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An Answer to the Derridean Critique of the Phaedrus and Timaeus Tiffany

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An Answer to the Derridean Critique of the Phaedrus and Timaeus Tiffany Plato Exits the Pharmacy: An Answer to the Derridean Critique of the Phaedrus and Timaeus Tiffany Tsantsoulas Supervisor: Dr. Francisco Gonzalez Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.A. degree in philosophy Department of Philosophy Faculty of Arts The University of Ottawa © Tiffany Tsantsoulas, Ottawa, Canada, 2014 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was partially funded by Ontario Graduate Scholarships and by the University of Ottawa in the form of Excellence Scholarships. It owes an enormous debt to Dr. Gonzalez for his guidance and insight. iii ABSTRACT By framing his deconstruction of Plato’s Phaedrus and Timaeus as a response to Platonism, Jacques Derrida overlooks the possibility of a Platonic philosophy beyond dogma and doctrine. This thesis argues that Derrida’s deconstructions target a particularly Platonist abstraction of the dialogues, and thus, his critique relies on the underlying assumption that Plato defends the metaphysics of presence. Derrida attempts to show how the thesis that Being is presence undermines itself in both dialogues through hints of différance like pharmakon and khôra. To answer the Derridean critique, I analyze the hermeneutics of Derrida’s deconstruction of Plato and identify what in the dialogues lies beyond the limits Derrida’s reading, for example Derrida’s notable exclusion of ἔρως. iv Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: Platonism, Derrida, and the Metaphysics of Presence ........................................ 1 I. What is Platonism? ................................................................................................................... 1 II. Plato, not Platonism ................................................................................................................. 5 III. The Platonic New Wave ....................................................................................................... 13 IV. Derrida, Plato, and the Metaphysics of Presence ................................................................. 15 V. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 35 CHAPTER TWO: A Critical Reading of “Plato’s Pharmacy” and the Phaedrus .......................... 37 I. Deconstruction and the Platonic Text ..................................................................................... 37 II. A Critical Reading of “Plato’s Pharmacy” and the Phaedrus ............................................... 40 A. Myths and the Trial of Writing .......................................................................................... 41 B. The Socratic Critique of Writing ....................................................................................... 58 C. Derrida’s Deconstruction of the Socratic Critique of Writing .......................................... 68 CHAPTER THREE: A Critical Reading of Khôra in the Timaeus and Derrida’s “Khôra” .......... 94 I. Reception ................................................................................................................................ 94 II. Timaeus’ Khôra ..................................................................................................................... 96 A. Timaeus 47e – 51a ............................................................................................................. 96 B. Timaeus’ ‘rational argument’ for khôra’s essence: 51b3 – 52d2 ...................................... 99 C. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 102 III. Derrida’s “Khôra” .............................................................................................................. 103 A. Tropology and anachronism ............................................................................................ 104 B. Khôra, mythemes, and philosophemes ............................................................................ 107 C. Mise en Abyme ................................................................................................................ 116 CHAPTER FOUR: Plato Exits the Pharmacy .............................................................................. 121 I. An Answer to the Derridean Critique of the Phaedrus and the Timaeus ............................. 121 II. Problems with Derrida’s Hermeneutics ............................................................................... 123 III. Ἔρως: Finding Meaning Beyond the Derridean Critique .................................................. 134 A. Erotic striving, metaphysics, and the philosophical life .................................................. 135 B. Ἔρως in the Phaedrus ...................................................................................................... 138 C. Ἔρως in the Timaeus ....................................................................................................... 144 IV. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 152 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 153 1 CHAPTER ONE: Platonism, Derrida, and the Metaphysics of Presence This thesis critically examines the relationship between Jacques Derrida, Plato, and Platonism through an analysis of Derrida’s reading of Plato in “Plato’s Pharmacy” in Dissemination and “Khôra” in On the Name. By analyzing Derrida’s deconstruction of Platonism and relating it to the two dialogues in question, viz. Plato’s Phaedrus and Timaeus, this thesis argues that Derrida produces a thorough and credible critique of Platonism as the metaphysics of presence, but not a satisfactory deconstruction of Plato. This answer to the Derridean critique is not a rebuttal or a counter-argument; it is a careful analysis of Derrida’s critique of Platonism that brings to light its strengths and weaknesses as a deconstruction of a Platonic philosophy. Derrida’s assumptions about Platonic philosophy, and in particular, how it defines the relationship between the soul and Being put narrow limits on his deconstructive reading of the dialogues. It is clear that Derrida operates with a particular agenda when reading Plato, that is, to deconstruct the foundations of the metaphysics of presence, and as a result of this agenda he overlooks parts of the dialogues that do not support this limited reading. This thesis concludes by exploring one of Derrida’s most significant omissions, philosophical ἔρως. For Plato, ἔρως operates in a way that exceeds the logic of the metaphysics of presence by overturning the presence/absence binary. By attending to the role that ἔρως plays in both the Phaedrus and Timaeus, we reveal how both dialogues can be read to corrupt the metaphysics of presence and therefore exceed Derrida’s deconstructions. I. What is Platonism? Platonism is a philosophical system that historically emerged from the works of Plato, but does not encompass all Platonic philosophy or interpretive traditions. One of its defining features 2 is the doctrine of idealist metaphysics or the metaphysics of presence.1 This metaphysics is grounded by the theory of Ideas, which accounts for the different epistemological and ontological statuses of intelligible beings and the sensible world.2 The theory of Ideas alleges that every particular X shares in a common essence, X-ness. This common essence is called an Idea (ἰδέα) or Form (εἴδος). The Idea is the only existing thing that truly and completely is X. For example, there can be an infinite variety of particular circles in the world but the purely intelligible idea of a circle is the only being that is (a) circle. Thus the Ideas exist to a greater degree than particulars and they bestow essence and existence onto particulars through a relationship of participation. The Ideas are the first principles of Plato’s universe and chief among them is the Good (τὸ ἀγαθόν), which bestows being on all the others.3 Platonist ontology conceives of reality through a bifurcated lens wherein two separate but intrinsically related kinds of beings interact. Inhabiting the spatiotemporal, physical world of sense-experience are material beings that are subject to change and are in a state of becoming. According to Platonism, a being of this kind is only “half- real [but] suggests a further reality which lies beyond itself.”4 This further reality is the realm of immaterial and unchanging beings, i.e. the Ideas. The Ideas are eternal, ideal, and universal and serve as paradigms for the world of phenomena. The precise nature of the Ideas varies depending on the kind of Platonism adhered to. Differences between interpretations arise largely because scholars have pieced their theory of Ideas together from disparate references and descriptions in Plato’s dialogues. For instance, they 1 Platonism has a long and diverse history and this thesis project cannot address its entirety. The goal of this section is to summarize a particular kind of Platonism, one that focuses on metaphysics, which could be considered the predecessor of contemporary English-language Plato studies. For instance, the works of H. Cherniss, G. Vlastos, R.E. Allen, M. Isnardi Parente, I.M. Crombie and their followers. 2 Cf. Socrates’ in Phaedo 99d-102a. All translations of Plato are from G.M.A. Grube unless otherwise indicated. 3 Republic 508b8-9.
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