Plato’s analysis of the meaning of truth centres around his dialogue the Phaedrus, and forms the foundation for the conception of self in Western culture.
In the Phaedrus, the vehicle for Plato's journey to Truth is a wide-ranging discussion between Socrates and his young protégé Phaedrus mainly about a speech given by their colleague Lysias regarding the nature of love which leads to Socrates discussion of the nature of truth and defines a "true" rhetoric.
Rhetoric
From the greek rhetoreia, meaning "oratory," or "public speaking" and rhetor meaning "public speaker".
Corax lived in a Greek colony on the island of Sicily.467BC. At that time the people went to court to settle land disputes left over from various wars. Corax went to court to examine and analyse how people pleaded their case. He studied who was successful and who wasn't and why. Thus he made the first systematic study of rhetoric.
There are five canons of rhetoric:
Invention, arrangement, style, delivery and memory
Plato defines rhetoric in the Gorgias, and later and more completely in the Phaedrus:
Socrates: In my opinion, then, Gorgias, it [i.e., rhetoric] is a certain pursuit that is not artful but belongs to a soul that is skilled at guessing, courageous, and terribly clever by nature at associating with human beings; and I call its chief point flattery.
Gorgias (c. 387-385 BCE) (463 a-b; trans. James H. Nichols, Jr.)
Socrates: Well, then, would not the rhetorical art taken as a whole be a certain leading of the soul [psychagogia] through speeches [logon], not only in law courts and whatever other public gatherings, but also in private ones, the same concerning both small and great things, and no less honoured, with a view to what's correct at least, when it arises concerning serious than concerning paltry matters?
Phaedrus (c. 370 BCE) (261a-b; trans. James H. Nichols, Jr.)
“Rhetoric is the power of discovering in any given case all the available means of persuasion."
(Aristotles Rhetiric, 13556,25)
Plato located truth in a metaphysical world and conceptualized the human self as a thinking being capable of accessing that metaphysical world through the method of dialectic which in terms of the Greek understanding is a heuristic method of instruction by question and answer. Within this metaphysical realm there exist the eternal and immutable “Forms or Ideas” which give meaning and coherence to the whole of “reality", of which the Good is identified as the highest form of “Truth”, which ultimately provides the basis for the understanding of “truth” in our world of everyday experience.
With this formulation, Plato establishes a distinction between the metaphysical realm and the physical and psycho-spiritual which becomes the mind/body split. This human self is fundamentally an intellectual entity whose "true" or essential nature exists as separate from the physical world.
Aristotle
Aristotle was born in Stagira in north Greece, the son of Nichomachus, the court physician to the Macedonian royal family. He was trained first in medicine, and then in 367 he was sent to Athens to study philosophy with Plato. He stayed at Plato's Academy until about 347. Though a brilliant pupil, Aristotle opposed some of Plato's teachings, and when Plato died, Aristotle was not appointed head of the Academy.
Whereas Aristotle's teacher Plato had located ultimate reality in Ideas or eternal forms, knowable only through reflection and reason, Aristotle saw ultimate reality in physical objects, knowable through experience. Objects, including organisms, were composed of a potential, their matter, and of a reality, their form; thus, a block of marble -- matter -- has the potential to assume whatever form a sculptor gives it, and a seed or embryo has the potential to grow into a living plant or animal form. In living creatures, the form was identified with the soul; plants had the lowest kinds of souls, animals had higher souls which could feel, and humans alone had rational, reasoning souls. In turn, animals could be classified by their way of life, their actions, or, most importantly, by their parts.
He pre-empted Darwin’s theory of evolution by more than 2,000 years in considering that the whole vital process of the earth takes place so gradually, and in periods of time which are so immense compared with the length of our life, that these changes are not observed, and before their course can be recorded from beginning to end whole nations come and go.
Where Aristotle differed most sharply from medieval and modern thinkers was in his belief that the universe had never had a beginning and would never end; it was eternal. Change, to Aristotle, was cyclical: water, for instance, might evaporate from the sea and rain down again, and rivers might come into existence and then dry up, but overall conditions would never change.
Heracletus “You cannot step into the same river twice”
The Greek myth of Narcissus
The youth Narcissus (narcissus means narcosis or numbing) mistook his own reflection in the water for another person. This extension of himself by mirror numbed his perceptions until he became the servomechanism of his own extended or repeated image. The nymph Echo tried to win his love with fragments of his own speech, but in vain. He was numb. He had adapted to his extension of himself and had become a closed system. Now the point of this myth is the fact that men at once become fascinated by any extension of themselves in any material other than themselves.
Self Recognition
We must attempt to break beyond the “Echo” of the narcissus myth, to show that we not only need to understand that our Ego is a reflection of our inner-self, but that it is also an extension or “repetition” of the Universe reflecting back upon itself. This combines the Positive and Negative feedback loops inherent in the creative thinking process. It also includes the either/or and both /and perspectives involved in the Analogue-Digital relationship of the communication process.
Delphi
Delphi (Greek Δελφοί — Delphee) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in a valley of Phocis. In ancient times it was the site of the most important oracle, dating into prehistoric times as a site for the worship of Gaia and in classical times, converted to that of the god Apollo.The earliest reference to the Oracle is in Homer.
Archaeological evidence suggests this worship began ca. 1600 BC and more than 15 centuries later, the priest of Plutarch reported that the name of the goatherd who first discovered the site: Coretas.
Delphi was revered throughout the Greek world as the site of the omphalos (ομφαλός) stone, the centre of Earth and the universe. In the inner hestia (ἑστία), or her hearth, of what would become the Temple of Delphic Apollo (Ἀπόλλων Δελφίνιος — Apollon Delphinios), an eternal flame (άσβεστος φλόγα) burned. After the battle of Plataea, the Greek cities extinguished their fires and brought new fire from the hearth of Greece, at Delphi; in the foundation stories of several Greek colonies, the founding colonists were first dedicated at Delphi.[1]
There is a steady increase of artifacts found at the settlement site in Delphi. Pottery and bronze work as well as tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, in comparison to Olympia. Neither the range of objects nor the presence of prestigious dedications proves that Delphi was a focus of attention for worshipers of a wide range, but the strong representation of high value goods are found in no other mainland sanctuary, certainly encourages that view.
The oracle was known as the Pythia. (From Pytho, meaning “to rot”, a reference to the decay of the snake’s body that Apollo killed there).It is clear that mythologically speaking, it was considered to be the “rotting corpse” that provided the fumes that put the Pythia in contact with the gods. We can only wonder whether the Python was therefore similar in nature to the Gorgon, who was said to be able to give immortality or instant death, depending on which side of the body you took the blood from and drank it. Finally, the story is very similar to the foundation mythology of St Patrick’s Purgatory in Ireland, a site in origin very similar to the oracle and equally linked with the conquest of a mythical monster, this time conquered by the Christian saint St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland.
H.W. Parke writes that the foundation of Delphi and its oracle took place before the times of recorded history and its origins are obscure, but dating to the worship of the Great Goddess, Gaia.
The Oracle exerted considerable influence throughout the Greek world, and she was consulted before all major undertakings: wars, the founding of colonies, and so forth. She also was respected by the semi-Hellenic countries around the Greek world, such as Lydia, Caria, and even Egypt.
Herbert William Parke, The Delphic Oracle, v.1, p.3.
It is a popular misconception that the oracle predicted the future, based on the lapping water and leaves rustling in the trees; the oracle of Delphi never predicted the future, but gave guarded advice on:
1. How incumbent disaster could be avoided.
2. How impiety might be cleansed.
Once, this woman’s utterances could change the destiny of nations – she was not just consulted by leaders of various Greek city states, but also by king Amasis of Egypt, Solon of Athens and king Croessus from Lydia; all visited Delphi, in search of her divine guidance. Or rather: that of the god Apollo, who spoke through her.
Delphi had two important sayings which were purportedly carved into the rock above the doorway to the temple:
1. γνῶθι σεαυτόν ("know thyself") and
2. μηδὲν ἄγαν ("nothing in excess"), as well as a large letter E
When examined from a psychological viewpoint the cave can be seen as a representation of the unconscious. It is my belief that these messages in this context were meant as a warning to those who intended to consult the oracle that, unless they prepare themselves psychologically, emotionally and behaviorally prior to entering the cave, their chances of correctly understanding and interpreting the oracles advice would be difficult, if not impossible. The consequences of such a misunderstanding could be dire.
The message to any traveler embarking on the journey of self understanding in terms of this interpretation, must be to analyse their own unconscious motives and behaviour, in order to allow themselves an opportunity to gain a deeper and more genuine understanding of their own impulses and actions and thereby avoid any impending impiety or disaster. ( the oracles prognostications)
Sigmund Freud, the great Austrian father of Psychoanalysis, was the first to develop the symbolic relationship between the Oracle and Oedepus myths
Freud’s principle of the Oedipus Complex was developed in relation to the myth of Oedipus.
The myth of Oedipus
Laius king of Thebes, married Jocasta (Epicasta), daughter of Menoeceus and sister of Creon. They had a son named Oedipus.
Following the birth, Laius learned from the oracle that his son will one day kill him and have children by his mother. Horrified, he ordered his shepherd to leave the child exposed in the mountains. However, the shepherd took pity on the child and gave Oedipus to Merope or Periboea, wife of Polybus, the king of Corinth.
They adopted the child and brought him up as their own. When Oedipus became a man however, he also learned from the oracle in Delphi, that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Hoping to avoid his fate, and thinking that Polybus was his real father, Oedipus decided to never return to Corinth.
As he journeyed, he came across Laïus in his chariot with his armed escorts on their way to Delphi. A fight ensued and Oedipus unknowingly killed his father and all but one bodyguard. Creon became king following the death of his brother-in-law, Laius.
Outside of Thebes, a monster known as the Sphinx had been killing travellers, who couldn't answer her riddle. The riddle was:
"What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?"
Oedipus arrived and correctly answered the Sphinx' riddle, saying that it was man. Man, because as infant would crawl on it hands and feet; in most of his life, he would walk on two legs; but when he was old, he would have to rely on a walking stick. The Sphinx committed suicide.
When the Thebans heard that Oedipus had solved the riddle of the Spinx and got rid of it, Creon proclaimed the young hero as king, and unwittingly married his sister Jocasta to her own son. Jocasta had four children to Oedipus, Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone and Ismene. They lived happily for many years during which time Thebes prospered. Oedipus was known as a wise and just king.
After some years a plague occurred and Oedipus learned that it was caused by the murder of Laius, and that it was due to the fact that his killer had gone unpunished. At the same time, he heard that Polybus had died of natural causes in Corinth.
Oedipus consulted the blind seer, Teiresias and found out that he had been adopted and that his father was Laius, and that he was left to die in the mountains. When Oedipus and Jocasta realised that the oracles prediction had come true, Jocasta hanged herself, while Oedipus put out his own eyes. Thebes drove Oedipus into exile as a murderer.
However, in the end he returns to a more solitary and self reflective way of life, and “Sophocles” Oedipus declares, "Despite so many ordeals, my advanced age and the nobility of my soul make me conclude that all is well."
The meaning of the term 'Oedipus complex' is symbolic. Like all the metaphors Freud used in his writings, this term is valuable primarily for its suggestiveness and referential richness. It is a metaphor operating on many levels, since it alludes to other metaphors by its overt and covert references to the myth and the drama. Freud chose it to illumine and vivify a concept that defies more concise expression.
To quote Jung, “There are, and always have been, those who cannot help but see that the world and its experiences are in the nature of a symbol, and that it reflects something that lies hidden in the subject himself.”
Oedipus, in fleeing Corinth, paid no attention to the admonitory temple inscription 'Know thyself'. The inscription implicitly warned that anyone who did not know himself would misunderstand the sayings of the oracle. Because Oedipus was unaware of his innermost feelings, he fulfilled the prophecy. Because he was unknowing of himself, he believed that he could murder the father who had raised him well, and marry the mother who loved him as a son. Oedipus acted out his metaphorical blindness - his blindness to what the oracle had meant, based on his lack of knowledge of himself - by depriving himself of his eyesight. In doing so, he may have been inspired by the example of Teiresias, the blind seer who reveals to Oedipus the truth about Laius's murder. We encounter in Teiresias the idea that having one’s sight turned away from the external world and directed inward - toward the inner nature of things - gives true knowledge and permits understanding of what is hidden and needs to be known.
Know Thyself
The issue is not that Oedipus was intrinsically bad, in fact quite the contrary, he was considered as a wise and just king. Oedipus’s mistake was in not questioning and understanding his own motives and desires (Self Reflection) before embarking on his journey into the cave of the oracle, and entering into the potentially perilous world of the unconscious. He failed to notice or understand the message emblazoned over the entrance, “Know Thyself,” which was meant for all who intended to enter the cave, to heed. Our apparent sorrows of life occur when we embark on the journey without reflection.
Reasoned Choice
Freedom of choice made in the light of reason, what I will call Reasoned Choice (which includes consideration, understanding, reasonableness, communication and responsible action) is one of the guiding principles of the traveller. This would have allowed him to understand the true meaning of the message, and a chance to save the situation from disaster. In the end he, like his biological parents before him, was unable to combine reflection and reason with emotion in understanding the essential meaning of the message, which only the detached light of conscious, reasoned choice could reveal. The spur of the moment is not the moment of reason.
In the end the light of wisdom, experience and responsible actions, combine to free the soul from the psychological tension caused by the distinction between self and other which on the one hand is the source of the creative impulse of man, and on the other, can lead to a perpetual cycle of anxiety and euphoria which breaks the stillness of the mind and leads to a spiritual and cosmic disassociation
The Greek myth of Sisyphus
Most accounts of his eventual fate include the fact that he had shown irreverence towards the gods and stole their secrets, including the secret of immortality. Homer tells us also that Sisyphus had put Death in chains. Pluto could not bare the appearance nor stand the silence of his realm, so he sent Zeus to free Death from captivity.
Following his death, Sisyphus asked and was given permission by Pluto god of the underworld, to return to the world in order to chastise his wife for a disloyalty of love that she had shown him as he neared death. But when he returned, and saw in the light of day the stunning beauty of the world, he decided to stay. He was given several warnings but refused to heed them. The gods eventually sent Mercury to seize him and return him to the underworld where his fate was waiting.
He was set the futile and eternally repeating task of pushing a boulder up a mountain. When he arduously reached the summit the boulder would roll back down to the bottom where he would begin his task again.
The question is, did he choose not to return to the perpetual darkness of the underworld through an act of free will, or was he so transfixed by the images of the light world, like Narcissus, that he was rendered incapable of making a reasoned choice.
According to Homer, Sisyphus was the wisest and most prudent of mortals. He knew the secrets of the gods, their strengths and failings, and that his punishment for disobedience would be horrendous. And yet once his consciousness had been calibrated by the experience of both the light and dark worlds in elegant harmony, he was free to make his own decisions. He had realized that in the final analysis, there is no sun without shadow, and it is as essential to know the night as it is the light of day. He chose the light of day.
Free Will
As he pauses at the mountain top, and during his decent to the bottom to repeat the cycle, what preserves his sanity when he contemplates his fate is the knowledge of the fact that his predicament is of his own making. Although it is beyond his physical powers to ever escape from this endless, monotonous and futile task, his conscious act of free will in defiance of the gods, helps sustain him in his human suffering.
The tragedy of the myth is that even after the most profound experience of life and death he could not understand their purposeful and harmonic relationship. His choice was selfish, and he chose the life world. He was unable to move on. His sin was that of attachment to what the Hindus call Maya, which is the illusion of material existence. He failed to see the light of his own soul.
The Greek myth of Tantalus
Tantalus (tăn'tələs). In Greek mythology, king of Sipylos, son of Zeus and father of Pelops and Niobe.
Tantalus is known for having been welcome at Zeus' table in Olympus. There he stole nectar and ambrosia, the drink and food of the gods respectively, brought them back to his people, and revealed the secrets of the gods.
As retribution he was hurled into Tartus, the Underworld zone of punishment. There he was condemned by Zeus to perpetual thirst and starvation. He had to stand for eternity, trapped in a pool of water that receded when he tried to drink, and beneath the bough of a fruit tree whose branches would rise out of reach when he tried to pick its fruit to eat. A further account of his punishment tells of a great stone, hung finely balanced over his head, threatening to fall at any moment. This tale is now seen as proverbial for temptation without satisfaction and is the origin of the word "tantalize."
Power
For me the myth signifies a further landmark in the development of self expression in terms of its relationship between the treatment of power at the secular (Tantilus was a king who tried to improve the welfare of his people), and spiritual levels (Tantilus was a sinner who disobeyed the gods and must be punished).
His satisfaction, and what sustains him in his suffering, is like Jesus of the new testament, the knowledge that he sacrificed himself in an attempt to improve the lot of his people, while remaining strong in his faith. (Although he revealed the secrets of the gods, he offered up his son, Pelops as a sacrifice.)
Plato's Allegory of the Cave
Plato in his allegory of the Cave makes the point that many of us are psychologically buried as it were in a dark cave (of the unconscious) and chained so that we can only face one of the opposing cave walls. The only light is projected from a small fire in the cave, onto the facing wall. The only images we see are the shadows of events happening behind us, and reflected by the light from the flames onto the facing wall, which is what we believe to be reality.
Stated in today’s terms, we are mesmerized by the media led, and commercially, financially and politically driven, shadowy projections of reality, into believing that what we see and hear is actually substantial reality, the ‘Truth,’ which in fact is “Their”, often expedient truth, but not necessarily ours.
Plato’s allegory continues with the eventual escape of some individuals from the cave into the true light of day, which he terms ‘The Good’, where they realize that they have been living in a shadowy illusion in the cave.
What we need is a truly democratic system, whose primary focus is the general welfare of the people, whose driving force is the will of the people, and who can offer decentralized structure, inspired, compassionate and courageous leadership, which will take us from the darkness of this dependent state, into the light of freedom and personal responsibility, enabling us to ‘Grow Up.’
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