BEAUTY, ΤΟ ΚΑΛΟΝ, AND ITS RELATION TO THE GOOD IN THE WORKS OF PLATO by Nicholas P. Riegel A Thesis Submitted in Conformity with the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy University of Toronto © Copyright by Nicholas Riegel 2011 BEAUTY, ΤΟ ΚΑΛΟΝ, AND ITS RELATION TO THE GOOD IN THE WORKS OF PLATO Nicholas Riegel Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy Department of Philosophy University of Toronto 2011 ABSTRACT Despite the evident importance of beauty (τὸ καλόν) in Plato, the precise relation between beauty and goodness (τὸ ἀγαθόν) has yet to be specified. Part of the reason for this seems to be the belief that καλός should not be translated ‘beautiful,’ because it has a broader sense and application than our word ‘beautiful.’ A better translation, on this view, would be something like ‘fine.’ But it is difficult to see the difference between fineness and goodness, and it is perhaps for this reason that determining the relation between the two has not been felt an urgent task. In the first chapter we shall investigate the use of the Greek word καλός in some of the major authors prior to and contemporary with Plato in order to determine the strength of the evidence for translations of καλός other than ‘beautiful.’ It will be argued that the evidence for translations of καλός other than ‘beautiful’ is weak, and thus that the word should ii generally be translated ‘beautiful.’ When we turn to Plato’s understanding of τὸ καλόν, we find that he often seems to associate the concept closely with goodness, and yet there are also passages which suggest a difference between the two. Thus the first question to ask is whether beauty and goodness are at least coextensive for Plato? In the second chapter it will be argued that despite some apparent evidence to the contrary, he does seem to think they are coextensive. In the third chapter we argue that Plato identifies goodness and unity, and that the coextension of goodness and beauty is explained on the model of the necessary connection between certain forms, or immanent characters, in the Phaedo. But it does not follow from this that goodness and beauty are identical. In the fourth chapter we will argue that, though beauty and goodness are connected in concrete particulars, qua forms they are distinct, i.e., there are two separate forms, the form of the good (which is identical to the one) and the form of beauty. Finally, a theme which runs more or less throughout this work is that, contrary to what one might expect, Plato seems to discover what is good by asking what is beautiful. This may seem counterintuitive, because there are passages, like Republic 452d‐e and 509b, where it seems that goodness determines or in a way causes beauty, but it seems that when trying to discover what is truly good, Plato always settles on what is beautiful. It may be agreed, even by those who disagree about what goodness is, that things like justice and courage are beautiful, and it is these that Plato always thinks constitute the human good. iii χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά ‐ Republic 435c, Hippias Major 304e, Cratylus 384b We should never underestimate what a word can tell us, for language represents the previous accomplishment of thought. ‐ Hans Georg Gadamer Es hat daher auch nie gelingen wollen, ein System der platonischen Lehre vom Schönen aufzubauen, und selbst geistvolle Versuche dieser Art scheitren in den wesentlichsten Punkten durch den nüchternen Widerspruch, den der Text gegen die Auslegung erhebt. Und doch vermochte hier die natürliche Grazie eines jugendfrischen Geistes, der Takt eines elastisch nachgebenden Empfindens die Untiefen glücklich zu umschiffen, auf welchen, unter dem Steuer einer doktrinären Hand, schon das auslaufende Fahrzeug um so härter aufsetzt, je unbekümmerter der Mut ist, der es dem bewegten Spiegel platonischer Gedanken zuführt. ‐ Julius Walter iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Lloyd Gerson, for showing me that there is always more truth and wisdom to be found in Plato, and my two advisors, Rachel Barney and Jennifer Whiting, for challenging me to become more precise and rigorous in my thought and writing. Their dedication to the highest standards of scholarship has enormously improved the quality of my thesis. I would also like to thank Brad Inwood for his encouragement and sound advice throughout the years. The remaining inadequacies are, of course, my own. Finally, for all their patience and support, I would like to thank my parents, John and Nicole Riegel, to whom I dedicate this thesis. v TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1................................................................................................................................. 13 ON THE MEANING OF ΚΑΛΟΣ........................................................................................ 13 1.0. On the Standard Understanding of Καλός and Its Sources: .......................... 13 1.1. A Re‐examination of Καλός:............................................................................... 21 1.2.0. Beauty in Poetry:................................................................................................... 23 1.2.1. Beauty and Immortality:...................................................................................... 28 1.2.2. Beauty and Death:................................................................................................. 30 1.2.3. Beauty, Immortality, and Poetry: ....................................................................... 33 1.2.4. Beauty and Action: ............................................................................................... 37 1.3.0. Beauty in Theory:.................................................................................................. 47 1.3.1. Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans:..................................................................... 49 1.3.2. Polyclitus:............................................................................................................... 59 1.3.3. Sappho.................................................................................................................... 63 1.3.4. Heraclitus:.............................................................................................................. 67 1.3.5. The Dissoi Logoi: .................................................................................................... 70 1.4.0. Beauty in Prose:..................................................................................................... 73 1.4.1. Herodotus: ............................................................................................................. 74 1.4.2. Thucydides: ........................................................................................................... 77 1.4.3. Xenophon:.............................................................................................................. 83 1.5. Conclusion: ............................................................................................................ 88 CHAPTER 2................................................................................................................................. 91 ON THE COEXTENSION OF GOODNESS AND BEAUTY IN PLATO........................ 91 2.0. Introduction:.......................................................................................................... 91 2.1. If Good then Beautiful:......................................................................................... 93 2.2.0. If Beautiful then Good:......................................................................................... 98 2.2.1. If Beautiful then Good: Alcibiades 113d‐116d: ................................................... 99 2.2.2. If Beautiful then Good: Protagoras 349a‐362a:................................................. 106 2.2.3. If Beautiful then Good: Charmides 160e‐61a: ................................................... 111 2.2.4. If Beautiful then Good: Laches 192c‐d:.............................................................. 113 2.2.5. If Beautiful then Good: Meno 77b: .................................................................... 114 2.3. Evidence against ‘If Beautiful then Good’: Gorgias 474c‐477a: ..................... 116 2.4. Evidence for a Biconditional Relationship between the Good and the Beautiful: .............................................................................. 124 2.5. Conclusion: .......................................................................................................... 131 CHAPTER 3............................................................................................................................... 134 vi BEAUTY, GOODNESS AND UNITY ................................................................................ 134 3.0. Introduction:........................................................................................................ 134 3.1. On the Priority of the One: ................................................................................ 145 3.2. Aristotle’s Testimony on Plato’s Theory of the Good: .................................. 150 3.3.0. Goodness and Unity in Plato: ........................................................................... 155 3.3.1. Goodness and Unity in Plato: Structural Unity:............................................. 156 3.3.2. Goodness and Unity in Plato: Unity