Ancient and Medieval Studies Colloquium presents, Sasha Rickard “Hedonism, Ancient and Modern: A Discussion of Plato’s Philebus”

PhD candidate in Political Science at Boston College and Assistant Director of Concourse, MIT

Abstract: Despite Socrates’ reputation as a moral gadfly, there is much disagreement about his position on the role of pleasure in the good life. In the ancient world, schools of thought as opposed as Epicureanism and Stoicism grew out of interpretations of Socratic teachings. Neither is this disagreement resolved by modern scholars. In Plato’s Philebus, Socrates interrogates a young interlocutor about the nature and goodness of pleasure. In the course of this interrogation, Socrates walks us through a phenomenological account of pleasure in its many forms, helping us to clarify our own experiences as well as the Socratic perspective on the role of pleasure in the good life. At the same time, through the arguments and decisions of Socrates’ interlocutors, Plato shows us something about the allure of hedonism. I will suggest that a careful reading of the Philebus helps to resolve the long-standing disagreement about Socrates’ perspective on pleasure, and to point to forces which incline us in the modern world, and especially intellectually ambitious young people, toward the belief that pleasure is the greatest good.