Abstract

SILVA, José Lourenço Pereira da. Socrates and the democratic Parrhesía^-. Conjectura: filos. e Educ. [online]. 2019, vol.24, e019018.  Epub July 31, 2020. ISSN 2178-4612.  https://doi.org/10.18226/21784612.v24.e019018.

In this paper, I seek to show that, although Socrates was a critic of Athenian democracy, his thought, as we know it from Plato’s early dialogues, is in line with the fundamental values of the democratic culture of Athens. To defend this interpretation, I focus on one of the most important principle of democracy: free speech. Firstly, I go over the concept of freedom of speech. I make it clear that, in the democratic political context, two Greek words convey two connected but distinct meanings of free speech: isegoría, - which means the equal opportunity of all citizens to speak in the political assemblies; and parrhesía - , frank speaking, the freedom to criticize and “telling the truth as one sees it”. Thereafter, I deal with three interconnected aspects of the Socratic thought: the method of refutation (elenchos), the notion of “care of the self”, and the ideal of the examined life in order to display how these three things presuppose or are based on the value of free speech. I highlight that it is necessary that a person is seriously committed to pursuing and expressing the truth so that she is able to evaluate her beliefs and get rid of the false ones. Accordingly, this person can give an account of her own life by exposing if her thought, speech and acts are in agreement, as well as she is able to lead an examined life, putting herself and the others under scrutiny, practicing critical thinking which is essential for the moral improvement and formation of a good citizen for a democratic society. I conclude that to the extent that it fosters truth-telling, Socratic critical attitude is not only consistent with the basic precepts of the democratic regime, but also capable of enhancing democracy.

Keywords : Socrates; Democracy; Parrhesía; Elenchos; ^- Examined life.

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