WISDOM IN PRACTICE
Socrates’ Conception of Technē
by
CLIFFORD MASOOD ROBERTS
A thesis submitted to the Department of Philosophy in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
Queen's University Kingston, Ontario, Canada September 2007
Copyright Clifford Masood Roberts, 2007
ABSTRACT
The word ‘ technē ’ frequently appears in the argument and discussions of Socrates and his interlocutors in Plato’s early dialogues; the concept of technē as well as instances thereof often play a crucial role in effecting and rendering plausible Socrates’ argument and discussion. It is curious, therefore, that there are so few studies devoted entirely to examining Socrates’ conception of technē 1; this is a deficit that this thesis aims to play some role in correcting.
The first chapter is concerned with elaborating some of the problematic questions connected to the philosophical integrity and originality and the historical actuality of
Socrates as he appears in Plato’s dialogues. Part of this project involves responding to questions regarding which dialogues count as ‘early’ and ‘Socratic’ – and what these designations mean ; part involves elaborating and articulating the character of Socrates’ person and methods in the dialogues and here the importance of the concept of technē to
Socratic reflection is introduced.
1 Many studies of Socratic or early Platonic thought take the concept of technē to be crucial to understanding Socrates’ ethical reflection. Few studies, however, bother to interrogate and articulate the concept itself; fewer still bother to do so without regard for Socrates’ deployment of the concept in ethical contexts. Of article-length studies that aim to do the latter, I know of only two: Smith, Angela M. ‘Knowledge and Expertise in the Early Platonic Dialogues,’ Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 80 (1998) and Brumbaugh, Robert S., ‘Plato’s Relation to the Arts and Crafts,’ Phronesis