‘But first there is one danger that we must guard against.’
What sort of danger? I asked.
‘Of becoming “misologic”,’ he said, ‘in the
sense that people become misanthropic.
No greater misfortune could happen to anyone than that of developing a
dislike for argument. “Misology” and
misanthropy arise in just the same way.
Misanthropy is induced by believing in somebody quite uncritically. You assume that a person is absolutely
truthful and sincere and reliable, and a little later you find that he is shoddy
and unreliable. Then the same thing
happens again. After repeated disappointments
at the hands of the very people who might be supposed to be your nearest and
most intimate friends, constant irritation finally makes you dislike everybody
and suppose that there is no sincerity to be found anywhere. Have you never noticed this happening?’[1]
Plato, The Last Days of Socrates (c. 380 BC)
[1] Plato, The Last Days of Socrates, tr. Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant
(Toronto: Penguin, 2003), pp. 161,162. The Last Days of Socrates is composed of
four books: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. The above selection derives from Phaedo, when Socrates is about to die.
No comments:
Post a Comment