Universe of Platonic Thought 2022

31st International Conference “The Universe of Platonic Thought: Plato’s Dialectics: Method, Norm, Self-Knowledge”

Nadezhda Makarova; Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad, Russia), Research Laboratory Assistant; Saint Petersburg State University (Saint Petersburg, Russia), Student

Plato’s “the theory of the care of the self:” what is “self”*

The report attempts to comprehend and generalize the concept of "culture of the self" on the example of Plato's dialogues and by attracting the position of the French thinker M. Foucault, who developed the concept of "care of the self " within the framework of the problem of relations between the subject and the games of truth, the subject and practices of the self in a particular historical perspective, and also chose as a starting point for the analysis of the ancient practices and techniques under consideration "the Socratic-Platonic phase, the emergence of epimeleia heautou in philosophical reflection". It is argued that “care of the self” includes the aspect of power relations, forms of cognition and self-knowledge, as well as the motive of caring for the soul and educating oneself in an attempt to answer the question of what/who is that "self". As a platonic principle and imperative, the well-researched "care of the self" in the contemporary context has the potential to elucidate newly discovered and privately transformed relevant forms and practices of "care of the self".

Keywords: The care of the self, Plato, subject, self-knowledge, M. Foucault

Periander was attributed with the expression: «Care is everything», or «First of all, care». The inscription inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi, which became one of the principles of Socrates's conversations, says: «Γνῶθι σεαυτόν». These concepts are closely related to each other. For this in the 20th century M.Foucault indicates: «Gnothi seauton (know thyself) quite obviously fits into the broader context of epimeleia heautou (care of the self) as one of the forms, as one of its consequences, as something like a concrete, a certain, particular application of the general rule». How, then, does «care of the self» go back to the level of philosophical thinking in antiquity (on the example of Plato’s dialogues)? Are there provisions of the ancient Greek principle of «culture of the self» that have been accepted or transformed by modernity?

In an attempt to generalize the essential principles of Plato's theory of «care of the self», it claims: Epimeleia heautou is the care of the self, taking care of oneself. Firstly, «care of the self» is an attitude toward both self and others. Attention to self requires the exclusion of focus on corporeality, on what belongs to us, and the inclusion of diligence, prudence in caring for the soul. The knowledge of one's own properties determines the knowledge of the properties of other people and the understanding of the essence of activity. In addition, the practice under consideration requires the presence of a figure of a mentor-teacher, in which its educational potential in the form of self-education is realized. Secondly, «care of the self» is associated with the act of transforming self, the requirements and practices of spirituality: «the technology of self». For example, the practice of endurance, resistance to temptation in the «Feast», the practice of detachment in the «Phaedo». From this arises the possibility of political influence: «You cannot manage others, it is impossible to manage others well, it is impossible to make your privileges an instrument of political influence on others, without taking care of yourself».

The question of "care of the self" in Plato is connected with the understanding that there is the «self», who takes care, who is the subject and object together, practices. Of course, it is one's own soul, which is not reducible either to the body, its parts, or to subject tools in the aspect of using something. In this case, a third-party position of the subject in relation to himself and to what surrounds him is assumed.

In the present, in the medial space especially, the principle of care of the self is given a positive meaning. If M.Foucault pointed in the 20th century to the challenge and bravado heard in the concept, «scandalous self-affirmation of the individual», then modern digital mass media develop the Socratic-Platonic formula in a transformed form. In the place of the soul, the ideal of the subject towering above himself is put, in the place of the teacher - a precisely defined guru or a hidden mass media authority. Now, in the concepts of exaggerated consciousness, concentration and constructive influence, the idea of the separation of a certain «I» and «body» appears. For example, the digital media project «The Idealist» quotes an article on mindfulness: «Throughout the process, I constantly practice mindfulness to make sure I am not wasting time. I constantly monitor my thoughts and behavior. The purpose of mindfulness is to intervene quickly when I deviate from the process described above». Mindfulness mainly consists in rising above the body, the mental activity of the body and in personalizing the universal principles for acquiring this skill. As a result, modern practices of «care of the self» are a particular form, reduced to a psychological, cognitive attitude at the individual level; to acts outside external representation of the self in a variety of configurations and points of representation: to external tools.

* The research was carried out at the expense of the grant of the Russian Science Foundation No. 22-18-00214, https://rscf.ru/project/22-18-00214 / at the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University Russian Science Foundation (RSF)