소크라테스의 논박술(elenchos)과 플라톤의 방법론

Abstract

This Study aims at investigating Socrates' elenchos. The research into elenchos up to the present has been based on the unverified hypothesis that Plato's dialogues of the early period are the historical documents about Socrates. It would have been thought that one can find out the substance of the Socratic method, if one investigated a regular pattern through the earlier works. But Charles Kahn puts forward the claim that Plato's earlier writings are a fictional form in which there is no reason to look for the philosophy of the historical Socrates are a literary fiction, and in which Plato intended to develop his own philosophy instead. According to his opinion the only one document about the historical Socrates is just Apology. I'll try to reconstruct elenchos, the philosophical method of the historical Socrates, criticizing the misinterpretation to mix Socrates' with Plato's method imprudently. In Apology Socrates insists that he has no wisdom about good life and the unexamined life, however, is not worth living. He obviously has a few of standards to which he appeals in making his examinations of others: his interlocuters must say only what they believe; the discussants must agree on the moral proposition of Socrates―one must not in any circumstances do wrong; eventually he examines their lives. Socrates is interested, not merely in the truth or falsehood of what people say or believe, but rather in the ways in which they live. This examining method of life is called elenchos, the practical method which aims at perfection of the Self through anxiety about soul and care for the Self. Elenchos is not a systematic but a very individual method which is applied according to ones personal history and character differently. I will call it 'existential method'. Plato identified oneself as the heir of Socratic philosophy, but had to solve its dilemma at the same time. He needed to bridge the discrepancy between his ignorance of wisdom and his moral belief and practice on the one hand, to develop the personal and unsystematic method of Socrates on the other hand. Plato proposed craftsman's method as an alternative of his individual method, succeeding the Socratic life to search for wisdom. As trainer and doctor care for bodily health by making advantage of their knowledge and experience, so Plato's method needs a specialist to care for health of soul with his moral knowledge. This method had already been conceptive for the dialogues of definition which announce the idea of the good as nature and essence of virtue.