In Laws IV-V, Plato highlights that care of/for the self contains ambiguity and involves a fundamental alternative: φίλος αὑτῷ/σφόδρα ἑαυτοῦ φιλία. This paper analyses the meaning of this alternative, the questions it raises and its implications – in particular: the reason for which the second form of care for the self has a defective character and constitutes the origin of all faults ; how the very care for the self can lead to a misrepresenting of the self and of all it interacts with; in what…
Read moreIn Laws IV-V, Plato highlights that care of/for the self contains ambiguity and involves a fundamental alternative: φίλος αὑτῷ/σφόδρα ἑαυτοῦ φιλία. This paper analyses the meaning of this alternative, the questions it raises and its implications – in particular: the reason for which the second form of care for the self has a defective character and constitutes the origin of all faults ; how the very care for the self can lead to a misrepresenting of the self and of all it interacts with; in what sense the σφόδρα ἑαυτοῦ φιλία has to do with a claim to know ; what is the link between the opposition mentioned above and the “secondary” character of the ψυχή when compared to the gods sc. to the “divine” ; and, lastly, e) what a correct care of/for the self would consist of.
