Friday, March 31, 2017

The City Not Built

Given the troubling similarities between Socrates’ original conversation with Thrasymachus and the eventual degenerative properties of the City-In-Words, some questions arise on a diagetic level. 

What would Socrates have discussed with those present if Thrasymachus had never arrived (or had given up his position without explaining it/defending it)? Would Glaucon/Adeimantus have responded in a similar manner to another Socratic conversation (as tailored as The Republic is in its current form to their specifications)?

1 comment:

  1. A fair question -- and I think we might usefully see Socrates' refutation (or taming) of Thrasymachos as a microcosmic version of the larger argument (though neither seems actually disposative). But recalling that the whole dialogue is a literary construction, it seems propitious that Plato places Thrasymachos where he does...

    ReplyDelete