Demodocus (dialogue)

Demodocus ( ancient Greek Δημόδοκος Demodocus Latinized, Demodocus ) is the common name for a group of four together traditional literary texts of antiquity. They were attributed to the philosopher Plato, but certainly not come from him. The spuriousness was already recognized in ancient times. The title Demodocus originally referred only to the first of the four texts. With this, the other three were later assembled into a collection, although no substantive relationship exists.

The first text ( Demodocus 1) is a monologue of an unnamed philosophers - Socrates well - that politician Demodocus has asked for his opinion of Anagyrus. The fictitious process takes place in the second half of the 5th century BC. The other three texts are also reports of an anonymous narrator over short conversations in which various topics were discussed.

Demodocus of Anagyrus was a historical person, a slightly older contemporary of Socrates. He was the father of Theages, after which Plato ascribed dialogue Theages is named. In Theages Demodocus one of the callers.

Content

In Demodocus one of the anonymous speaker responds to a request from the Demodocus. This has asked him for an opinion on questions which are to be debated at a public meeting. Since the topic is treated in Socratic style, the responding philosopher is probably to be equated with Socrates.

The philosopher is concerned with the question, what is the sense that discuss in a public meeting. He points to a general problem of democratic decision-making. Since the purpose of this congregation, or at least a part of them with regard to the question to be decided on, are not competent, they need advice from a knower, a competent expert. If such is present, they can not judge correctly due to lack of expertise. If a knowledgeable consultant participates in the meeting, he may instruct the ignorant, by educating them on the facts. Thus, it allows a reasonable decision. Then, however, the collective consultation and majority decision is superfluous, because truth is not established by a majority vote, but by the statements of that, who knows she identified as a pressing need. Thus, in both cases, the process of deliberation and subsequent vote is questionable. In addition, one can only assess the competence of a consultant, if one is so competent regarding the crucial question to yourself that you actually needed any advice. However, since the assembled citizens are ignorant, at least in part, they can empower the speaker that occur at the meeting as a counselor, not judge. Also from this point can not be determined by a majority vote what is right. On the one hand require the congregation council, which they admit their ignorance, on the other hand, they measured afterwards as voting the competence to to make a correct judgment.

In the three then handed conversations that have nothing to do with the content Demodocus 1, other issues are discussed. The rapporteur, reflecting the course of the conversation, is probably Socrates. In Demodocus 2 is about the truth, when word against statement. In Demodocus 3 the conversation turns to the question of who has made a mistake, when a request was denied. It turns out that the culprit is the supplicant at bust always. When his request was unwarranted or impractical, it was rejected by a law; if it was justified and achievable, he has failed in the task of convincing to explain his concerns, although this would have been possible. In Demodocus 4 will discuss the measure of the trustworthiness of a person.

Author and date of origin

All four texts were within the Platonic Academy. As in Demodocus 1 no thought from the time of the Younger ( "skeptical " ) occurs Academy, his writing will likely fall in the era of the older Academy. It is well to put BC in the period after Plato's death, so in the second half of the 4th or the first third of the 3rd century. The author was obviously a Platonist. The other three texts do not come safely from the author of the first Demodocus you are probably originated in the second half of the 3rd century or in the 2nd century BC. Show your similarities that they have the same author. This is probably attributable to the younger academy.

Reception

Since the Demodocus was considered spurious in antiquity, it was not included in the tetralogy order of the works of Plato. The philosophy Diogenes Laertius historian led him among the writings that were consistently not considered as originating from Plato. The assembly of the four texts to a collective work was probably only in the Roman Empire.

The oldest preserved medieval Demodocus manuscript was made in the 9th century in the Byzantine Empire. The Latin -speaking scholarly world of Western and Central Europe was the work of the Middle Ages is unknown, it was only rediscovered in the age of Renaissance humanism. At its inauthenticity was no doubt in the early modern period. The first edition of the Greek text was published in September 1513 in Venice by Aldo Manuzio under the issued by Markos Musuros complete edition of the works of Plato. On this edition is based the Latin translation, who prepared the humanist Willibald Pirckheimer 1523 and published in Nuremberg in his printer Friedrich Peypus.

Editions and translations

• Joseph Souilhe (ed.): Plato: Oeuvres completes, vol 13, part 3: Dialogues apocryphes. 2nd edition, Les Belles Lettres, Paris 1962, pp. 36-54 ( critical edition with French translation )
• Franz Susemihl (translator ): Demodocus. In: Erich Loewenthal (ed.): Plato: Complete Works in three volumes, Vol 3, unaltered reprint of the 8th, looked through edition, University Press, Darmstadt 2004, ISBN 3-534-17918-8, pp. 814-824 ( translation only )