Zhang Wei |Why did Plato write a dialogue?

Only Plato chose dialogues as his writing genre throughout

Some people will say that Plato was forced to write dialogues, and he was only good at writing in the genre of dialogues. Such a claim is untenable.

Ancient Greek philosophy was written in different genres, and the ones we are most familiar with and most commonly used in modern philosophical writing are essays, notes, or commentaries. In ancient Greece, this style was also relatively developed, and Aristotle belonged to this category. Metaphysics, Physics, Poetics, Ethics, etc. are all written in the genre of philosophical treatises. But we should note a few points: First, these extant works are not philosophical treatises in the strict sense of the word, but only notes for lectures in the schools he himself has opened, and most of them are not finalized. Fortunately, these lecture notes have survived, and Aristotle's other, acclaimed, philosophical works of art have not been preserved. A considerable part of these works were written in dialogue. From this point of view, Aristotle was also a good writer of dialogues. But aristotle's dialogues are very different from Plato's dialogues.

Let's look at the ancient style and other genres of philosophical writing in the classical period. There is one genre that is the oldest and most authoritative genre – epic. Philosophers also wrote philosophical works in epics. Xenophon, for example, was a troubadour who was engaged in reciting Homer's epics and the founder of the Ilya School, and he also wrote philosophical works in epic poetry. The Ilyrian school included Parmenides, Zeno, etc., who together honored Xenophon as the founder of the Ilyrian school. Parmenides is very important in the history of Western philosophy, and he proposed the concept of existence and thought. Modern philosophers such as Heidegger still discuss his ideas. Parmenides wrote in a genre that was not philosophical treatises, but epics, and he wrote in the rhythm of the six-tone step-length and short pattern of epics. Parmenides gave his poems a mythological-like framework, saying that the goddess of truth, you take me to the divine realm, you tell me what truth and error are, etc., are completely in line with the framework of the epic. Later, there were others who also wrote this epic, including Empedocle, who was later a former Socratic philosopher. In the Roman era, there was also Lucretius, and the "Theory of Material Nature" was a philosophical work that used the epic genre to expound Epicurean thought.

There is also the aphorism, the most famous representative of which is Heraclitus, marx and Hegel both revered him as the progenitor of dialectics. Many of Heraclitus's surviving maxims are household names, such as "One cannot step into the same river twice." This aphorism, which is meant to imitate delphi's Apollo oracles, is often expressed in such a vague, ambiguous way, but with a concise meaning.

There are also oratorical bodies, like those used by some magicians such as Protagla and Golgia. Protakra's famous saying is that "man is the measure of all things", and man is the measure of things that exist, and it is also the scale of things that do not exist. He was a teacher of rhetoric and oratory, and also used the oratorical style to write philosophical works and convey his ideas.

There are also epistolary texts, but there are more scattered ones, and several epistles from Epicurus have been preserved, and the Roman philosopher Seneca also used this genre. Through the above analysis, we can see that in ancient times, whether in Greece or Rome, the writing of philosophy was not limited to philosophical papers and commentaries. In addition, there are other genres of philosophical writing that are very rich, and the dialogue genre is one of them. The writer of the dialogue is Plato, who is a representative figure. However, it is not limited to him. In addition to him, there were Xenophon and several other disciples of Socrates.

The dialogues written by Plato and Xenophon are known in academia as "Socrates Dialogues", that is, they are unfolded with Socrates as the main character. This dialogue was not invented by Plato. However, the genre of dialogues should have arisen after the birth of Socrates and the philosophical activities in which he was engaged. In addition to Plato and Xenophon, five or six others also wrote dialogues, but they have not been preserved in their entirety. Interestingly, Xenophon and Plato even engaged in some competition and competition. Plato wrote a "Drinking Chapter", Xenophon also wrote a "Drinking Chapter", Plato wrote "Socrates' Plea", and Xenophon followed closely behind. Xenophon also wrote "Memories of Socrates", all of which were in the genre of dialogues. However, in comparison with others, we find that Plato alone chose dialogue as a genre of writing throughout. Of course, in addition to his 13 letters, these 13 letters are mostly forgeries according to scholars, and most of them are very short. The most important is the seventh epistle, which is said to have come from Plato.

If we look at Plato's dialogues, we will find that they are very literary, especially his early and middle works (in the modern classification method). First of all, these dialogues are very focused on the scene where the philosophical dialogue takes place. For example, the theme of the Republic is about justice. However, the theme is not directly proposed at the beginning, but some narratives that seem to have little to do with the theme. You won't notice this topic until you read several pages. The narrative at the beginning may seem inconsequential, but it is not. He provides scenes where these conversations take place.

In addition, his interlocutors have distinct personalities. If we compare Plato's dialogues with those of other ancient writers, we will find that this is a very important feature of Plato. Dialogues by other classical writers include the works of Aristotle, whose interlocutors are merely spokesmen for a point of view and have no distinct personality; the same is true of Cicero's work. The first volume of the Republic shows three opponents of Socrates, and the views and personalities presented are very vivid. Plato's other dialogue characters have such distinct personalities, not to mention Socrates himself.

In addition, Plato's early and middle dialogues can accommodate other categories. His dialogues are actually a vehicle, in Nietzsche's words, Plato's style is not pure, he is a mixed style. He is like a flat leaf boat, placing various literary genres in ancient times on top of this leaf flat boat and crossing into the future. I think Nietzsche's comment is very insightful. Why did Nietzsche say that? If you look at Plato's writings, you will find that he directly used other genres to create. For example, in "The Drinking Session", Apolodoros recounts Aga's conversation with his family, in which a total of seven speakers with different personalities and styles discuss "love desire". Therefore, "Drinking" contains various types of speeches. Speech is not Plato's most fundamental style, but Plato's dialogues can carry speech. Let's take another example: there's a small dialogue called Meneksenos, which, in addition to the beginning, is followed by a speech. This speech is a very unique genre, called a funeral speech, and its style and expressiveness are no less than Thucydides' Pericles speeches.

Plato would also directly quote other genres such as epics and lyrics, or allude to other genres such as ancient Greek comedies and tragedies. Plato's writings are themselves highly literary. Our current research suggests that the "Dialogues of Socrates" is not intended to truly represent socrates in history, not to record socrates' dialogues one by one. He is a reproduction of the philosophical life of Socrates, often a fiction. However, this fiction is very realistic. Therefore, Socrates' dialogues are a style of reproduction of the philosophical activities that Socrates engaged in in a very realistic dialogue genre.

This raises the question: Is there a way to understand the historical Socrates? It's actually hard. For Socrates himself did not write. There may be only a few materials to understand Socrates, one is the work of Plato, in addition, there is the work of Xenophon and the comedy of Aristophanes, especially the comedy of "The Cloud", which is a satire of Socrates. How many of these ingredients are true is difficult to tell. The fourth is Aristotle. But Aristotle himself did not see Socrates, but only listened to what others had told and written down. The above four materials are the most important materials we know about Socrates. None of them can conclusively conclude what the historical Socrates really was, which is a point of contention in academic history.

From Plato's writing, we see a contradiction, that is, the more Vividly Plato describes the philosophical activities that Socrates is engaged in, the more he deviates from the philosophical spirit of Socrates. For Socrates himself did not establish a script and opposed it. Let's start with the historical view of why Socrates himself did not write. Socrates lived in 469-399 BC, when Greece was characterized by oral culture, and writing was invented as early as the 8th century BC, but until the century in which Socrates lived, the oral culture of the Greeks still dominated, that is, they emphasized oral transmission and speech. There are some differences between this and our classical Chinese culture. China entered an era of writing culture very early on. However, the Greeks did not read the Scriptures, but performed the Scriptures, that is, recited them and performed them, which was a completely oral activity. Written writing only serves as an auxiliary function. Associated with some important phenomena of Greek culture, such as some epic, tragic, and comedic performances, emphasis is placed on live performances and audience viewing, while words only play an auxiliary role. Throughout the history of ancient Greece and Rome throughout the history of the West, traditions of rhetoric and oratory were important. Socrates lived entirely in such a culture, he did not value the preservation of writing, but paid more attention to word of mouth, words and deeds. Plato also pondered the problems of oral transmission and writing. Moreover, Plato has a very profound insight, which can be found in the Phaedjo and the Seventh Letter. In the Phaedjo, Socrates borrows a myth from the Egyptians about a god named Tut who invented arithmetic, chess, writing, etc. at that time, and one day he came to the Egyptian king Tamus and introduced the functions of these things he invented and the well-being brought to mankind. Tamus made a review. Finally, Tut focuses on the invention of writing and writing. He believes that his invention extended human memory. Tamus shook his head and said: "Actually, I am not optimistic about your invention, your invention has the opposite effect on mankind, it not only cannot increase our memory, but it has corrupted our memory." Human beings rely too much on words, and the things that were originally inscribed in our minds are simply recorded in the form of writing, which will bring great damage to our memory.

The reason why Socrates speaks of this myth is to express true knowledge that can only be inscribed in the human mind. What is written down seems to have knowledge, but it is not. He made an analogy, for example, when we read a text, it is like looking at a picture, and the characters on the picture look lifelike. But when I wanted to ask him a question, he remained solemnly silent. Just as when I read a text, if I encounter a problem and want to ask it a question, it solemnly remains silent. Also, texts can reach anyone, and some people are not yet suitable for reading such texts, which do more harm than good to him. However, Socrates also said that words can sometimes play a supporting role, such as when our memory declines, words can help us remember. Text can also act as a directional sign. For those who want to follow us, words can serve as an instruction to help them. This is the relationship between writing and oral transmission mentioned in Plato's work. In the Seventh Letter, he also mentions it.

Plato wrote the reasons for his dialogues

Next, let's answer the question, that is, why did Plato write the dialogue? First of all, Plato wrote in dialogues, embodying Socrates' philosophical ideas, in order to illustrate the essential difference between Socrates and the sorcerer. At that time, people thought that Socrates was a magician, a liar, and no different from other magicians. He simply reasoned others to be exhausted, and then won and went home happily. Nothing else. However, this is not the case with Socrates. From Plato's writings, we know that Socrates was a philosopher, a philosopher with his own thoughts, and a philosopher who agreed with his words and deeds. One significant difference between Socrates and the sorcerer is that the way the sorcerer apprentices or cheats people out of money is by teaching others to give speeches. Because speech was crucial in the political life of Athens, if you want to be a good political leader, you must learn to speak. But Socrates was not interested in speech, he was interested in dialogue, he was not even interested in a conversation with a group of people, he was going to have one-on-one dialogue—this was the most fundamental and essential way in which Socrates engaged in philosophical activity. Plato, if he writes in the genre of dialogue, is completely faithful to Socrates' philosophical conception that philosophical activity must be carried out through this one-on-one, face-to-face communication. Dialogue is the real philosophical activity, because he believes that true knowledge can only be obtained in dialogue and then remembered in the mind and heart. What is written is only auxiliary. This is a philosophical concept shared by Socrates and Plato. That's the first point.

The second point is that Plato differs from Socrates: plato was a great writer because he wrote his dialogues in dramatic style. We once heard the story that Plato's dream as a young man was to be a tragedian. However, when he met Socrates and had a conversation with him, he completely changed his original intentions. He wanted to be a philosopher, not the dramatist he had been. Although Plato did not engage in the writing of plays, his talent for drama still existed. He put this talent to good use in the writing of dialogues. "Drama" is a fundamental requirement of Plato himself. Plato's way of presenting and understanding the world is through drama and understanding.

What is the way of drama? Let's start with a counterexample. Aristotle, for example, did not write dramatically or literarily. A person with dramatic talents understands the world through the clash and confrontation of different forces, and his vision is different from that of people without drama. We ordinary people understand the world through one perspective, and we think that grasping a truth is absolute. But people with dramatic views don't think so. He sees it with a more rigorous, thoughtful eye, or through the eyes of God, and the world they see is a fierce confrontation and conflict between people with different ideas, different views, and different visions. This is why Plato's different kinds of interlocutors have very distinct personalities. It has been said that people like Kaliklers are part of Plato's soul. If there is no such element in Plato's soul, there is no power to manifest these people—as in a dramatist like Shakespeare, Othello and Iagu, two tit-for-tat elements of character that coexist in Shakespeare's mind. He believes that in order to show this confrontation, it is necessary to adopt the genre of dialogue. Drama is a fundamental element in Plato's writing. In addition, Plato needed to combine this philosophical thought and philosophical life into one. This is why Plato was so concerned with these details—the places where philosophical activity took place, the character of the interlocutor, and so on. All of this comes to life in Plato's pen. The most powerful manifestation is, of course, Socrates, who is the one who combines philosophical thought and philosophical activity. This is very important in Plato's pen, and it is also important to distinguish Socrates from the wise magician: the wise magician is not the unity of knowledge and action, and Socrates is the unity of knowledge and action.

Finally, Plato's dialogues have an important pointing role. Socrates says in Phaedro that words may be of some help to those who want to follow us, that they can provide them with some guidance and direction. I think this is also a key aspect of Plato's writings, namely, that words can point to a higher realm beyond words. This higher realm refers to the things experienced in the higher realms, such as Socrates standing in the same place thinking about a problem for 24 hours, entering a certain experience of being out of the ordinary people, which ordinary people cannot do, and this experience is looming in Plato's pen.

I think that these three views, taken together, are what necessitated Plato's need to write a dialogue. This is my answer to this question, more inclined to the philosophical or literary writing aspect. Of course, there are also some different answers from other scholars, which I have also shown for your reference: some people think that Plato wrote the dialogues because of the needs of teaching, but his real doctrine is not reflected in the dialogues. Plato has another secret doctrine, which is represented by the German Tübingen School.

There is also a political interpretation, proposed by the Straussians, who believe that Plato wrote the dialogues because he learned the lesson of Socrates' execution in 399 BC, so Plato had to have reservations, not to present his views directly, but to adopt a self-protective model for his characters to express his views on his behalf. This is a view of the Straussian doctrine of political persecution.

(This article is excerpted from "Why Plato Writes Dialogues: Professor Zhang Wei's Lecture at the School of Humanities and Communication of Shanghai Normal University", published in Wen Wei Po Weekly Lecture, July 11, 2011)

Author: Zhang Wei

Editor: Chen Yu

Editor-in-Charge: Yang Yiqi

*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.