Rozstanie się z Mistrzem

Medytacja fenomenologiczno-hermeneutyczna

Abstrakt

Parting with the Master. A phenomenological­‐hermeneutic meditation: In this shortmeditation, I examine the phenomenon of parting. Of all kinds of parting, I focus on one particular kind: the parting of a disciple from the Master. As the material for my inquiry, I have chosen Plato’s parting from Socrates. It is precisely this parting, or rather its over‐
coming, that Cezary Wodziński addressed in his book The Logos of Immortality: Plato’s Footnotes to Socrates.

I have divided my meditation into seven questions, since I regard the phenomenon of parting from the Master as consisting of seven elements. For parting to occur, it has to be preceded by being together. But what does it mean to be together with someone? For Plato, it meant seeing Socrates, hearing him and being by his side. It also meant admiring him. The first four questions address these themes.

When being together comes to an end, parting takes place. To experience the Master’s death means, above all to long for him, in the sense of desiring once again to be at his side and only afterwards — to suffer loss, for the sense of orphanhood comes later. And finally, the last, seventh question: How can one return to being together with one’s Master —­ and is this possible at all? The final three questions are devoted to these three motifs.

My meditation has shown that, in the case of Plato and Socrates, being together took place διὰ λόγων — through words. Through spoken words, that is, through speaking and listening. Listening to Socrates was a singular experience, and his speaking inscribed itself in Plato’s soul, thus becoming a peculiar kind of writing — a writing that speaks, or written speech — calling into question the very opposition between speech and writing. This is precisely the character of the Platonic dialogues: in them, being together does not cease, for it takes place διὰ λόγων, through words.