Plato's Use of Irony

Abstract

The purpose of my thesis is to explore the way Plato uses irony to further his philosophical ends. The key theme might be glossed as turning burdens into boons. The first chapter looks at irony in general; its history and nature and way writers put it to use. The second chapter looks to ‘Socratic Irony’ and, after a survey of the ever-growing scholarship, argues for a more traditional approach (against the recent scholarship). Through false modesty and false praise Socrates shows people the folly of their false conceit; and in particular, Socrates appeals to these people’s vanity precisely to expose that very vanity. The third chapter explores how Socrates ironically turns vices to a virtuous end: in the Phaedo he appeals to the bodily desires and fears of his interlocutors to lead them away from bodily attachment. For example, he exploits their (bodily) fear of death to encourage them towards a life which avoids bodily attachment. While chapters two and three look at how Socrates responds to his interlocuters, chapters four and five discuss how Plato interacts with the reader. The fourth chapter concerns the way Plato’s symbolism can tend in two directions: in the Symposium he uses passionate love (erōs) to typify philosophy even though this is the very opposite of what is required from a philosopher, who is self-controlled and unmoved by bodily desires. This irony reflects an ‘erotic’ pedagogic technique which requires us to peer beneath the surface meaning of the text. Finally the fifth chapter turns to the account of erōs in the Phaedrus and argues that this conceals an account of how to read and respond to Plato’s text. I claim that Plato wants to inculcate certain thinking habits (or epistemic skills) in us, which habits are encouraged and developed by interpreting his texts and unravelling his ironies. Throughout my thesis emphasis is placed on explaining why Plato would want to employ irony in his texts—as opposed to speaking more directly, say—and this issue comes to the fore in the final chapter. On the one hand, irony helps Plato speak to two different audiences at the same time; on the other hand, his use of irony is employed to facilitate the all-important transition from the physical to the intellectual.