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Socrates and the Problem of Authority University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School June 2020 This, or Something like It: Socrates and the Problem of Authority Simon Dutton University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, and the Philosophy Commons Scholar Commons Citation Dutton, Simon, "This, or Something like It: Socrates and the Problem of Authority" (2020). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/8190 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This, or Something like It: Socrates and the Problem of Authority by Simon Dutton A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Co-Major Professor: Joanne B. Waugh, Ph.D. Co-Major Professor: Joshua Rayman, Ph.D. Michael Morris, Ph.D. Mor Segev, Ph.D. Date of Approval June 29, 2020 Keywords: Plato, Justice, Dialectic, Soul Copyright © 2020, Simon Dutton Acknowledgments The story of how I found myself working on a PhD in the Department of Philosophy at the University of South Florida is either a short one about filing some paperwork or one that would require relating a strange, painfully convoluted, and unlikely series of events, the telling of which would massively outstrip the length of the dissertation to which these acknowledgments are attached. I shall hence tell neither story here. It will be acknowledged, however, that I appreciate the existence of a place like this, where a person like me could find an academic home. I recognize that such an existence does not emerge accidentally, and I would like to thank all the people I know, and those I do not know, who helped make this department the place that it is—and by name, I would like to thank Roger Ariew for building this home and letting me stay here for a while. During this time, I have benefitted from advice, instruction, and support from numerous faculty members, staff, and fellow graduate students. Resisting the urge to recite a Homeric catalogue of names, I thank here but a few, but to those not named, I thank you too. To all the professors from whom I have learned. To Darlene for correcting the many administrative errors I insist on continually committing. To colleagues from my early years and the new students who have helped me through. I am especially grateful to those with whom I shared my struggle. Thank you to Dwight Lewis for the late-night breaks. To Zachary Purdue for the time and the absurdity (hands on clockfaces, both broken and those ticking ever on). To Zachary Vereb and Raman Sachdev for reading and responded to parts of my dissertation, who would do such a thing? And a special thank you to Matt Eckel and Laura Wells for bestowing on this dissertation the peculiar honor of having been read in full by anyone other than those who are paid to do so. It is terribly encouraging to feel as though all this work was not typed directly into the abyss. I do offer my sincerest gratitude to my committee, regardless of renumeration. Thank you to Michael Morris and Mor Segev for staying with me through the many changes in my project and my projected timeline—and thank you for your careful reading. Thank you, Joshua Rayman, for the consistent ADVICE AND CRITICAL FEEDBACK over the years. My endless gratitude, of course, to Joanne Waugh. It is a common refrain to convey to one’s advisor that a project would not have been possible without their help. In my case, this is true beyond the tutelage, the critique, and the discussion (though I thank her for this too). If Dr. Waugh had not devoted so many years to reading Plato in ways that make people mad, I could not possibly have written this dissertation. I consider it a very special honor to be one of your last students. While I know there are parts of my argument you disagree with (I know because you have told me this many, many times), I hope this was a decent last stand—and I promise to continue reading Plato in ways that make people mad. I must continue to thank those whose support made all of this possible. Thank you to my family: David, Susan, and Adam. You have conspired well, in your outrageously unflinching support, to fool me into believing I am smart. Not once have you told me not to follow any of the ludicrous paths upon which I have long been wont to embark, and surely pursuing a PhD in philosophy must count as such a path. On a path similar, but distinct, thank you also to my kindred, Tom Bramhall. Finally, thank you, Danielle Smith. Thank you for the love and support. Thank you for being there for me and here with me. In many ways, all this has been an expensive and protracted way to receive a certificate of proof that I am at least half as intelligent as you are. I do not know that I would have signed up for this, or continued through, if not to impress you. Not that you make these demands of me—I suspect you love me the way I am. But I continue to strive to be the person I think that you think I am. Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Introduction: The Authority of Origins........................................................................................... 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Ἀρχή and the Origin of Authority ..................................................................................... 10 Chapter One: The Socratic Ἀρχή .................................................................................................. 21 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 21 Origins in the Frame ......................................................................................................... 23 The Authority of the Forms .............................................................................................. 28 The Greatest Aporia .......................................................................................................... 34 The Power of Dialectic ..................................................................................................... 38 Έξ Ἀρχῆς (Slight Return).................................................................................................. 44 The Crisis of Origins ......................................................................................................... 48 Destruction of Dialectic .................................................................................................... 50 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 54 Chapter Two: Knowledge of the Divine ....................................................................................... 57 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 57 Authority in the Frame ...................................................................................................... 59 Plato’s Euthyphro.............................................................................................................. 64 Euthyphro’s Case .............................................................................................................. 68 The Demotic View ............................................................................................................ 70 Justice in Parts................................................................................................................... 75 I. Ἀρχή: ................................................................................................................. 75 II. Έξ Ἀρχῶν: ........................................................................................................ 78 III. Second Sailing: ............................................................................................... 83 Aporia ............................................................................................................................... 86 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 88 Chapter Three: The Remainder of the Just ................................................................................... 90 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 90 The Piraeus........................................................................................................................ 94 A Tedious Prologue .......................................................................................................... 98 I. The Festival of Bendis: .................................................................................... 100 II. The Estate of Cephalus:.................................................................................. 105 Justice
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