I'll put it in Leo Strauss' words and then my own.
In On Tyranny, LS says, "Socratic rhetoric is meant to be an indispensable instrument of philosophy. Its purpose is to lead potential philosophers to philosophy...as well as to prevent the access to philosophy for those not fit"
In On Tyranny, LS says, "Socratic rhetoric is meant to be an indispensable instrument of philosophy. Its purpose is to lead potential philosophers to philosophy...as well as to prevent the access to philosophy for those not fit"
"[Socratic rhetoric] is animated by the spirit of social responsibility. It is based on the premise that there is a disproportion between the intransigent quest for truth and the requirements of society, or that not all truths are always harmless."
Plato wants to help potential philosophers find their way at the same time that he does not want to undermine the presuppositions of decent political life (divine law/freedom of choice are two grave things that Plato at LEAST calls into question)
So, he makes philosophy look more beautiful and complete than it really is. Compare the the sun image from the Socratic turn part of the Phaedo to the sun image in the Republic and you
see that former account says that are severe limits on what philosophy can accomplish whereas the latter promises access to everything the potential philosopher could ever dream of knowing.
The former account is more on the mark.
The former account is more on the mark.
The non-philosopher is overawed by what philosophy can allegedly do; and the potential philosopher is attracted by the beauty and led to investigate the beautiful (among other things).
All the while, Socrates tries to insist that the philosopher is not only a good citizen, but the best citizen. That his questioning will make everyone morally better and that the city will find a firmer grounding for justice.
But Socrates quietly admits in Apology that he has been holding back youths who have Socratic arguments that they like to use for non-Socratic ends; namely, humiliating their parents.
Not everyone is going to use Socratic arguments irresponsibly, but the reaction of many young people (in my experience) is that they can become shallow hedonistic conventionalists once they get a taste of philosophic questioning.
And that might be why dialogues like the Republic and Phaedo emphasize the ostensible "answers" that Socrates has, rather than his intransigent questioning. This is Plato being socially responsible.
The need to be responsible stems from the massive inequality between the philosopher and the non-philosopher. In many ways, the dialogues are a story of the charms that obstruct the philosophic effort. Most don't become philosophers because they are unable to by nature.
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