Plato’s Unwritten Doctrines from a Hermeneutical Point of View*

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Plato’s Unwritten Doctrines from a Hermeneutical Point of View*

ABSTRACT: In this paper, I will show the deep roots of dialogue in Plato’s thought, in order to examine the validity of the so-called ‘esoteric Plato’. The confrontation between dialogicity and unwritten doctrines is the main theme of this article. These two views — Hermeneutics and Tübingen School — are not far away on concrete contents, with more or less variations. But it must be noticed that both conceptions of Platonic thinking are contradictory and that is reflected in their explanations of Plato’s own philosophical project.

To begin with, I will not compare each point of the Hermeneutic and Tubingen School positions. I will explain, so far as I can understand, why the explanation of the Tübingen School is unsatisfactory. (1) These insufficiencies are not related to its deep analysis of the Platonic oral tradition, exactly to its interpretation. (2) The question is wholly hermeneutical and refers to the pretension, extension and value that this oral doctrine can have in Platonic philosophy.

I will avoid the content questions, because they are far away from the purpose of this paper. The implicit question in these two trends is the following: can Plato’s own philosophy be reduced to a metaphysical system? (3) The affirmative answer to that question holds the whole account of the Tübingen School. But I consider that this assumption is not correct and that it supposes the projection of alien elements to Platonic philosophy. And my task in this contribution is to show why.

Plato’s thought has two axes: thematical and formal. Thematically it moves around the Good, and formally, around the dialectic. Both themes are the ground of his whole work and the ideas are not more than the attempt of joining them. The dialectical access to ideas is fully congruous with the question of the Good, at all levels. This is clearly exposed in the beginning of Philebus, (4) where it is necessary to reach the truth about the good through dialogue, with all required efforts. But dialogue is not a combat between enemies to win one position, but the battle between allies supporting the truth.

Dialectic is not another thing than the ability to guide a conversation, that is, the capability to dialogue. (5) Because of that, language —exactly (6) — has no secondary position in Plato’s philosophy. Even one of his works is wholly dedicated to that theme — Cratylus —, and there it can be seen that language is neither pure nature nor complete artifact.

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