Thursday, October 24, 2013
Abstract_10/24/2013
Here is my abstract. I look forward to reading what you all think. Blessings- Nathan
Contemporary philosophers often explicitly or implicitly hold that the primary topic under consideration in the Laches is courage. One sees this, for example, in the work of Vlastos, Penner, and Santas. I argue that this view is mistaken. Instead, I contend that the discussion of courage serves to flesh-out the primary theme of the dialogue—namely, that the Athenian educational process is in disarray. I will defend this view by arguing for four theses. First, the dominant contemporary view does not adequately account for the discussion of learning at the beginning and end of the dialogue. Second, throughout the Laches, the characters disclose that few if any have taught or are teaching the youth about the most important issues in life. Third, Socrates argues that the narrow conception of courage within the Athenian Warrior Ethic that the generals have adopted is insufficient; it does not provide the necessary resources for young men to turn out well. Fourth and finally, the discussion of courage demonstrates that both generals are malformed and need moral instruction. This, of course, is problematic given the role that the generals have as senior leaders within the Athenian government.
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Nathan- I have not read Laches, so take this worth a grain of salt. However, it seems from your abstract that the more obvious interpretation of the dialogue is that it is about courage. You propose to argue for a different view; namely, that it is really about the educational process. If your interpretation is correct, I think it would be nice if you could connect the dots for us. Why is courage, as opposed to some other issue (or virtue), chosen in connection with the broken educational process? This would seem to tie in the tradition interpretation in with new your proposal nicely, and I think it might give it more credibility.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I haven't read the Laches, so I don't feel qualified to give you much advice. However, it might be helpful if you could point to another dialogue in which this same sort of thing occurs. I'm not sure if there is another, but that would definitely strengthen your argument.
ReplyDeleteLastly, do you know who Vlastos is?! (Just kidding)
Nathan, I like the four main points you plan to argue, and think they make a solid paper. I would focus on the second part of your third point more than the first part, since the second distinctively supports your thesis. you are probably already planning to do that.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I seem to have the same thought as Matthew had while reading your abstract. If the primary topic is the educational disarray of Athens, why choose to discuss courage. I'm not saying the choice seems implausible, but it seems to be a very interesting question IF you have time to address it. I know that may not be plausible.
One possible objection. Don't a lot of dialogues say a lot about education while discussing various topics? How should we distinguish which ones, if any, focus primarily on education and which on the more particular subject matter such as courage, knowledge, or virtue? In one sense, the idea that many of the dialogues having a primary topic seems dubious. But in another sense, I like trying to find something that qualifies as the primary topic in a dialogue. I wonder, though, whether Plato would have liked that approach by readers. :)
I've never encountered the Laches, but I would like to hear what "turning out well" would look like. I'm sure you have that planned in, but so far as a critique, that is the extent of my qualification.
ReplyDeleteAs with Bryant's abstract, I commented on this while I was at the conference but my comments seemed not to have posted. I do think drawing out the educational dimensions of the Laches will be helpful. perhaps there is some underlying link between courage and education. I like the critique of the warrior ethic aspect.
ReplyDeleteI think Gary Scott's Plato's Socrates as Educator deals with the Laches.
ReplyDelete