a starting point for dialogue, just like physical attraction is the beginning of love. In the case of Phaedrus, the beginning of philosophy is portrayed using playful and rhetorically rich speeches that serve as “love potions” awakening the novice’s soul, and ultimately leading Phaedrus to higher rungs on the ladder of love through the palinode, a medicinal speech. It is thinking about speeches, not the speeches themselves, which moves Socrates’ student Phaedrus from the love of speeches to the love of Beauty itself. This is a stark contrast to the purpose of speechmaking for the sophist. The sophist seeks to enchant the soul, while the philosopher seeks to charm the soul into loving wisdom through stimulating discussions. Socrates also uses role reversals in the lover-beloved relationship iv to model the soul’s ascent, contrasting the traditional roles with the way the lover and beloved are presented in Socrates’ speeches. The novice must actively recollect Beauty itself in order to ascend, rather than passively listening to speeches that provide an image of beauty. Socrates’ interlocutors must move themselves up the ladder of love from their own philosophical eros; wisdom is not attained by merely being pushed all the way up the ladder of love. v DEDICATION For my students, who keep the dialectic alive and kicking. vi ACKOWLEDGEMENTS The birth and completion of this project was made possible through the beautiful environment fostered by my colleagues, friends, and family. Their influences gave rise to my love of philosophy as well as my dedication to pedagogy. As an undergraduate at Baylor University I first read Plato’s Symposium under the direction of Dr. Anne-Marie Schultz, and life has not been the same since. Dr. Thèrése Bonin nurtured that seed during my first semester at Duquesne in her elegant presentation of Plato’s erotic philosophy via Plotinus. Dr. Ron Polansky afforded my first pedagogical experience as one of his teaching assistants. As nervous as I was to lecture to one hundred students, I learned that I enjoyed leading class discussion. As a reader on my committee, he was dedicated to my success. Dr. James Swindal gave me excellent feedback on teaching strategies. During my comprehensive exam, my committee member Dr. Michael Harrington gently reminded me of the differences between Pseudo-Dionysius and Plotinus, the mistake making both of us smile. Dr. Sabine Roehr of New Jersey City University and Dr. John Chaffee of LaGuardia Community College awarded me generous one-year teaching appointments in their respective departments, which provided the financial support needed for the final push of writing these past years. I am truly grateful. So many people have supported my academic progress throughout the years, like my mother, Dorothy, who always understood and respected my thirst for knowledge and the importance of education. My husband, Luke, as my dialectical sparring partner constantly reminds me that it is not material possessions or immaterial thoughts that truly matter, but lived experience with others. I want to acknowledge my best friend and vii kindred spirit, Christine Gentry, for her constant support of this project. She read almost every page, provided feedback, and kept me pursuing my goal. Christine has nurtured and made possible all of the qualities in myself I cherish most, and likewise I cherish her for her steadfast presence in my life. Most importantly, Dr. Patrick Lee Miller challenged me in my final semester of coursework and forced me to rise to the occasion. His teaching inspired and pushed me to remember the importance of Plato’s contributions in the history of philosophy. As my director, his recognition of the importance of my project strengthened my resolve, and his insights and critical eye strengthened my scholarship. This dissertation would not have been born without his Socratic midwifery! My deepest thanks for the dialectic he fostered. I look forward to continuing the conversation during the years to come. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract……………………………………………………….……………………….….iv Dedication…………………………………………………….…………………………..vi Acknowledgments……………..………………………………………..…………..…...vii Introduction……………….…..……………..………………..……..….…………..……1 1 Conjuring Philosophical Enchantments: Myth and Play…………………………25 1.1 Setting the Stage to Seduce a Lover of Speeches…………………………....26 1.2 Philosophical Potions: Charming Charmides………………………………..33 1.3 Philosopher’s Muse: The Plane Tree, Cicadas, and the Ladder of Love…….38 2 Psychagōgia as Pharmakon: the Healing Power of Guided Recollection…………56 2.1 Sophistry as Poison not Potion: Phaedrus’s Speech and Socratic Mimesis….64 2.2 The Soul Grows Wings and Begins to Fly: Recollection in the Palinode.......78 2.3 Beyond the Palinode: Carving Up the Dialogue …………………..…..…….94 3 Who is in Control? Self-Movers or Beauty in the Sky with Daimōns…………...110 3.1 The Soul as the “Spring of Motion:” Self-Movers and Philosophical Eros......................................................................................................................112 3.2 The Charioteer Analogy and the Ascent to Beauty Itself …..…….......……123 3.3 Why Dine Alone? The Lover and Beloved are Turned On…...……………137 4 Learning to Love by Loving to Learn: Role Reversal as Pharmakon Promoting Self-Motion………….……………………...……………………..149 4.1 Opening the Sluice-Gates: Socrates as Pan ……………………………..…151 4.2 The Dark Horse of the Soul: Alcibiades and Self-Control…………………130 4.3 Erōmenos and the “Spring that Feeds the Stream:” Phaedrus as Ganymede………………………………………………………………………184 Conclusion………………………………………………………………..….…...……203 Say Your Prayers: The Theuth and Thamus Myth ………….…………….…...206 Bibliography………………………………………………………………….……...…227 ix INTRODUCTION ἔστι γὰρ τοῦτο τόκος ἐν καλῷ καὶ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα καὶ κατὰ τὴν ψυχήν. ― Plato Symposium 206b7–8 1 In Phaedrus, Socrates engages a newcomer to philosophy with speeches that include revised or newly composed myths that express his theory of philosophical eros. Speeches are a starting point for dialogue, just as physical attraction is the beginning of love. Socrates becomes a mythmaker for the love of wisdom. In this dissertation, I will show that the use of rhetoric in the form of speeches imbued with mythological narratives is the strategy adopted by Socrates to cultivate philosophical eros.1 The Platonic dialogue Phaedrus highlights the intersection of eros and myth for the purpose of philosophical growth, and also contains a formidable critique of sophistry. This is significant because this dialogue is constructed with a specific audience in mind: those who already love speeches.2 Socrates’ aim in Phaedrus is to generate a love for truth in a young man who already has a love for speeches. Socrates seduces Phaedrus through charming speeches that spill over into dialogue. If philosophy is the preparation for death, Socrates’ 1 I refer here to Socrates as a character in Plato’s dialogues that most likely refers to the historical Socrates, but perhaps does not represent his words and actions in an accurate way. I am not interested in entering a debate about the Socratic problem. My purpose is to examine the role of eros in Socrates’ speeches situated in Plato’s dialogues. For more on how Plato uses the historical Socrates as a platform for the character in his dialogues, see Peterson 2011; Irwin 2008;