2017 3rd International Conference on Management Science and Innovative Education (MSIE 2017) ISBN: 978-1-60595-488-2

An Exploration of the Myths in Gorgias, Phaedo and Republic

JIAYING YU

ABSTRACT

In Plato’s dialogues, Socrates is not only pictured as a rigorous philosopher but also a proficient storyteller. At the end of Gorgias, Phaedo and Republic, Socrates chooses to use a myth about afterlife to end the conversation. Socrates’ myth, which is told differently to different people, is in a very different style from his logic deduction and plays a unique role in the process of persuasion. The significance of the myth does not merely consist in the storyline itself but has a far-reaching influence on people, the influence of tying philosophy together with literature.

KEYWORDS Plato, Gorgias, Phaedo, Republic, Myth.

INTRODUCTION

Among Plato’s dialogues, Gorgias, Phaedo and Republic are comparable in that Socrates chooses to end each of the dialogues in a myth about what will happen after our death. All these myths share a relatively similar pattern, yet they are different in a lot of ways; so is Socrates’ attitude when he is describing them to different people. Why the myths are different from each other and what can the contradictions in the myths show us? Does Socrates believe in his myths? Why are they always at the end of the conversation and how can they help us in our philosophical exploration? It is obvious that there is a shared pattern in the myths, connecting all three of them together. All the myths are developed from this original pattern, while Socrates keeps changing and adding details to it as it gets more and more complex. Regardless of the chronological order of the three myths, which we do not know, suppose that we can place them in an order, from simpler to more complex, the order will be from Gorgias, to Phaedo, then to Republic. In analyzing the myths one by one and paying close attention to how they are connected to each other as well as how they are different in details, we may be able to understand more about Socrates’ myths and get closer to the answers of the questions listed earlier in this paragraph.

ORGANIZATION OF THE TEXT

The Myth in Gorgias.

In Gorgias, where Socrates is talking to Callicles, a student of the famous Sophist Gorgias, he brings in the simplest myth. Before getting in the myth, we need to first ______Jiaying Yu, St. John’s College, Annapolis 21401, U.S.A. [email protected].

469 find out what takes place prior in their conversation and what kind of person Callicles is. Socrates has talked to Callicles for a while before he begins the myth, trying to persuade Callicles that we should never do what is unjust but should practice self- control and try to be good in our soul, but Callicles has trouble following Socrates’ arguments. Being perfunctory all the time, Callicles fails to get much from Socrates even till the end of the conversation. All his responses to Socrates’ questions demonstrate that he stubbornly believes in his own opinion and is not at all interested in what Socrates’ point is. He repeatedly responds “Why do keep up this nonsense?” [1] And states a couple of times that “I couldn’t care less about what you say, either. I gave you these answers just for Gorgias’s sake.” [1] From Callicles’ reactions, we can see that Socrates’ logical persuasion does not work out for him that much. Thus, Socrates relates a myth to Callicles at the end of the whole conversation, in which he claims that dying is a separation of the soul and body from each other, and after death the soul will be judged nakedly and separately from the body by Zeus’ sons Minos, Rhadamanthus and Aiacus. A just and pious soul can go to the Isles of the Blessed, where complete happiness is, while on the contrary, the unjust and godless soul will go to Tartarus, the prison of payment and retribution. Throughout the entire myth, Socrates emphasizes that after the separation of the soul and body, the soul is judged nakedly, without being attached to body, which directs at Callicles’ main mistake, since Callicles is still insisting in that what is good is good outwardly. This theory of the soul being judged nakedly can force him to treat his soul separately from body and realize his vanity in soul, so that he could stop doing what is bad for his soul, which is, injustice.

The Myth in Phaedo.

In Phaedo, Socrates tells a similar myth at the end of the conversation. This time, his listeners have changed from those people who hold totally opposite opinions from him to his friends and students. Meanwhile, with different audiences, both the details and the highlights of the myth have consequently shifted. Socrates first gives a detailed description of the earth, and then he sets out the three kinds of afterlife: Those people who have lived an average life go to Acheron and from there to the lake, where they get penalties and rewards for what they have done before. Those people who have committed great but curable crimes are thrown into Tartarus. They have to suffer until the people they have wronged forgive them. Those people who have lived an extremely pious life can make their way up to a pure dwelling place just as being freed from a prison. Additionally, those who have been purified by philosophy can live without relying on body and get to even more beautiful places that are hard to describe yet can be supposed to be places that belong to the divine. In this myth, there are three paths instead of two, which belong to those who have lived an average life, those who have lived an extremely pious life and those who have committed great but curable crimes respectively. However, there is no room for those who committed incurable crimes, which suggests the possibility that all crimes are curable and can be forgiven. Socrates comments that it involves risk to believe in this myth: “but I think it is fitting for a man to risk the belief - for the risk is a noble one - that this, or something like this, is true about our souls and their dwelling places, since the soul is evidently immortal, and a man should repeat this to himself as if it were an incantation, which is why I have been prolonging my tale.” [2] This suggests that we

470 should constantly use this myth to check against our soul. Why does Socrates think it is better for forgiveness to take the place of eternal punishment this time, and why does he say that believing in it involves risk? For those people who have just realized what is truly good and truly wrong, if the mistakes they have made before are not forgivable, will they be willing to examine themselves honestly? Knowing that they will be punished forever if they admit their mistakes, people will be more likely to disavow what they have done wrong, and they will never be able to face their soul uprightly. Only if the mistakes can be forgiven, can these people be brave enough to admit their previous mistakes and make the final transition. Nevertheless, this does not mean that we can just let our mistakes go, but as Socrates says, we still have to suffer from them for quite a long time. These small deviations from Gorgias' myth do not impact the whole framework of the myth that much, but they focus more on encouraging people to examine themselves honestly, be brave enough to admit what they have done wrong and be responsible for the mistakes they have made.

The Myth in Republic.

In the Republic, Socrates uses the myth of Er, which is the most complex out of the myths we have previously talked about, to end the conversation. Er, the son of Armenius, is killed in the battle, however his body does not putrefy. Twelve days later he comes back to life again with a vivid story of what his soul has experienced in another world during the days he was gone. After his “death”, his soul leaves the body and goes on a journey, which is the path that every soul has to go through after the body has died. The souls will be judged first. Among them, the moral souls go up to heaven to get rewarded and the immoral souls go down to hell to get punished. After a thousand years, the souls will gather together again to choose their next life, which is the most critical test for them. Only the truly virtuous souls can choose the right life and reach the real happiness. Others are easily fooled by the appearances of the sample lives in front of them; they are attracted by the wrong feature and have to suffer from the next life. After the souls have all finished choosing their lives, they are all required to drink a certain amount of water from the River of Neglect, which makes them forget everything they have done. Then they lay down to sleep and will be lifted up and darted away in various directions for rebirth. Compared to the previous two simpler myths, the primary change of this myth is the addition of choices. We are not only judged by others after death, but also have to make choices by ourselves, and take full responsibility of it, just as Lachesis tells the souls: “Goodness makes its own rules: each of you will be good to the extent that you value it. Responsibility lies with the chooser, not with God.” [3] The afterlife we are going to have is directly related to what kind of person we are in our current life, only the truly virtuous person knows what is the right thing to do and will never be fooled by appearance. In the myth, there are some vivid examples of this: The first person stepping up to choose, who is actually one of those who have come out of the heaven, is driven by his stupidity and greed so he picks the most powerful dictatorship available without noticing that there is also the fate of eating his own children and committing other horrible crimes included. After realizing this, he starts blaming fortune, gods and anything but himself. This person was able to go up to heaven because he lived in a well-regulated community, where it was habituation but not philosophy that made him acting just, hence he didn’t learn how to cope with more

471 complex situations. On the contrary, Odysseus, who went through a lot of hardships in his previous life, is careful enough while choosing and takes an ordinary but truly happy life for himself even though he is the last one to choose. Socrates makes a wonderful comment on this: He (the soul) has to weigh up all the things we’ve been talking about, so as to know what bearing they (sample lives) have, in combination and in isolation, on living a good life. What are the good or bad results of mixing well looks with poverty or with wealth, in conjunction with such-and-such a mental condition? What are the effects of the various combinations of innate and acquired characteristics such as high and low birth, involvement and lack of involvement in politics, physical strength and frailty, cleverness and stupidity, and so on? [3] From these instances, we can see that making the right choice is difficult because it means that he or she is able to distinguish what’s better and what’s worse from all the possibilities and alternatives at any given moment, just as Socrates seems to know what he should do no matter what situation he appears to be in. Hence in order to be able to make the right decision at any time, we should always keep practicing philosophy in our current life.

The Three Levels of Guidance.

As the myths from Gorgias to Phaedo to Republic become more and more complex, three levels of guidance emerge, aiming at three kinds of listeners: Callicles, who is unwilling to be dragged into the discussion; Socrates’ friends and students, who are willing followers; and Glaucon and Adeimantus, who are leaders. The myth in Gorgias exemplifies the first level of guidance, which is, warning, stopping people from injustice because of the horrible consequences of it. The second level is encouragement, implied by the myth in Phaedo, which prompts people to judge themselves honestly, to face what they have done wrong, and to keep doing what is right. The third level involves choice, which is suggested by the myth in Republic, helping people understand what virtue is more deeply in order for them to do the right thing whenever and wherever they are.

Socrates’ Attitude towards the Myths.

Now, after analyzing each of the myth a little bit, it is time to ask the question whether Socrates himself believe in his myths or not. In Gorgias, Socrates emphasizes several times that he does believe in this myth. Before he tells the myth, he says to Calicles, “You’ll think that it’s a mere tale, I believe, although I think it’s an account, for what I’m about to say I will tell you as true” [1]. Immediately after he finishes the myth, he repeats that “This, Calicles, is what I’ve heard, and I believe that it’s true” [1]. Later on, he states once again, “For my part, Calicles, I’m convinced by these accounts, and I think about how I’ll reveal to the judge a soul that’s as healthy as it can be” [1]. The fourth time, he claims that “Maybe you think this account is told as an old wives’ tale, and you feel contempt for it. And it certainly wouldn’t be a surprising thing to feel contempt for it if we could look for and somehow find one better and truer than it.” [1] The seemingly intentional repetition of his belief in the myth makes us wonder what Socrates is aiming at. If he just wants to express his own attitude towards the myth, why does he feel the need to repeat it over and over again? Socrates may be doing it on purpose, to make sure that Calicles can take this myth seriously.

472 In Phaedo, instead of emphasizing the facticity of the myth, this time, Socrates does not hold a strong opinion about whether we should trust it or not: No sensible man would insist that these things are as I have described them, but I think it is fitting for a man to risk the belief–for the risk is a noble one–that this, or something like this, is true about our souls and their dwelling places, since the soul is evidently immortal, and a man should repeat this to himself as if it were an incantation, which is why I have been prolonging my tale. [2] It is obvious that there are some contradictions in the two myths. If what Socrates says to Calicles is true, that he totally believes in the first myth, then why is there another version of his belief in another dialogue? Why does he tell Calicles that he believes in it but tell his students and friends that he does not entirely? Does his attitude have something to do with the different kinds of people he is talking to? For Calicles, a student of a sophist, Socrates has to force him to abandon the wrong ideas by using a special method. For his friends and students, who have been somehow influenced and convinced by Socrates’ opinions, it is easier for them to keep themselves on the right path. Therefore, Calicles needs a powerful hand to drag him out of the wrong belief, and Socrates’ sees that a myth will be effective for him. At the very beginning he does not have to fully understand the reason to believe in this myth, he just needs to use it to replace the wrong ideas in his head. Socrates’ friends and students have already had some understanding of the value of virtue and wisdom, so they do not totally rely on a myth to behave virtuously. In this sense, if Socrates is talking with another Socrates, no myth may be needed in their conversation. In the Republic, Socrates’ only comments related to his attitude towards the myth are that “It might save us too, if we take it to heart, and so successfully cross the River of Oblivion without defiling our souls” [3], and “My recommendation would be for us to regard the soul as immortal and as capable of surviving a great deal of suffering, just as it survives all the good times” [3]. He does not give us any detailed description about where he gets this myth from and whether he himself believes in it or not, which makes his attitude more doubtful. Myth usually consists of the story and the meaning behind. After collecting some of his comments on the myths and the evident inconsistencies in them, we can easily eliminate the possibility that Socrates artlessly believes in the stories all through. Now, we may venture to say that Socrates does not believe in any of these stories at any time and use them only as a teaching tool, modifying their details when talking to different people. However, there still exists a third possibility that Socrates himself does believe in the story of the myth at first, but gradually goes beyond it and simply supports the meaning behind the myth. At the very beginning, when he tells Calicles he believes the story is true, he is not lying. Later on, by insisting that the main meaning of the myth is still true, he does not necessarily believe in the form of story anymore, as what he tells his friends and students, and for this reason, he is able to revise the myth for more specific uses but not change the values within it. If this third case is true, then Socrates shows how myth helps and develops our understanding of virtue. None of us should be afraid of the kind of starting point we have; even if we are someone immoral like Calicles we can still save ourselves by following the right path. By the time our own intelligence takes place of the story in our head, we can better understand what is truly good about virtue and come closer to the complete happiness.

473 SUMMARY

Myth, as a magic tool for Socrates, is necessary and completes his persuasion. For those people who never understand the beauty of virtue, a myth can prompt them to start doing just things. Perhaps they start behaving justly simply because they are afraid of the punishments and merely want to be rewarded. Socrates believes that they will get a deeper understanding of virtue once they begin to do virtuous actions. Along the way, they may eventually realize the completeness of virtue in itself, that they not only behave virtuously, but also maintain a virtuous soul, and that we maintain virtue for the sake of virtue itself and not for anything else. The myth and the foregoing proofs corroborate each other, making the whole persuasion well-structured. It is wise to put a myth at the end of the conversation, not only because it is vivid and easy to remember, but also because it can have a far- reaching influence on people, leading them from vanity to true virtue. As a perfect fusion of literature and philosophy, Socrates’ myths show us the interactive and symbiotic relation between them (literature and philosophy). When we depart from the compact philosophical proofs, there appears a picture of literature being in philosophy and philosophy being in literature.

REFERENCES

1. Plato. Gorgias. English trans. Donald J. Zeyl. Hackett Pub Co, 1986. 2. Plato. Phaedo. English trans. G. M. A. Grube. Hackett Pub Co, 1977. 3. Plato. Republic. English trans. Desmond Lee. Penguin Books Ltd, 1974.

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