Notes on Laches

(Originally written September 14, 2006 in Book 10)

The Classical Mind 2nd Ed.
W.T. Jones

Chapter 5 - Plato: The Special Sciences

Analysis of the form Courage

From an early dialogue: Laches 

Laches calls courage a man who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights the enemy. Laches calls the universal quality of courage, "a sort of endurance of the soul" (Jones, 156). Socrates disagrees.

Socrates says that courage is a very noble quality. Foolish endurance is not noble, thus endurance cannot be courage.

Socrates is attempting to find a common ground between all particular acts of courage. Plato believes that this common characteristic is that they all participate in some degree in the form "courage".

Laches is a good, brave general. He therefore has a working knowledge of courage, but not a complete understanding of it. Socrates makes a metaphysical distinction between two forms of knowledge:
1) Experiential knowledge (which Laches possesses)
2) Formal knowledge (which Laches lacks)

Experiential knowledge is acquaintance with the particulars in which the forms participate, but not knowledge of the forms themselves. Formal knowledge is knowledge of the forms themselves.

Formal knowledge develops out of experiential knowledge because experiential knowledge is rooted in formal knowledge. Forms priced particulars, but knowledge works in reverse order.

Forms are first because they contain a higher degree of reality than particulars.

Knowledge of forms is better than knowledge of particulars.

Knowledge of forms is more stable and has a greater permanence. It is knowledge of reality and not easily shaken.

Knowledge of particulars is easily shaken and susceptible to the skepticism of the Sophists.

Plato did not want to replace the ancient Greek morality. He wanted to show that it was rooted in reality and thus the critics and adherents fought against or clung to truth, although they did not understand it.

"Plato's sense of continuity with the past, his combination of conservatism and criticism of traditionalism and enlightenment, is one of the most marked characteristics of his thought - and one of the great strengths of his position" (Pojman, 159).