Wisdom and Beauty in Plato's CharmidesAlthough wisdom and beauty are prized everywhere, in what exactly they consist is a matter of dispute that even has tragic political implications. As the traditional elites of fifth-century BCE Athens felt their social privileges being chipped away by democratic encroachments, they clung to their traditional belief that they—and they alone—were “beautiful and good” enough to rule. Plato’s alternately comic and serious dialogue Charmides is set in this Athens and explores the nature of temperance (sōphrosunē: in eating, in drinking, in life in general). In this book,. Cohen-Taber uses the dramatic structure of this dialogue to show how Socrates challenges the elitist views of his two interlocutors, revealing Plato’s critiques of aristocrats’ smug complacency about their supposed exclusive natural beauty and intellectual capacities (kalokagathia) that grant them the natural right to rule. Plato decided to write the dialogue because he saw this claim of superiority as continuously threatening to destabilize his polis. This leads Plato, Cohen-Taber argues, to suggest alternative, and more egalitarian, accounts of wisdom and beauty as the drama about sōphrosunē unfolds. These accounts are thoroughly moral, and therefore open to people from any economic class. |
Contents
8 | |
Tables | 18 |
The Internal and the External Foci | 35 |
Being Active on the Inside | 36 |
Being Outwardly Active | 60 |
A Forceful Ending | 112 |
The Full Characterization 12627 | 127 |
Bibliography | 139 |
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Common terms and phrases
according activities agrees allows answer aporia appearance applies argues argument aristocratic artisans arts asks aspects associated assumes Athenian attempts attractive beauty beneficial benefit body Chaerephon chapter characters Charmides and Critias claims clearly concept concerning concludes conduct connection considered continues conversation cousins Critias crowd describe dialogue directed discussion distinction distinguish doctor encourages examine example expert explain external final focuses Greek historical human ignorance implies indicates intended internal interpretation kalos kinds of knowledge knowledge later leads Levine listener looks meaning mentions merely Moore and Raymond moral names once oneself opinion palaestra person Philosophy phrase physical Plato’s Charmides political possible practices present Profound Ignorance proposal question reader recognize refers relation result reveal says Schmid scholars seems self-knowledge sense shame social Socrates Solon sōphrōn sōphrosunē soul story suggests things traits translation Tuozzo understand various virtue whole wisdom youth καὶ