Western Critical Tradition- Socrates and Plato
Literary tradition of the western world can be traced back to ancient Greece where literature and fine arts flourished. The art of criticism also began simultaneously. Though the date is not known, the fifth century B.C seems to have attracted a more positive attention than ever before.
The epics of Homer, the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes and the writings of Plato and Aristotle place the ancient Greek culture in a unique position. Of the philosophers of ancient Greece, the contribution of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are most significant for their relevance even in the modern age.
Socrates is responsible for evolving the method of dialoques for the finding of truth. His investigation in the various field of knowledge is in the form of discussion. 'The dialogues' are so called because each question that interested Plato, is discussed there in question and answer form by a number of interlocutors (an interlocutor is a person who takes part in a discussion), the chief of whomis Socrates. Plato's principal Dialogues were the 'Protagoras', Gorgias, 'Sophist', 'Philebus', 'Timacus', 'Laws' and the 'Apology'. During this discussions he puts questions to great scholars, examines their answers, exposes the follies in their theories and finally arrives at certain conclusions.
Unfortunately, Socrates did not write any book or preserve his writings in written form. We get the glimpses of his theories through the work of his disciple Plato, where 'Dialogues' are the major source of our knowledge of Socrates. As Plato was himself a philosopher it is now rather difficult to determine how far the Socrates of his dialogues is faithful to the original Socrates. A careful analysis would enable us to get a separate existence of the actual Socrates and the Socrates of Plato's 'Dialogues'. Even if there is an overlapping here and there, no serious error is involved. It is because Plato is never at variance with Socrates as a philosopher. Plato only interprets or elaborates the great master's teachings. Viewed in their manner we get a glimpse in to the political morality and philosophic opinion of Socrates which formed the basis of Plato's philosophy.
It is one of the ironies in the history of literary criticism that Plato, the most poetic of all philosophers, should rise serious objections against poetry and Aristotle the most scientific of all philosophers should defend poetry.
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