The Politics of Plato's Charmides: Socratic Self-Knowledge for You and Me

Cecilia Z. Li (Huron University College At Western)

Abstract: The present study aims to highlight the dominant presence of the political element of the Charmides—an element that has been recognized but not, as I will argue, fully appreciated as central to the work’s philosophical goals. It argues that this enigmatic work can be fruitfully read as Plato’s serious and positive attempt work out a science (epistēmē) of Socratic self-knowledge so that we can flourish collectively as a political community, and in turn personally. The central question posed by the dialogue is this: How is it possible to translate Socrates’ unique ability to examine what one knows and does not know become a branch of learning or a system of understanding (to mathēma) that can be learned, taught, and ultimately used to form the basis of a well-governed city? In other words, how can self-knowledge become something communal, not just for Socrates, but for you and me? This reading allows us to understand the most enigmatic aspects of the dialogue and appreciate Plato (already in the “early,” “Socratic” dialogues) as an ambitious, highly original, and politically minded philosopher.