Plato is my friend, but truth is more precious than meaning. “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer”: the origin and meaning of the expression
Plato
A) About ideas
Idea is a central category in Plato's philosophy. The idea of a thing is something ideal. So, for example, we drink water, but we cannot drink the idea of water or eat the idea of bread, paying in stores with the ideas of money: an idea is the meaning, the essence of a thing. Plato's ideas summarize all cosmic life: they have regulatory energy and govern the Universe. They are characterized by regulatory and formative power; they are eternal patterns, paradigms (from the Greek paradigma - sample), according to which the whole multitude of real things is organized from formless and fluid matter. Plato interpreted ideas as certain divine essences. They were thought of as target causes, charged with the energy of aspiration, and there were relations of coordination and subordination between them. The highest idea is the idea of absolute good - it is a kind of “Sun in the kingdom of ideas”, the world’s Reason, it deserves the name of Reason and Divinity. But this is not yet a personal divine Spirit (as later in Christianity). Plato proves the existence of God by the feeling of our affinity with his nature, which, as it were, “vibrates” in our souls. An essential component of Plato's worldview is belief in gods. Plato considered her the most important condition sustainability of the social world order. According to Plato, the spread of “ungodly views” has a detrimental effect on citizens, especially young people, is a source of unrest and arbitrariness, and leads to the violation of legal and moral norms, i.e. to the principle “everything is permitted”, in the words of F.M. Dostoevsky. Plato called for severe punishment of the “wicked.”
B) ideal state
The “ideal state” is a community of farmers, artisans who produce everything necessary to support the lives of citizens, warriors who protect security, and philosopher-rulers who exercise wise and fair governance of the state. Plato contrasted such an “ideal state” ancient democracy, which allowed people to participate in political life, to public administration. According to Plato, only aristocrats are called upon to rule the state as the best and wisest citizens. And farmers and artisans, according to Plato, must do their work conscientiously, and they have no place in the authorities government controlled. The state must be protected by law enforcement officers, who form the power structure, and the guards should not have personal property, must live in isolation from other citizens, and eat at a common table. The “ideal state,” according to Plato, must protect religion in every possible way, cultivate piety in citizens, and fight against all kinds of wicked people. The entire system of upbringing and education should pursue these same goals.
Without going into details, it should be said that Plato’s doctrine of the state is a utopia. Let us just imagine the classification of forms of government proposed by Plato: it highlights the essence of the socio-philosophical views of the brilliant thinker.
Plato highlighted:
a) “ideal state” (or approaching the ideal) - aristocracy, including an aristocratic republic and an aristocratic monarchy;
b) descending hierarchy state forms, which included timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, tyranny.
According to Plato, tyranny is the worst form of government, and democracy was the object of his sharp criticism. The worst forms of the state are the result of the “damage” of the ideal state. Timocracy (also the worst) is a state of honor and qualifications: it is closer to the ideal, but worse, for example, than an aristocratic monarchy.
B) immortal soul
Interpreting the idea of the soul, Plato says: the soul of a person before his birth resides in the realm of pure thought and beauty. Then she finds herself on the sinful earth, where, temporarily being in human body, like a prisoner in a dungeon, “remembers the world of ideas.” Here Plato meant memories of what happened in a previous life: the soul resolves the main issues of its life even before birth; Having been born, she already knows everything there is to know. She chooses her lot herself: it is as if she is already destined for her own fate, destiny. Thus, the Soul, according to Plato, is an immortal essence; three parts are distinguished in it: rational, turned to ideas; ardent, affective-volitional; sensual, driven by passions, or lustful. The rational part of the soul is the basis of virtue and wisdom, the ardent part of courage; overcoming sensuality is the virtue of prudence. As for the Cosmos as a whole, the source of harmony is the world mind, a force capable of adequately thinking about itself, being at the same time an active principle, the feeder of the soul, governing the body, which in itself is deprived of the ability to move. In the process of thinking, the soul is active, internally contradictory, dialogical and reflexive. “When thinking, it does nothing more than reason, questioning itself, affirming and denying” (3). The harmonious combination of all parts of the soul under the regulative principle of reason provides a guarantee of justice as an integral property of wisdom.
Aristotle
Plato is my friend - but the truth is dearer
The students, speaking about their teachers, stated in this way that although they respect and value them, they note that with all the respect and authority of a person, any of his statements can always be questioned and criticized if it does not correspond to the truth. Thus, ancient philosophers pointed to the supremacy of truth.
A) doctrine of matter
Matter and form (eidos). Potency and act. Based on the recognition of the objective existence of matter, Aristotle considered it eternal, uncreated and indestructible. Matter cannot arise from nothing, nor can it increase or decrease in quantity. However, matter itself, according to Aristotle, is inert and passive. It contains only the possibility of the emergence of a real variety of things, just as, say, marble contains the possibility of different statues. In order to turn this possibility into reality, it is necessary to give matter the appropriate form. By form Aristotle understood the active creative factor through which a thing becomes real. Form is the stimulus and goal, the reason for the formation of diverse things from monotonous matter: matter is a kind of clay. In order for various things to arise from it, a potter is needed - God (or the mind-prime mover). Form and matter are inextricably linked, so that every thing is potentially already contained in matter and receives its form through natural development. The whole world is a series of forms connected with each other and arranged in an order of increasing perfection. Thus, Aristotle approaches the idea of the individual existence of a thing, a phenomenon: they represent the fusion of matter and eidos (form). Matter acts as a possibility and as a kind of substratum of existence. Marble, for example, can be considered as the possibility of a statue; it is also a material principle, a substrate, and a statue carved from it is already a unity of matter and form. The main mover of the world is God, defined as the form of all forms, as the pinnacle of the universe.
B) theory of the soul
Descending in his philosophical reflections from the abyss of the Cosmos to the world of animate beings, Aristotle believed that the soul, possessing a sense of purpose, is nothing more than its organizing principle, inseparable from the body, the source and method of regulation of the organism, its objectively observable behavior. The soul is the entelechy(1) of the body. Therefore, those who believe that the soul cannot exist without a body are right, but it itself is immaterial, incorporeal. That by which we live, feel and think is the soul, so it is a certain meaning and form, and not matter, not a substrate: “It is the soul that gives meaning and purpose to life.” The body is characterized by a vital state that creates its orderliness and harmony. This is the soul, i.e. reflection of the actual reality of the universal and eternal Mind. Aristotle gave an analysis of the various “parts” of the soul: memory, emotions, the transition from sensations to general perception, and from it to a generalized idea; from opinion through concept - to knowledge, and from directly felt desire - to rational will. The soul distinguishes and cognizes existing things, but it “spends a lot of time” in mistakes.” “To achieve something reliable about the soul in all respects is certainly the most difficult thing” (2). According to Aristotle, the death of the body frees the soul for its eternal life: the soul is eternal and immortal.
Related information.
"Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer"
Aristotle, who received the nickname Stagirite by his place of birth (384-322 BC), was born into the family of the court physician of the king of Macedonia and from childhood was friends with the future king Philip, the father of Alexander the Great. At the age of 17 he came to Athens and became first a student, then a philosopher at Plato's Academy, where he remained until the teacher's death in 347 BC.
At the Academy, he immediately stood out among the adherents of Plato for his independence. Despite the contempt of “academics” for rhetoric as a superficial and vain science developed by the sophists, Aristotle writes the essay “Topika”, devoted to the analysis of language, its structures, and introduces some rules. Moreover, Aristotle changes the generally accepted form of dialogues in the Academy, presenting his works in the form treatises. The Topeka is followed by Sophistic Refutations, where Aristotle distances himself from the Sophists. However, he continues to be fascinated by working with formalized thought, and he writes treatises “Categories”, “On Interpretation” and finally “Analytics”, in which he formulates the rules syllogisms. In other words, he creates science logic in the form in which it is still taught and studied in schools, gymnasiums and universities around the world under the name formal logic.
Aristotle specifically develops, on the one hand, ethical issues, and on the other hand, as separate discipline- natural philosophy: he writes “Great Ethics” and “Eudsmo Ethics”, as well as treatises “Physics”, “On Heaven”, “On Origin and Destruction”, “Meteorology”. In addition, he examines “metaphysical” issues: the most general and reliable principles and reasons that allow us to understand the essence of knowledge and cognize existing things. This familiar name for us “Metaphysics” arose after the publisher of Aristotle’s works in the 1st century. BC. Andronikos of Rhodes placed the relevant texts
“following physics” (workshops and photography); Aristotle himself (in the second chapter of the first book of Metaphysics) considered the corresponding science - first philosophy - in some sense superior to human capabilities, the most divine and therefore the most precious.
In total, Aristotle wrote more than 50 works, which reflect natural scientific, political, ethical, historical, and philosophical ideas. Aristotle was extremely versatile.
In 343 BC. Aristotle, at the invitation of the Macedonian king Philip, becomes the tutor of his son Alexander, the future conqueror (or unifier) of all of Hellas. In 335 he returned to Athens and created his own school there. Aristotle was not an Athenian citizen, did not have the desire to purchase a house and land in Athens, so he founded a school outside the city at a public gymnasium, which was located near the temple of Apollo Lyceum and was called accordingly Lyceum. Over time, Aristotle’s school, a kind of prototype of the university, also began to be called this way. Both research and teaching work were carried out here, and a variety of areas were explored: natural philosophy (natural science), philology (linguistics, rhetoric), history, etc. At the gymnasium there was a garden, and in it there was a covered gallery for walking. The school began to be called Peripatos(from the Greek yaersateoo - to walk, stroll), and Aristotle’s students - peripatetics, since during classes they walked.
The Lyceum, as well as Plato's Academy, existed until 529. At this time, Christianity had already become the official religion in the territory of the former Hellas, which became part of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. In 529, Emperor Justinian issued a law prohibiting pagans, among other things, from engaging in teaching activities; now they had to either be baptized or be subject to confiscation of property and exile. A decree was sent to Athens banning the teaching of philosophy: “so that no one would teach philosophy, interpret the laws, or set up a gambling den in any of the cities” (John Malala, “Chronography,” book XVIII).
Plato and Aristotle were luckier than other philosophers; their concepts, especially Aristotle’s, were adopted by Christian theologians, synthesizing them with Christian doctrine. Their explanation of the essence of the world, based on the existence of the extrasensible, coincided with the Judeo-Christian tradition. ideal reality, the single beginning of all things, which is already called by the ancient philosophers themselves God.
Aristotle's ontology is presented primarily in his works “Physics” and “Metaphysics” (we will talk about the history of this name below).
So, Aristotle recognizes the existence of ideas, agrees with their dominant role in the universe, but refuses their separation from things. From the bifurcated Platonic world, he constructs a single world in which ideas and things, entities and phenomena are united. The world is one and has single beginning- God, he is prime mover; but all material things are not reflections or copies of genuine entities, but genuine things themselves, possessing essence, connected with all other things. Aristotle believes that being has not one, but many meanings. Everything that is not nothing enters into the sphere of existence, both sensory and intelligible.
The basis of the world, according to Aristotle, is matter(passive beginning) and form(active principle), which, when combined, form the whole variety of things with the primacy of form. The form is idea, the essence of a thing. The sculptor, when creating a statue, initially has its image, or shape, in his head, then his idea is combined with marble (matter); without an idea, marble will never turn into a statue, it will remain a dead stone. Likewise, all things arise and exist.
To illustrate this with an example of an idea equineity, then it turns out that it is the form that unites with matter according to the laws that are prescribed by the highest idea (horses give birth to new horses); it still remains ideal, the commonality of all horses is explained by the commonality of their form, but not separated from them, but existing together with each horse. Thus forms exist through material things. Even the form of a verse (i.e. the verse itself) exists and develops through its reproduction in oral or written form. However, there are also pure forms without any admixture of matter.
Bertrand Russell, a famous English philosopher and logician, calls the teachings of Aristotle “the views of Plato diluted with common sense.” Aristotle tries to combine the everyday concept of reality with the philosophical one, without denying the former the ability to begin the path to truth; does not deny the world of things authenticity, thereby raising its status.
Aristotle's ontology seems more down-to-earth, but at the same time takes into account the presence of higher entities. Key concept his teachings become essence. Everything has essence - that kind of being that gives things and the world as a whole authenticity and relevance. Essence is what determines the quality of a thing. Thus, the essence of a table is that it is a table, and not that it is round or square; hence the essence is form.
It is important to understand that the content of the concept of “form” in Aristotle differs from its meaning in our everyday practice of word use; form is essence, idea. Do all entities have a material carrier? No, not all. God is announced shape of forms, pure essence without any admixture of materiality. Aristotle clearly distinguished between general and individual concepts. Under single proper names are understood that refer to a specific subject (for example, Socrates); under general - those that are applicable to many objects (horse), but in both cases, form is manifested through connection with matter.
Form is understood as relevance(act), and matter as potentiality. Matter contains only the possibility (potency) of existence; unformed, it represents nothing. The life of the Universe is a constant flow of forms into each other, constant change, and everything changes for the better, moves towards more and more perfection, and this movement is associated with time. Time is not created and will not pass, it is a form. The passage of time presupposes the presence of moments at first And Then, but time as a condition of these moments is eternal. Eternal time itself, like eternal motion, exists thanks to to the beginning, which must be eternal and motionless, for only the immovable can be the absolute cause of movement. From this comes Aristotle's doctrine of the four first causes - formal(form, act), material(matter, potency), driving And target.
The first two have already been said, the second two are associated with a formal reason, since they appeal to the existence of the One God. Everything that is mobile can be moved by something else, which means that to explain any movement it is necessary to come to the beginning. To explain the movement of the universe, it is necessary to find an absolute universal principle, which itself would be motionless and could give an impulse to the movement of everything else; that's what it is form of forms, the first form, devoid of all potentiality. This pure act(formal cause), or God, who is also the nerve mover and the primary cause of all things. The doctrine of the primary impulse, dating back to Aristotle, is intended to explain the existence of movement in the world, the unity of its laws and the role of movement in the process of world formation.
The target cause is also connected with God, for, setting universal laws, he sets the universal goal of movement and development. Nothing happens without a purpose, everything exists for a reason. The purpose of the seed is the tree, the purpose of the tree is the fruit, etc. One goal gives birth to another, therefore, there is something that is the goal of itself, which sets this chain of goal-setting. All world processes rush towards common goal, to God; it is also the common good. Thus, doctrine of the four first causes is intended to prove that:
There is some essence that is eternal, immovable and separate from sensible things; ...this essence cannot have any magnitude, but it has no parts and is indivisible...
All living beings are aware of God and are attracted to him, for they are attracted to every action by love and admiration. The world, according to Aristotle, has no beginning. The moment when there was chaos did not exist, since this would contradict the thesis about the superiority of actuality (form) over potentiality (matter, material cause). This means that the world has always been as it is; therefore, by studying it, we will be able to get to the essence of things and the essence of the world as a whole ( absolute truth). However, the paths of knowledge are not associated with any irrational insights and revelations. Everything that Plato promises us through some kind of unprovable recollection, we, according to Aristotle, can achieve by completely earthly rational means: the study of nature (description, observation, analysis) and logic (correct thinking). “All people strive for knowledge” - this is how Aristotle’s Metaphysics begins.
- See: Shichalip Yu. A. Academy under Aristotle // History of Philosophy. West-Russia-East. Book 1: Philosophy of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. M.: Greco-Latin Cabinet, 1995.P. 121-125.
- See: History of Philosophy. West-Russia-East. pp. 233-242.
- See: Russell B. History Western Philosophy. Book 1. P. 165.
- Aristotle. Metaphysics. Ki. XII. Ch. 7. Cited from: Anthology of world philosophy. T. 1. Part 1. P. 422.
Application of the expression in literature
“One evening, when the king was in a bad mood, he only smiled slightly when he learned that there was a second girl, Le Fontan. He helped her get married and married her to a rich young judge, albeit of bourgeois origin. In addition, he gave him an honorary title of baron. When the Vendean asked the sovereign a year later to arrange the fate of his third daughter, he answered him in a sarcastic thin voice Latin"Amicus Plato, sed magis amica Natio", which can be translated as "Plato is a friend, but the nation is dearer" ("Country Ball" by Honore de Balzac)“Here I have a problem that will most likely send me into disgrace with the king, and this makes me despondent, but nothing can be done. After all, in the end I will have to reckon with displeasure or pleasure, as with my own destiny, as they say in the famous expression "amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas" (Don Quixote by M. Cervantes)
“Plekhanov, delving into all the details, asked and asked, as if trying to test himself. Although, by and large, it was like an examination of an old friend with an old friend. Did the friend even understand the full height of the task that he so vehemently preaches, and what he adheres to tactics. Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas (Friend Plato, but truth is higher than friendship), - his icy gaze spoke about this" ("Georgy Valentinovich Plekhanov. From personal memories" O. Aptekman)
“I’m sorry, but I’m very ashamed to talk like that about a person who taught me true friendship, but amicus Plato, amicus Socrates, sed magis amica veritas - you’re a fucking pig who would prove to a person that he’s in vain eating bananas, that acorns are much better tastier" (N. Chernyshevsky)
Writer Marko Vovček chose the expression “Amicus Plato, sed magis amica Veritas” as the epigraph for her book “Journey into the Country” (Marina Vovchek is the pseudonym of Maria Alexandrovna Vilinskaya)
“Quite recently there was a fire in our city. Several empty buildings burned down in the courtyard of the bourgeois woman Zalupayeva. Ask who was the last to arrive at this fire. I am ashamed of the city in which I live, but for the sake of truth (amicus Plato, sed magis arnica Veritas ) I must tell everyone that the city fire brigade was the last to arrive at the scene of the tragedy, and moreover, when the fire was extinguished by the efforts of the neighbors" ("Satires in Prose" by M. Saltykov-Shchedrin)
“If you think that flattering the living is a thankless task, then how can you call flattery to the dead? To the same citizens who may consider that I am a friend of Granovsky, and that it is indecent for me to speak about him with greater severity, I can answer the old, but from this is no less sonorous expression amicus Plato, sed magis arnica Veritas" (A. Herzen)
“What can we say about the defenders of their works and their authors, who seem to have been personally offended by the reviews of Otechestvennye Zapiski about Marlinsky? Try to explain to them that if our magazine were wrong in its opinion about this author, then it should leave its own opinion on various authors ...and that amicus Plato, sed magis amica Veritas" (V. Belinsky)
Very often, in any dispute, my opponents, instead of the necessary own argumentation, give some quotes. It is interesting that often the individual citing this or that quote does not even know its exact origin. Here the calculation is made on the fact that popular expressions are known to everyone and only because of this they seem undeniable. So, for a moment, I imagined the following: My neighbor Vasily, for example, would have spoken in quotes, being very hungover, but I wouldn’t have known that these expressions were so well known and I would have been sure that he was them author. Would I answer him? Of course, I would answer (I am terribly sarcastic by nature). There are no undisputed statements, just as there are no statements that cannot be ridiculed.
Below are the five most frequently used quotes in disputes and my comments on them.
1. "Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer".
Truth is more expensive, but Plato is cheaper, it turns out? Well, that means you’re such a friend that you put price tags on everything. Obviously, you and Plato did not serve in the same regiment. Platosha, oh! Don't be friends with such an asshole!
2. "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
Yeah. And in this refuge he fights off the attacking vile scoundrels. What a scoundrel!
3. “The exception only confirms the rule.”
The truest truth! For example, you were expelled from the school of noble maidens, right? And what was written in the rules of this establishment, huh? That transvestites have no place there! Everything has been confirmed!
4. "Best the enemy of the good".
Yeah, but the best is the enemy of the best, and the super-best is the enemy of the best, etc. Well, they will make their own enemies! And the main thing is that everyone seems to be quite good.
5. “Only he is worthy of life and freedom who goes to battle for them every day.”
Some kind of nightmarish prospect looms - going to fight every day is like going straight to work. Yes, with such a schedule, personal freedom definitely disappears. Me too, they call life some kind of hard labor... and why the hell do we need all this?
Since, in most cases, my opponents themselves did not know exactly who the author of the quotes they cited was (they confused the authorship), I will help them a little. Here is all the necessary information on the given expressions:
1. “Plato is my friend, but truth is dearer.”
For some reason, it is believed that Aristotle said this. This, to put it mildly, is not entirely true. Actually, these words belong to... Plato. In one of his works, it was written “Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth.” And Aristotle, polemicizing, also in writing, expressed the following opinion: “Even though friends and truth are dear to me, duty commands me to give preference to truth.” Subsequently, this saying was paraphrased by the famous medieval Christian theologian Martin Luther: “Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but truth should be preferred,” and this saying was already paraphrased by Miguel Cervantes, he is its author in modern form. This statement has the following interpretation:
- Accurate, specific knowledge (i.e., truth) is the main value, and therefore more important than the authority of the teacher.
- So-and-so is my friend, but I will speak out against him because some abstract justice is dearer to me (in Soviet time, by the way, this phrase was often used at various party meetings).
2. “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”
This was said by the 18th century English figure Samuel Johnson. Subsequently, the phrase was taken out of the main context. He said this in his speech directed against the opposition. In England at that time, there was a constant confrontation between representatives of two parties - the Whigs and the Tories. At that time, the Tories were in power, and the Whigs were in opposition. Johnson supported the current government - the Tories. The Whigs called themselves “patriots” and portrayed their opponents (the Tories) as an anti-national force. In general, Johnson has an entire work dedicated to exposing the “false patriotism” of the Whigs as a manifestation of political demagoguery, as opposed to real true patriotism. For example, in his essay on this topic, he argued that only true patriots (that is, like him, Tories, presumably) can occupy a place in parliament. He always wrote the word “patriot” with a capital letter. I read quite a lot about him and, accordingly, could write a lot, if I wanted. He was quite the guy, to be honest. In Russia, this saying became known thanks to L.N. Tolstoy.
This statement, oddly enough, has three different and extremely contradictory interpretations:
- A call not to trust loud words about patriotism and civic duty.
- Not everything is lost even for the last scoundrel. Patriotism may become his last refuge. Having become a patriot of his country, he has the last chance to be morally reborn, like the Phoenix bird, and again become a full citizen.
- Patriotism (love for the Motherland) is immoral and is characteristic only of unworthy scoundrels, while worthy members human society must love the whole world (be tolerant).
3. “The exception only confirms the rule.”
The exact origin of this expression is not established, but is generally attributed to Cicero. It is believed that this phrase was uttered by him during his defense speech when he was hired as a lawyer for Lucius Balbus the Elder. Lucius Cornelius Balbus was an oligarch and personal banker to Julius Caesar. The people of Rome accused him of having dual citizenship (well, it’s like now brazenly having two passports in your hands, for example, Israeli and Russian, but then it was considered that this was completely bad). Cicero, being an unsurpassed orator, said defensive speech, and the oligarch was acquitted. In fact, many different expressions are attributed to Cicero. How I finished my life path Cicero? They cut off his head, impaled him on a pole and put him on the oratorical platform from which he so loved to speak. He expressed himself further. In Russia, the mentioned saying became known thanks to I. S. Turgenev. This statement usually has the following interpretations:
- There are no rules without exceptions. And if you really need to, then you can make an exception.
- The unexpected exception that occurred does not call into question the existing rules.
4. “The best is the enemy of the good.”
Shakespeare was the first to express such an idea in one of his tragedies: “Striving for the best, we often spoil the good” (it is believed that a similar expression had already been used by the Italians before him). But this phrase became famous after Voltaire began to use it in his works (in a novel and in one of his articles). What we know popular expression and there is a translation from French of Voltaire’s version of this aphorism.
This statement has the following interpretations:
- Approval of the actions of someone who is ready to give up good in the name of the best, since “one cannot stop there.”
- Warning. Because, despite all efforts, the “best” may never be achieved, while losing the “good” already achieved.
5. “Only he is worthy of life and freedom who goes to battle for them every day.”
This phrase is from I.V. Goethe’s tragedy “Faust”.
Faust says:
“...I am committed to this thought! Life years
It wasn’t in vain, it’s clear to me
The final conclusion of earthly wisdom:
Only he is worthy of life and freedom,
Who goes to battle for them every day!
All my life in a harsh, continuous struggle
Let the child, and the husband, and the elder lead,
So that I can see in the brilliance of wondrous power
Free land, free my people!
Then I would say: Moment!
You're great, last, wait!
And the passage of centuries would not be bold
The trace left by me!
In anticipation of that wondrous moment
I am now tasting my highest moment.”
Those. - these are his wishes and instructions, what “a child, and a husband, and an elder” should do, according to his understanding.
After this fiery speech, Faust immediately dies.
This is followed by the last chapter of the poem, entitled “Entombment,” about the funeral of Faust. By the way, I remember the following lines from it:
“So why is the hall standing
No furniture, shabby?
Everything was bought on credit,
And there are many creditors.”
But, at its core, this is still a work on religious themes, so it is not surprising that, in the end, Faust’s soul fled to heaven (if you distance yourself from high poetry and simply delve into the semantic meaning of the last chapter, it becomes clear that that the angels “divorced” the demons as “suckers”), and Mephistopheles laments the gross violation, so to speak, of legal norms, despite the existence of an agreement in his hands.
In addition, some researchers believe that the writing of Faust was influenced by the fact that the author was a Freemason (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a member of the Amalia Masonic Lodge and did not really hide it).
A small digression: They also say that you need to read “Faust” only in the original language (well, some smart people wrote that to me twice). A completely different impression is created. Maybe, but I don’t speak German. I'm generally not a polyglot, alas. And that's putting it mildly. Somehow, barely, I read in English and Spanish, also in Slavic languages(mainly in Ukrainian and Bulgarian), I also understand Turkic languages by ear (I know some common Turkic words and expressions), that’s probably all. I speak fluently only Russian and Russian swear words. Well, it wasn’t fate, therefore, it didn’t work out for me to become a polyglot. And, in general, whoever understands Faust in German should quote it in German... to the Germans. And we speak Russian here.
This statement has the following interpretation:
- As a call to protect certain rights, freedoms and personal interests.
- An encouraging and humorous variation on the theme “and our whole life is a struggle.”
P.S. Something like that. What do you think?
How often, falling under the influence of someone else’s views and opinions, we bow to other people’s authorities. Sometimes this happens in spite of common sense. For example, parents always think: they know what is best for their child. Who should he be friends with, what hobby should he choose, what profession should he realize himself in. And even the personal life of their child should be built according to the orders of adults. Are those who gave us life always right? And can someone else’s life experience be considered the ultimate truth?
Popular expression
For such cases, the most suitable expression is one that became popular a long time ago. It sounds like this: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer.” Like most aphorisms, this one also has a primary source. At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century, there lived such a famous writer - Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra. Everyone knows his funny and ideal hero - Don Quixote of La Mancha. In the second part of the novel, in chapter 51, we come across something familiar: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer.” So, this means where this phrase came into our language! “Amicus Plato, sed ma-gis amika varitas” is a Russian transcription. Why did we remember it? Cervantes simply introduced the phrase to the broad masses of readers. But he only repeated in Spanish what the ancients had said long before him.
An excursion into history...
And now let’s mentally take a time machine to even later times. IV century BC, Ancient Greece, the great Plato, his philosophical school and works that to this day have not lost their relevance and interest. In one of them - the essay "Phaedo" - Plato cites the words of Socrates, of whom he himself was a student, where his brilliant predecessor advises to look less back at himself when defending his point of view. Truth is more valuable than authority, Socrates argued. And the author of the Phaedo completely agrees with this. Hence: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer.” Let us note that the philosopher gives his students a precise instruction: they should go to the end if they are confident in their own rightness, and not think about whether this coincides with the opinion of their teacher.
From Plato to Aristotle
Ancient Greece gave the world many geniuses. One cannot help but recall another remarkable representative of it - Aristotle. This is also the 4th century BC, only a slightly later period. He is the author of the profound and serious work “Nicomachean Ethics”. In it, Aristotle, continuing the thoughts of his teachers (Socrates and the same Plato), wrote that, no matter how dear his friends were to him, if one chooses between them and the truth, preference should still be given to the truth. Like this long story this statement! But it is not yet final, because many ancient writers believed that the primary source of all the “fuss” was Socrates, it was his name that was mentioned in the aphorism. But, as we have established, it would be more correct to say this: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer!”
Further eras
So, here we have a classic example of a logical and cultural paradox. The author released an axiom that contradicts himself. On its basis, many similar statements of “general content” were subsequently compiled. For example, justifying his religious and philosophical postulates, he speaks with almost the same universal formula, very close to the traditional one: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer,” only mentioning Socrates and using the volitional imperative “should be preferred.” Its meaning, of course, is clear: in any dispute, correctness, compliance with common sense, and objectivity should act as an arbiter. Or the truth. It is she who should act as an absolute value and have privileges over all subjective opinions.
Let's look at examples
In what cases is such an expression appropriate? In almost all cases, when it comes to serious fundamental decisions on which, for example, the fate of an important scientific discovery, resolving a legal issue, etc. Or even personal relationships. Dudintsev's novel “White Clothes” discusses issues related to a new branch of biology - genetics. You may ask, what does the same aphorism have to do with all this: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer”? Its meaning is directly related to the conflict revealed in the work: some scientists follow the lead of the official authorities, agree on everything with the “people's academician” Ryadno (prototype Lysenko). For the sake of personal gain and power, he “overwrites” not only his talented colleagues, but also openly falsifies and pours lies on progressive scientific ideas.
Others are not afraid to openly fight these retrogrades and opportunists, but defend the truth despite the danger that threatens them. These are Dezhkin, Tsvyakh, Strigalev, Kheifetz. The latter, for example, is so shocked by the atmosphere of hidden meanness and denunciations in the team that, although there are many of his friends among the scientists working there, he is ready to leave the walls of the institute where he worked for many years. “Plato is my friend, but truth is dearer” - he proves the meaning of this statement with his own actions. And not only him! Dezhkin once considered Ryadno a true professional, a man of great intelligence and talent, a biologist with a capital B. Having learned that the academician has stooped to appropriating other people's discoveries and subjecting their authors to persecution and repression, he is also indignant and stands up in defense of the truth.
“Plato is my friend, but truth is dearer” - what does this statement mean to him? Much: Dezhkin brings to the end the work of the destroyed underground laboratory. He risks his life by passing on valuable information to Western colleagues who came to the Union specifically for this purpose. And then for many years, until Stalin’s death and the rehabilitation of his colleagues, some of whom died in prison or camps, he lives practically underground. These are the hardships and sacrifices that principled people are willing to make for the sake of truth!
Literature gives us worthy examples!
