Playful Philosophy and Serious Sophistry: A Reading of Plato’s "Euthydemus"

213 Pages·2014·1.003 MB·English

by  Georgia Sermamoglou-Soulmaidi

Georgia Sermamoglou-Soulmaidi
Playful Philosophy and Serious Sophistry
Untersuchungen zur antiken
Literatur und Geschichte
Herausgegeben von
Heinz-Günther Nesselrath, Peter Scholz
und Otto Zwierlein
Band 115
Georgia Sermamoglou-Soulmaidi
Playful Philosophy
and Serious
Sophistry
A Reading of Plato’s Euthydemus
DE GRUYTER
ISBN978-3-11-036809-3
e-ISBN978-3-11-036587-0
ISSN1862-1112
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Το Nikolaos S.Tolias

Preface
This book is a substantially revised version of my doctoral dissertation,which
was submitted to the Department of Classics of the University of Virginia in
April 2012. Mydissertation supervisor,Jenny Strauss Clay, read through numer-
ous drafts, always raising questions that pushed my arguments a step further.
For her incisive reading, as well as for her continuous support throughout my
years in Virginia, I am most grateful.
Iwouldalsoliketothankthemembersofmydissertationcommittee:Daniel
Devereuxwasamostkindandencouragingreader,whoseknowledgeofPlatois
so profound that I am truly thankful for the opportunity to have worked with
him. David Kovacs read my work with meticulous care, and the final part of
my fourth chapter is the direct result of a question that he raised after reading
myfirstdraft.Finally,CoulterGeorgewasaverythoroughreaderandexception-
allygenerous with his time.
Specialthanksmustgo to Diskin Clay,SpyridonRangos,and Voula Tsouna
forsendingmetheirfeedbackonpartsofmyfirsttwochapters,andtoMaryMar-
garetMcCabeforkindlysharingwithmeadraftofachapterfromherforthcom-
ing book on the Euthydemus.
IoweanenormousdebtofgratitudetoChristosTsagalis,whohasprovided
mewithinvaluableguidanceandsupportsincemyundergraduateyears.Hehas
set a model for what a dedicated scholar and an inspiring teacher ought to be.
InmytimeinVirginiaIalsobenefitedfromdiscussionswithStacieThyrion
and Douglass Reed. Courtney Evans spent endless hours thinking through the
Euthydemus with me, and dealt with all things practical while Iwas in Athens;
but, most importantly, he has honored me with his friendship.
Finally,Iwishtothanktheeditorsoftheseries“Untersuchungenzurantiken
Literatur und Geschichte” for accepting my manuscript for publication, and es-
peciallyHeinz-GüntherNesselrathandOttoZwierleinforsendingmetheircom-
ments, as well as Katharina Legutke and Katja Brockmann at De Gruyter.
Georgia Sermamoglou-Soulmaidi
Athens,January 2014

Contents
Introduction 1
 Playful Philosophy: The Protreptic Scenes 9
. The First Protreptic 10
.. The Initial List of Goods 11
.. The Argument on Good Fortune 14
.. Using the Goods 21
.. Using the Goods Rightly 23
.. Knowledge / Wisdom 26
.. Appendix: Conventional Goods as Potential Evils 26
.. The Relation between Virtue and Knowledge 28
.. Providers of Wisdom 35
.. Evaluation of the Argument: The Relation between Wisdom and
Happiness 36
.. Socrates the “Sophist”: Similarities between the Socratic
and Eristic Method 44
.. Conclusion: The Aim of the First Protreptic 47
. The Second Protreptic 48
.. Redefining Knowledge: Production and Use 48
.. Which Form of Knowledge? 51
.. Crito’s Intervention 56
.. The Art of Politics 57
.. A Note on Socrates’ Method 64
.. Conclusion 65
 Serious Sophistry: The Eristic Scenes 67
. The Individual Scenes 68
.. The First Eristic Scene 68
.. The Second Eristic Scene 72
.. The Third Eristic Scene 88
. The Three Eristic Scenes asa Continuum 103
.. Forms and Recollection in the Third Eristic Scene 103
.. The Continuum 105
.. Two Eristic Assumptions 110
.. Back to the Continuum 119
X Contents
 Conflating Philosophy and Sophistry: The Framing Scenes 125
. Introductory Framing Scene 125
. Interruption 134
. Final Framing Scene 136
.. Socrates’ Speech of Praise 136
.. Crito as a Student 137
.. Crito and Socrates 138
.. Conclusion: The Contribution of the Final Scene 152
 Reversals: Laughter, Play, and Seriousness 155
. The Primary Theme of Laughter 156
. The Secondary Theme of Play and Seriousness 163
. The Return of the Primary Theme of Laughter 173
. The Theme of Laughter in the Framing Scenes 182
. Summary and Interpretation 185
Conclusion: Overall Interpretation 188
Appendix: The Structure of the Euthydemus 191
Works Cited 192
Index of Proper Names 200
Greek Works Cited 201
General Index 202