Hege Dypedokk Johnsen
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ERÔS AND EDUCATION: SOCRATIC SEDUCTION IN THREE PLATONIC DIA LOGUES. Hege Dypedokk Johnsen Erôs and Education Socratic Seduction in Three Platonic Dialogues Hege Dypedokk Johnsen ©Hege Dypedokk Johnsen, Stockholm University 2016 ISBN 978-91-7649-496-7 Printed in Sweden by Holmbergs, Malmö 2016 Distributor: Department of Philosophy, Stockholm University Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................ ix Glossary ...................................................................................................... xi Abbreviations ............................................................................................. xii Chapter 0. Introduction ....................................................................... 13 0.1. Topic and aim ............................................................................................ 13 0.2. The selection of dialogues ......................................................................... 17 0.3. Reflections on method ............................................................................... 20 0.3.1. A comparative study .......................................................................... 20 0.3.2. Plato’s dramatic dialogues ................................................................. 22 0.4. Outline of the dissertation .......................................................................... 26 Chapter 1. Erôs and Socrates’ Erotic Expertise .................................. 27 1.1. Origin and translations ............................................................................... 27 1.2. A force directed towards objects ............................................................... 29 1.3. Noble and shameful aspects of erôs ........................................................... 33 1.4. Erotic reproduction .................................................................................... 37 1.5. Socrates’ erôtikê technê ............................................................................. 42 1.6. Socrates’ erotic educational methods ........................................................ 45 1.7. Charming and shaming .............................................................................. 50 1.8. The multiple roles of the lover-educator ................................................... 52 Chapter 2. Erôs and the Need for Knowledge .................................... 57 2.1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 57 2.2. Philia and erôs ........................................................................................... 59 2.3. The prologue (203a1–207b7) .................................................................... 63 2.4. Seducing Lysis (207d5–211b5) ................................................................. 66 2.5. The longer route ......................................................................................... 68 2.6. The mysterious prôton philon (219c5–d2) ................................................ 74 2.7. Erôs in the end (222a5–223b8) .................................................................. 79 2.8. Concluding comments ............................................................................... 83 vii Chapter 3. Undressing Charmides ...................................................... 89 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 89 3.2. Prologue and background-history .............................................................. 91 3.2.1. Background-history and setting ......................................................... 92 3.2.2. Erôs and domination .......................................................................... 95 3.3. Examining Charmides’ soul .................................................................... 103 3.3.1. Charmides’ definitions .................................................................... 104 3.3.2. Philosophy, shame, and courage ...................................................... 107 3.4. Concluding comments ............................................................................. 114 Chapter 4. Shame and Seduction ...................................................... 119 4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 119 4.1.1. Reception in antiquity and modern times ........................................ 120 4.1.2. The lovers ........................................................................................ 123 4.2. Quest i: Piquing Alcibiades’ interest ....................................................... 129 4.3. Quest ii: Provoking aporia ....................................................................... 133 4.4. Quest iii: I’m the one ............................................................................... 139 4.5. Concluding comments ............................................................................. 149 Chapter 5. Concluding thoughts ....................................................... 151 5.1. Summary .................................................................................................. 151 5.2. Rethinking Socrates’ seductions .............................................................. 154 5.3. Conclusion ............................................................................................... 163 Appendix: Plato and Erotic Poetry ................................................... 167 Ibycus ............................................................................................................ 169 Cydias ............................................................................................................ 172 Sappho ........................................................................................................... 173 Summary of Appendix .................................................................................. 175 Svensk sammanfattning ................................................................................. 177 Bibliography .................................................................................................. 183 viii Acknowledgments Although I will probably never be finished with Plato, I have many people to thank now that I have completed this dissertation. First, I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisors. Frans Svensson has been my main supervisor since I became a doctoral student at Stockholm University. I am immensely grateful for his careful commenting on countless drafts, and for all of our discussions and conversations. I wish to thank my second supervisor, Jonas Olson, for encouraging rigor and analytic clarity of argumentation. Even though my approach to Plato may yet fail to fully implement these virtues, I have learned a great deal from his advice. Øyvind Rabbås has supported me in my work ever since he supervised my M.A. thesis at the University of Oslo. Øyvind Rabbås officially became a co-supervisor halfway into the Ph.D., at a time when I needed his expertise the most. I wish to thank him for offering his expertise and professional guidance, and for his confidence in the project. I also want to express my gratitude towards the University of Oslo. By providing me with an office during these last years, they gave me the chance to finish the dissertation while taking part in an inspirational and aspiring network of scholars and students working on ancient philosophy. Among these scholars, I especially wish to thank Franco Trivigno for thorough and much needed feedback. I also want to thank Julia Annas for inviting me to Arizona University in the spring of 2013, and for our sessions there. While visiting, I also had the pleasure of following an excellent course on Plato given by Rachana Kamtekar. I also wish to thank Eyjólfur Kjalar Emilsson at the University of Oslo, in particular for encouraging me to apply for a Ph.D., and his work connected to the three-year research training project, which brought together young researchers with intersecting interests in the history of philosophy from all of the Nordic countries. Thanks also to my peers at Stockholm University and Södertörn University. I am also very grateful for having had the chance to present and discuss my work at conferences and workshops, e.g. at the University of St. Andrews, Lund University, and the University of New Mexico. Besides those already mentioned, there are quite a few who have read and commented on drafts of my dissertation, or parts thereof. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to Pål Rykkja Gilbert for offering his expertise in Ancient Greek, as well as in ancient philosophy more generally. I also wish to thank Ingrid Austveg Evans for English proofreading as well as for her good ix comments and friendly encouragement during the final stages. I am also particularly grateful for the comments and support given by Lars Leeten, Hallvard Stette, Olle Torpman, and Hilde Vinje. Hilde Vinje should also receive special thanks for asking me to write a review of Jill Gordon’s book Plato’s Erotic World. The impact this book has had on my project is hard to measure. However, it is safe to say it has been crucial for the gestation of my dissertation. For less tangible support; special thanks to Sara Packalén, Sandra Lindgren, Jens Johansson, Daniel Ramöller, Henning Strandin, Mats Ingelström, Eric Johannesson, Henrik Ahlenius, Sama Agahi, Anna Petronella Foultier,