Heraclitus, Plato, and the philosophic dogs (A note on Republic II, 375e-376c)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14195/1984-249X_15_10Keywords:
Plato, Heraclitus, dogs, thymos, phylakes, demos, polloi, aristoiAbstract
The paper focuses on a neglected instance of the Platonic reception of Heraclitus in the Republic (II, 375e-376c), trying to show that it’s likely that Plato’s passage makes an allusion to Heraclitus’ B97 (“Dogs bark at whom they don’t know”) and B85 (“It’s difficult to fight θυμός, for what it longs for it pays with ψυχή”). The main claim is that Plato’s use of the image of dogs looks back to Heraclitus, which invites an exploration of the possibility that at least some elements of Plato’s kallipolis might derive from Heraclitus – particularly from some ethical and political fragments. A brief survey of these suggests a deep philosophical affinity among the two authors in several important areas (as the so-called ‘moral psychology’ and ‘ethical intellectualism’), and questions the commonplace traditional interpretation of Heraclitus as a defender of aristocratic morality.
Downloads
References
Primary sources:
ADAM, J. (1902), The Republic of Plato, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.CORNFORD, F. M. (1945), The Republic of Plato, English translation, with introduction and notes, New York and London, Oxford University Press.DIELS, H.; KRANZ, W. (1966), Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (DK), vol. 1, 6th edn. Berlin: Weidmann, 1951 (repr. 1966).DIOGENES LAERTIUS (1966), Diogenis Laertii vitae philosophorum, Ed. H.S. Long, 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964 (repr. 1966).FRONTEROTTA, F. (2013), Eraclito: Frammenti. Ed., trad., comm. Milano, BUR Classici greci e latini.MARCOVICH, M. (1967), Heraclitus. Greek text with a short commentary. Editio maior. Mérida (Venezuela), Los Andes University Press.MARCOVICH, M. (1978), Eraclito. Frammenti. Introduzione, traduzione e commento a cura de M. M. Firenze, La Nuova Italia Editrice(trad. dall'inglese di Piero Innocenti, Biblioteca di studi superiori, lxiv).MOURAVIEV, S. N. (2003), Heraclitea. III.1: La Vie, la Mort et le Livre d'Héraclite.Textes, traduction et commentaire. Sankt Augustin, Academia.MOURAVIEV, S. N. (2006 a), Heraclitea. III.3.B/i Les fragments du livre d’Héraclite.Les textes pertinents. Textes, traductions, apparats I-III. Sankt Augustin, Academia.MOURAVIEV, S. N. (2006 b), Heraclitea. III.3.B/ii Les fragments du livre d’Héraclite.Les textes pertinents.Langue et poétique. Apparats IV-V avec schémas, Sankt Augustin, Academia.MOURAVIEV, S. N. (2006 c), Heraclitea III.3.B/iii Les fragments du livre d’Héraclite 3. Les textes pertinents., Notes critiques, Sankt Augustin, Academia.PLATO, (1902), Respublica, in Platonis opera, ed. J. Burnet, vol. 4. Oxford, Clarendon Press, (repr. 1968).PLATÓN, (1981), La República, bilingual edition, Spanish translation, notes and preliminary study, J.M. Pabón and M. Fernández Galiano (eds.), 3 vols., Madrid, Centro de Estudios Constitucionales.
Secondary sources
ANNAS, J. (1981), An Introduction to Plato’s Republic, Oxford, Clarendon Press.CABALLERO, R. (2008), “Las musas jonias aprenden a escribir: Ley escrita y tratado en prosa en los milesios y Heráclito”, Emérita, vol. LXXVI, núm. 1, enero-junio, Madrid: 1-33.FERRARI, G. R. F. (2007), “The three-part soul”, in G. R. F. Ferrari (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Plato’sRepublic, New York, Cambridge University Press: 165-201.FRONTEROTTA, F. (2012), “I fiumi, le acque, il divenire. Su Eraclito frr. 12, 49A, 91 DK [40, 40c2, 40c3 Marcovich]”, Antiquorum Philosophia, 6: 71-90.GARCÍA QUINTELA, M. V. (1992), El rey melancólico. Antropología de los fragmentos de Heráclito. Madrid, Taurus.GRANGER, H. (2009), “Heraclitus B42: On Homer and Archilochus”, in E. Hülsz Piccone (ed.), Nuevos Ensayos sobre Heráclito. Actas del Segundo Symposium Heracliteum, México, UNAM: 169-191.GUTHRIE, W. K. C. (1975), A History of Greek Philosophy, IV, Cambridge UP.HERSHBELL, J. P. (1977), “Plutarch and Heraclitus”, Hermes, Vol. 105, No. 2: 179-201.HÜLSZPICCONE, E. (2003 a), “Sócrates y el oráculo de Delfos (una nota sobre Platón, Apología de Sócrates 20c4-23d1)”, Theoría 13-14, México, UNAM: 71-89.HÜLSZPICCONE, E. (2003 b), “Anámnesis en el Menónplatónico”, Apuntes filosóficos, Caracas, Universidad Central de Venezuela, No. 22: 61-79. HÜLSZPICCONE, E. (2009), “Flujo y logos. La imagen de Heráclito en el Cratilo y el Teeteto de Platón”, in E. Hülsz Piccone (ed.), Nuevos Ensayos sobre Heráclito. Actas del Segundo Symposium Heracliteum . Mexico, UNAM: 361-390.HÜLSZPICCONE, E. (2011), “Gorgias 507e3-508a8: ¿Pitágoras, pitagóricos o Heráclito?”, in O. Álvarez (ed.), A. Vargas (coord.), Cultura Clásica y su Tradición.Balance y perspectivas actuales, vol. III, UNAM, México: 23-41.HÜLSZPICCONE, E. (2012), “Heraclitus on the sun”, in R. Patterson, V. Karasmanis and A. Hermann (eds.), Presocratics and Plato: Festschrift at Delphi in honor of Charles Kahn, Las Vegas, Parmenides Publishing: 3-24.HÜLSZPICCONE, E. (2013 a), “Plato’s Ionian Muses: Sophist242d-e”, in B. Bossi -T. M. Robinson (eds.), Plato’s Sophist Revisited, Berlin, De Gruyter: 103-115.HÜLSZPICCONE, E. (2013 b), “Heraclitus on Φύσις”, Epoché 17:2, Spring: 179-194.HÜLSZPICCONE, E. (2013 c), “Heraclitus on λόγος”, in David Sider, Dirk Obbink (eds.), Doctrine and doxography. Studies on Heraclitus and Pythagoras, Berlin, De Gruyter: 281-301.KAHN, C. H. (1979),The Art and Thought of Heraclitus.Cambridge, CUP.LÁSCARIS COMNENO, C. (1958), “Los perros filósofos de Platón”, in Actas del Primer Congreso Español de Estudios Clásicos, Madrid: 338-342.NUSSBAUM, M. C. (1972), “ΨΥΧΗ in Heraclitus” 1-2, Phronesis xvii: 1-16 and 153-170.SENZASONO, L. (1996), “Eraclito e la legge”, Gerión, Revista de historia antigua, Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, núm. 14: 55-75.SIDER, D. (2013), “Heraclitus’ Ethics”, in David Sider, Dirk Obbink (eds.), Doctrine and doxography. Studies on Heraclitus and Pythagoras, Berlin, De Gruyter: 321-334.STEFFEN BRUSS, J. (2002), “A Note on ΕΠΙΒΛΗΣ in Theodoridas "Epigram" 16 G-P (Anth. Pal. 7.479) and Iliad 24.453”, Classical Philology, Vol. 97, No. 2 (April): 162-168.SAXONHOUSE, A. W. (1978), “Comedy in Callipolis: Animal Imagery in the Republic”, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Sept.): 888-901.SINCLAIR, T. A. (1948), “Plato's Philosophic Dog (Republicii. 375 a-376 c)”, The Classical Review, Vol. 62, No. 2 (Sept.): 61-62 TAIT, M. C. D. (1949), “Spirit, Gentleness and the Philosophic Nature in the Republic”, Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 80: 203-211.VLASTOS, G. (1947), “Equality and justice in early Greek cosmologies”, Classical Philology, Vol. 42, No. 3 (July): 156-178.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Enrique Hülsz Piccone
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Given the public access policy of the journal, the use of the published texts is free, with the obligation of recognizing the original authorship and the first publication in this journal. The authors of the published contributions are entirely and exclusively responsible for their contents.
1. The authors authorize the publication of the article in this journal.
2. The authors guarantee that the contribution is original, and take full responsibility for its content in case of impugnation by third parties.
3. The authors guarantee that the contribution is not under evaluation in another journal.
4. The authors keep the copyright and convey to the journal the right of first publication, the work being licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License-BY.
5. The authors are allowed and stimulated to publicize and distribute their work on-line after the publication in the journal.
6. The authors of the approved works authorize the journal to distribute their content, after publication, for reproduction in content indexes, virtual libraries and similars.
7. The editors reserve the right to make adjustments to the text and to adequate the article to the editorial rules of the journal.
