Plato’s Lesser Hippias: Intelligence and Lying

After a much-needed break for the Easter long weekend, the Plato’s Pod podcast resumes on April 16 with a discussion on the Lesser Hippias (also known as Hippias Minor). It’s a short read, featuring the sophist Hippias in dialogue with Socrates on the subject of lying.

Hippias is a different calibre of sophist – a professed expert who teaches students for a fee – than Protagoras, the sophist who is the title character of Plato’s dialogue that we examined in our previous three meetings. Hippias appears to have neither the knowledge nor intelligence of Protagoras, and is incapable of seeing the logical contradictions into which he is maneuvered by Socrates.

Hippias holds that the same person can be truthful and also a liar, and therefore that “the more powerful and better soul, when it does injustice, will do injustice voluntarily.” The worthless soul, he says, is the one that lies involuntarily. Socrates, however, examines lying from a different perspective, asking us to consider whether “the ignorant person would often involuntarily tell the truth when he wished to say falsehoods.”

Can opposite powers, of truth-telling and lying, exist in the same individual? It’s one thing for an ordinary person to waver on the matter, Socrates concludes, “but if you wise men [sophists] are going to do it, too – that means something terrible for us…” In a time like now, when it can be difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood, maybe we can better understand the signature of the liar from Plato’s Lesser Hippias.

* * *

Our discussion will be recorded in voice only without video, using first name as it appears on your screen profile, and broadcast on the “Plato’s Pod” Podcast for those who would like to share in our knowledge. We can go anywhere the group wishes, for which some suggested themes will be offered. Wherever our discussion leads, Plato, without a doubt, would have imagined no better way than in dialogue for knowledge – the account of the reasons why – to multiply its connections. We welcome the sharing of all perspectives, whether you are new to or experienced with Plato. Recordings of previous episodes of the Plato’s Pod podcast are at https://open.spotify.com/show/53Zvjr7avMylQgNqfqBxlk?si=7b50d100bfc4474d and other podcast platforms.

After the podcast recording ends in two hours, participants are welcome to remain for “Plato’s Café”, a casual half-hour discussion of your choice of themes from any of Plato’s works, or philosophy in general.

***

FRIDAY BEFORE THE MEETUP: We will post selections from the reading for discussion on a shared drive for participants at https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqvPwkIofv4UaFldrPpbva3VSXI?e=3Y7PjP, where you can also find topics explored in our previous meetups. Our meetings will generally be scheduled every two weeks on Sunday at 2 p.m. eastern. During our dialogue, participants are encouraged to relate their comments to Plato's text, referring to the Stephanus number for the passage so others can follow in the reading. Participants are also encouraged to read the text aloud for the meaning of the written word to resonate.

There are many translations of Plato's works available, of varying quality. Your public library will have multiple editions. A free translation of the Hippias Minor (Lesser Hippias) is available at https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1673. Participants in our entire series might be interested in purchasing Plato: Complete Works (https://www.amazon.ca/Plato-Complete-Works/dp/0872203492/).

The Meetup will take place on Zoom. Please RSVP to access the Zoom link at your Meetup account.