Thursday, February 23, 2017
So far one of the most interesting characters in Plato's Dialogues, in my opinion is Cephalus. In class, the idea was put forward that Socrates was trying to politely get rid of Cephalus in his conversation. I do not think that this is the case for two reasons. The first is that Socrates seems to repeat some of the things he said later on in the dialogue. The second, and more important reason, is that I cannot see Socrates trying to get rid of anyone no matter how old or annoying they are. Socrates is seeking wisdom and has so far been willing to talk to anyone to try to find it. Even if Cephalus is very set in his opinions, some of them could be right and for that reason I do not think Socrates was trying to get rid of Cephalus at the beginning of the Republic.
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I don't think Socrates is dismissing or disrespecting him in any way. I do think, however, that there is a real power struggle in this conversation over the attention of the young men, and the satisfied patriarch has got to go, however politely Socrates eases him off the stage. That doesn't mean he does not listen to what he has to say.
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