Abstract

In Plato’s early dialogues Socrates seems to make a contradictory statement about politics. In the Apology he denies his commitment to political activity in Athens, whereas in the Gorgias he declares that he is the only politician in his time, using the ‘true political craft’. How can we understand his prima facie contradictory statement? In this paper, I aim to answer this question by showing that Socrates is a ‘radical’ politician in democratic Athens, who keeps prompting each individual to care for the soul and the truth. For this aim, I first clarify usual ‘political’ activities in Athens in terms of the public-private dichotomy. Then, I elucidate the political meaning of Socrates’ philosophy in “the semi-public sphere” that he discovers for his politics between the public sphere and the private sphere. In the semi-public sphere, such as the Agora, Socrates helps his fellow citizens establish their true selves, independently of ‘the politics of reputation’. Finally, I conclude that Socrates’ statement about politics is not self-contradictory, although Plato has Socrates pointing out the important use of ‘the true rhetoric’ in the presence of many people.