Hermogenes (philosopher)

Hermogenes was a student of the Greek philosopher Socrates ( 469 BC *, † 399 BC ) in Athens and a half-brother of millionaire Callias (c. 450 BC; † 371 BC). His exact survival data are not known. The common father of Callias and Hermogenes was Hipponicus, who was considered the richest man in the then Greece. He seems to have inherited his entire fortune Callias, because Hermogenes was considered poor. He probably grew out of an illegitimate connection of his father.

Because of its oppressive destitution Hermogenes was sometimes dependent on charitable donations. Socrates helped his friend - as Xenophon in his "Memoirs of Socrates " (II 10,1 ff ) reports - among other things in that it gave him the friendship of prosperous Diodorus, who had numerous servants and it came easily to support Hermogenes with a small sum of money, for which he won again in Hermogenes always a helpful friend.

In the " Symposium " of Xenophon, Hermogenes acts as a companion and member of the closest circle of friends of Socrates, which included also Antisthenes, Critobulus, the son of Crito, and Charmides, son of Glaucon, an uncle of Plato, and Cebes, Simmias and Apollodorus. In his lecture, Hermogenes is philosophically ago as a theistic thinkers, who represents a fundamentally optimistic and value- rational worldview. After Hermogenes, there is a close connection between morality and action success, since the gods reward the pious and good and punish the immoral people.

Hermogenes writes the gods has three main characteristics to: omniscience, omnipotence, and (in principle ) benevolent provision for the righteous man, who turns to them. In the theistic worldview of Hermogenes all people ( " Greeks and barbarians " ) not only convinced of the existence of the gods, but also of their omniscience. In his mind there is a certain fixed world history, which is known to the omniscient gods in advance. For him thus arises from the omniscience of the gods of the reason why all people rightly seek to by soothsayers, addressed to the gods, to explore the future to find out "what you should do, what can be ". Since the gods with humans do not communicate directly but through ( ambiguous ) spells, dreams or signs which are hidden in the flight of birds, were oracles, dream interpretation and bird's eye view of Hermogenes of great importance.

In addition to the omniscience Hermogenes writes the Gods omnipotence to and the ability to " us to do good and evil ." The behavior of the gods against the people is so from the perspective of Hermogenes quite ambivalent. However, in regard to his own person, he assumes a friendly care of the gods.

When the self- description of the invited guests of the symposium to Hermogenes is accordingly represents a pious and right -lance person who believes in the benevolent care of the gods. For him, this all-knowing and all-powerful gods are " so much my friends, that their constant concern to me nothing escapes, not day, nor night, not while I still want what I intend. And in their foresight, how everything will turn out, they mean me through messengers they send, Sayings, dreams, birds, what I do and what I should leave. When I listen to it, I've never repent; I was also already punished for disobedience. "

Socrates, who also listened to his inner voice, which he interpreted as messages from a Dämonions, his pupil Hermogenes agreed and declared its presentation as "very credible ." To his question, by which behavior would succeed Hermogenes to win the friendship of the gods, which in return he had to provide for the divine help answer this very pragmatic: "I talk to her praise (which costs nothing ); what they give, which I always give them back; I guard my tongue, as well as I can, and where I call her as a witness because I say will not do anything wrong. "

Hermogenes seems to have had interest also in the philosophy of language issues. Plato shows him at any rate in his dialogue Cratylus, where it comes to the relationship between the meaning of words and wording, as interlocutors of Socrates and Cratylus. Hermogenes represents it against Cratylus that takes a natural, objective connection between word meaning and wording, the opposite hypothesis, which assumes that word meaning and wording related to each other only by a convention among speakers of the language.

Like his teacher Socrates has no published own writings but expressed his philosophical beliefs only in conversations with other people Hermogenes.

Swell

• Plato: Complete Works. Volume II dialogue Cratylus. Random House, Hamburg 1957, pp. 153ff.
• Xenophon: Memories of Socrates ( Memorabilia ). Publisher Ph. Reclam jun., Stuttgart 2005.
• Xenophon: The Banquet. Random House, Hamburg 1957, pp. 36f.

• Philosopher ( Antiquity)
• Greek ( Ancient )
• Born in the 5th century BC
• Died in the 4th century BC
• Man