[Buddha-l] Re: Theories of the Self (Addendum)

[Katherine Masis]

Addendum to my previous post in response to Curt's
post:

Curt, I think I found what I was looking for right
here on the Web.  Go to
http://www.theamericandissident.org/EssaysFoucault.htm
and you’ll find a transcribed version of Foucault’s
"Discourse and Truth: the Problematization of
Parrhesia" (six lectures given at the Univ. of
California at Berkeley, 1983).  

Anyway, Foucault says that *parrhesia* (I believe you
were looking for this word on a previous post) becomes
the means through which truth is disclosed to human
beings by human beings (not gods) via the oracle at
Delphi in Euripides’ play *Ion*.  Then he goes on to
say that Socrates takes on a parrhesiastic role in the
way he relates to his fellow Athenians.  

So it was in Euripides’ *Ion*, not in Plato’s *Ion*,
that the shift takes place.  That explains the
association I had made in my mind long ago.  

Some excerpts from Foucault’s essay:

"The "parrhesiastic contract"—which became relatively
important in the political life of rulers in the
Greco-Roman world—consists in the following. The
sovereign, the one who has power but lacks the truth,
addresses himself to the one who has the truth but
lacks power, and tells him: if you tell me the truth,
no matter what this truth turns out to be, you won’t
be punished; and those who are responsible for any
injustices will be punished, but not those who speak
the truth about such injustices. This idea of the
"Parrhesiastic contract" became associated with
parrhesia as a special privilege granted to the best
and most honest citizens of the city. Of course, the
parrhesiastic contract between Pentheus and his
messenger is only a moral obligation since it lacks
all institutional foundation. As the kings servant,
the messenger is still quite vulnerable, and still
takes a risk in speaking. But, although he is
courageous, he is also not reckless, and is cautious
about the consequences of what he might say. The
"contract" is intended to limit the risk he takes in
speaking."

[ . . . ]

"I shall not focus on the political and mytholo-gical
aspects of the play, but on the theme of the shift of
the place of truth’s disclosure from Delphi to Athens.
As you know, the oracle at Delphi was supposed to be
the place in Greece where human beings were told the
truth by the gods through the utterances of the
Pythia. But in this play we see a very explicit shift
from the oracular truth at Delphi to Athens: Athens
becomes the Place where truth now appears. And, as a
part of this shift, truth is no longer disclosed by
the gods to human beings (as at Delphi), but is
disclosed to human beings by human beings through
Athenian parrhesia."

[ . . . ]

"Finally, parrhesia's evolution can be traced through
its relation to the field of philosophy--regarded as
an art of life (techne tou biou).  In the writings of
Plato, Socrates appears in the role of the
parrhesiastes. Although the word "parrhesia" appears
several times in Plato, he never uses the word
"parrhesiastes"-- a word which only appears later as
part of the Greek vocabulary. And yet the role of
Socrates is typically a parrhesiastic one, for he
constantly confronts Athenians in the street and, as
noted in the Apology, points out the truth to them,
bidding them to care for wisdom, truth, and the
perfection of their souls. And in the Alcibiades
Majoras well, Socrates assumes a parrhesiastic role in
the dialogue."

http://www.theamericandissident.org/EssaysFoucault.htm




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