27 October 2025
Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 70
1. The Wonder of Philosophy
“Socrates: . . . I, who do not, at my age, either increase in size or diminish, am in the course of a year first larger than you, who are young, and afterwards smaller, when nothing has been taken from my size, but you have grown. For I am it seems, afterwards what I was not before, and I have not become so; for it is impossible to have become without becoming, and without losing anything of my size I could not become smaller. And there are countless myriads of such contradictions, if we are to accept these that I have mentioned. You follow me, I take it, Theaetetus, for I think you are not new at such things.
“Theaetetus: By the gods, Socrates, I am lost in wonder when I think of all these things, and sometimes when I regard them it really makes my head swim.
“Socrates: Theodorus seems to be a pretty good guesser about your nature. For this feeling of wonder shows that you are a philosopher, since wonder is the only beginning of philosophy . . . “
(Plato, Theaetetus, translated by Harold North Fowler, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1928, pages 53-55, 155b-155d, ISBN: 0674991370)
1.1 This is a famous passage from Plato’s dialogue Theaetetus. It has been quoted often. I can understand why. Philosophy begins in wonder (awe, amazement, and so forth). And we have all had that experience of wonder and awe when we face the cosmos or when we wonder why we are here and what we should be doing.
1.2 I also like this passage because it contrasts with how contemporary views of philosophy function. Contemporary philosophy begins in doubt; this can be seen very clearly in Descartes. We doubt everything and this has led our society to a kind of militant skepticism. Doubting has become a compulsive habit rather than a tool to be used when needed.
This compulsive doubting has manifested in the view that the philosopher’s task is to write devastating critiques, particularly of traditional views. Kant played an enormous part in this way of looking at philosophy because of the huge impact of works like The Critique of Pure Reason. I don’t think Kant intended to transform philosophy into love of critiques (as opposed to love of wisdom). I suspect that Kant wanted to provide some philosophical justification for some eternal truths, not the least of which was God. But what subsequent philosophers learned from Kant’s critiques was not the conclusions that Kant himself reached, but, rather, that critique itself was what was significant.
Plato criticizes movements like the Sophists but his purpose in doing so is to clarify what the meaning of philosophy is; that is to say that in these critiques the ultimate task of Plato is a positive one which is to reveal what Philosophy is and how the path of Philosophy is undertaken. The Sophists mimicked Philosophy in significant ways and because of this it was easy for young people to be led astray by Sophists. Plato’s criticisms counter this possibility.
1.3 I think that the word ‘wonder’ has an aura of the mysterious around it. Ultimately the cosmos is a mysterious place. And as we ascend higher on the path of Philosophy it becomes more mysterious, until we merge with that which is the great mystery of life and death.
An old Autumn house –
3. Misology
I have some old friends who dislike philosophical discussion, argument, and dialectic. It might surprise readers that I have such friends. But friendship has many facets and functions.
In fact, engaging in philosophical discussion is rare; if by ‘philosophical discussion’ one means things like dialectic and related procedures. Philosophical discussion often irritates people; it makes people feel frustrated and, sometimes, embarrassed. This goes all the way back to Socrates; it is a frequent observation. It is discussed in Phaedo where Socrates says that he considers this dislike of philosophical discussion, or misology, to be a major flaw that will prevent people from becoming Philosophers.
Instead, Philosophers tend to be lovers of discussion. Is this something people are born with? I’m not sure, but in my own case I was raised by parents who enjoyed having discussions about many issues (primarily politics, but other things as well) at the dinner table. My parents really liked engaging in this way and I, and my siblings, never go the impression that discussions like this would strain their relationship. I think having this model while growing up made it much easier for me to engage in philosophical discussion, to be a lover of philosophical discussion rather than someone who dislikes philosophical discussion.
4. The Joy of Diminishing Sexual Desire
I have posted often about Platonist ethics as the practice of turning away from sensory stimulation and turning away from using pleasure as a measure of the worthiness of various activities. I have most frequently posted about vegetarianism as a kind of ethical restraint. I have also posted about refraining from alcohol. And I have posted about the Platonist perspective on non-harming and non-retaliation. I have mentioned sexual restraint in passing, but I have not posted about the restraint of sexual activity, meaning the diminishing of sexual activity, as a Platonist practice. It is time to explore this aspect of Platonist asceticism. Here is a quote regarding this topic from The Republic:
“Yes indeed, Cephalus,” I [Socrates] said, “and what’s more I do enjoy talking to very old men. As they have already traveled along a road, as it were, which we too perhaps will have to travel, I think we should find out from them what kind of a road it is: is it rough and difficult, or easy and passable. I should very much like to ask you in particular what you make of it, since you are now at that point in your life which the poets say is ‘on the threshold of old age’: is it a difficult time of life? What report can you give of it?
“By Zeus,” he [Cephalus] said, “I’ll tell you how I feel about it, Socrates. For a number of us of about the same age often meet together, just as the old proverb says. Now at these meetings most of us lament, long for the pleasures of youth, and recall the sex, the drinking, the good food and other things of that sort. And we feel irritated, as if we have been deprived of something important. We imagine we had a good life then, but now no life at all. Some also moan on about the abuse shown to their advanced years by their families, and it’s especially for this reason that they harp on about the great miseries old age causes them. But in my opinion, Socrates, these people are not putting the blame where it belongs. For if old age were the cause, I too would have had just the same experience, at least as far as old age is concerned, and so would all the others who have reached this time of life. As it is, I have long encountered others who don’t feel like this, and again I was once present when someone asked the poet Sophocles: ‘How do you get on with sex, Sophocles? Can you still make love to a woman?’ And he replies, ‘Mind what you say. Let me tell you I am so glad to have escaped from it; it was like getting away from a raging, savage master.’ I thought his answer was good then, and I still do now no less. For undoubtedly there is considerable peace and freedom in old age from such things as these. Whenever our passions stop torturing us, Sophocles’ remark is entirely relevant: it’s an escape from a great many raging masters. But for all this, and our relationship with our families, there is just one thing to blame: not old age, Socrates, but human character. For if individuals are orderly and contented, even old age is only a moderate burden. But if not, this makes both old age and youth hard to bear, Socrates.”
(Plato, The Republic, Book I, translated by Chris Emlyn-Jones and William Preddy, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2013, pages 9-11, 328e-329d, ISBN: 9780674996502)
And here is a quote from Phaedo regarding ethical restraint, including the restraint of sexual desire:
“Now, my friend, see if you agree with me; for, if you do, I think we shall get more light on our subject. Do you think a philosopher would be likely to care much about so-called pleasures, such as eating and drinking?”
“By no means, Socrates,” said Simmias.
“How about the pleasures of love?”
“Certainly not.”
(Plato, Phaedo, translated by Harold North Fowler, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1914, page 225, 64d, ISBN: 0674990404)
4.1 In the first quote from The Republic Plato writes about the natural decline in sexual desire and performance in old age. In Phaedo Plato writes about the conscious rejection of sexual activity in order to become a Philosopher.
4.1.1 In Plato’s time, and for almost all of human history, the natural decline in sexual desire and activity was the norm for both men and women. In contemporary culture, which has a deep contempt for nature, this natural decline in interest and activity is regarded as unfortunate and mitigated through technological means. The push is to be as sexually interested and active as we were in our early teenage years. I find this to be depressing and unfortunate. But here we are. I can’t help but think that such technological intervention will, in the long term, have unfortunate results.
4.2 It is difficult to talk about the renunciation of sexual activity, either naturally or for Philosophical reasons, in our culture at this time. The giving up of sexual activity for Philosophical or spiritual reasons is often reinterpreted in modernity as a sign of psychological problems and labelled a neurosis or due to trauma. The positive benefits of voluntarily giving up, or restraining to a degree, sexual activity are rarely acknowledged. There are some exceptions to this; for example I have run across men reporting that they withdrew from sexual activity in order to overcome being constantly derailed in their lives by various levels of lust. This is what I call strategic asceticism, but I think it is worth noting.
4.2.1 The giving up of sexual activity in order to become a Philosopher would seem to most people, and especially to most academic philosophers, weird. Most would not be able to draw a causal connection between becoming a Philosopher and refraining from sexual activity. This only makes sense if you regard Platonism as a spiritual path whose primary practices are various asceses. This is one of the reasons why I like to say that Platonism more closely resembles Dharma traditions than it does contemporary philosophy.
4.3 It is worth pondering that sexual activity is very often an occasion for negative results. If we think about it, this is obvious. For example, sexual activity is very often the occasion for the spreading of serious, even fatal, diseases. It is surprising to me how seldom this aspect of sexual activity is brought up. From the perspective of Philosophy as a spiritual path, even if sexual activity had no negative consequences, those on the spiritual path would still want to abandon, or at least restrain, sexual activity. I mention the frequent consequence of the transmission of diseases because it shows how strongly people are drawn to sexual activity even when the risk of physical harm is great.
4.4 The restraints that Plato refers to in multiple dialogues, but most explicitly in Phaedo, are standard asceses (ascetic practices) found in multiple spiritual traditions. Such restraints are usually confined to those who become monastics or otherwise follow some set of vows. In Platonism I don’t detect a monastic grouping that is distinct from non-monastic Platonist practitioners. It seems to be the case that these ascetic practices, these ethical restraints, are, in the mind of Plato, defining practices for being a Philosopher at all. This will sound strange today because our conception of Philosophy has drifted very far from Plato’s conception; modern philosophy is a completely secular enterprise that does not require any kind of ethical restraint, or ascetic practices, in order to claim the mantel of Philosophy.
4.4.1 One way of looking at this is to think of something like the Buddhist monastic Sangha as defining what it means to be a Buddhist. I know that isn’t the case; but follow along as a thought experiment. If, historically, being a Buddhist was defined by the practices of a Buddhist monk this would be an example of having the same relationship that I detect in Platonism as found in Plato.
Or you could look at the Benedictines who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. A person becomes a Benedictine by following the ascetic rule that Saint Benedict wrote. In a similar way, a person becomes a Platonist by following the ascetic practices found in Plato.
4.5 An objection to this approach is based on the view that ethical practices should be universal; that is to say, that ethical practices should be for everyone. Kant’s influential Categorical Imperative also takes this approach. If everyone became chaste, that is to say renounced sexual activity, that would mean the end of humanity.
But Platonism does not think of itself as a universal path, or a path for everyone. In fact, it has the view that the ascent to the transcendent is something that only a few people will ever undertake.
4.5.1 Plato often compares learning the way of Philosophy to learning a craft (techne); Plato’s understanding of ‘craft’ is broad and includes such things as learning the specifics of body training for sports like wrestling, learning how to be a Doctor, learning how to be an artist, learning how to be a musician. None of these crafts are something that people think everyone should study and perfect. All of them are only for the few who are called to practice that particular craft. In a similar way, the student of Philosophy learns the skills and practices that constitute the way of Philosophy and perfects these skills over time. A musician learns the ins and outs of rhythm and pitch, the Philosopher learns the ins and outs of a vegetarian diet and other ethical restraints. And so forth.
4.5.2 A Doctor takes care of illnesses that strike the body. A physical trainer takes care of the cultivation of bodily strength. The musician is focused on the care of the sonic domain. The carpenter takes care of the craft of creating tables, chairs, and so forth. The Philosopher is focused on taking care of the soul.
4.6 Returning to the specific practice of avoiding, limiting, or abandoning sexual activity, the reason this is recommended by Plato is that such activity makes it difficult to cultivate an awareness of the soul. Sexual activity easily becomes obsessive and very time consuming, leaving little, or no, time left for the cultivation of asceses or virtues. I don’t think it is difficult to understand this. For example, if someone has a difficult exam coming up they will often step away from the pursuit of sexual pleasure in the lead up to that exam. This kind of thing is common and it applies to the care of the soul, though the care of the soul is a much more difficult and subtle task than taking an exam.
4.7 In our contemporary society turning away from sexual activity is difficult for the standard reason that its pleasure is very enticing, but also for the reason that at this time there has arisen the idea that our sexual nature is, in some sense, our actual identity. We no longer think of our soul as our identity, or true self, because we reject the idea of non-material realities. In the absence of an understanding of the soul, there has been a turning to things like sexual orientations of various kinds as the defining, even the inner reality, of people’s lives. This creates a barrier to the practice of sexual restraint because it feels to people like you are attacking their inner core by suggesting sexual restraint of any kind.
The antidote to this is to step back and really look at sexual activity and its results, especially, as I mentioned above, the very frequent negative consequences that follow sexual activity. Thinking about this is helpful to overcoming the compulsion of sexual desire and helps to build a foundation for living a life that is free of sexual activity, a chaste life.
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