Universe of Platonic Thought 2024

32nd International Conference “The Universe of Platonic Thought: Plato’s Heritage in the History of Science and Education”

Daria Krutko; Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University (Saint Petersburg, Russia), Postgraduate

Nikita Ladenkov; ANO HE «IBI named after Anatoliy Sobchak». (Saint-Petersburg, Russia), Senior Lecturer

A thought experiment and Utopia: from a rhetorical device to the modern research methods

The thought experiment as a method of cognition and a means of creative reasoning has made it possible to imagine solutions to problems since the time of the Pre-Socratics, and has become established in philosophy as an effective research tool. At the same time, questions arise about the origin of this cognitive procedure and its applicability in other sciences. For example, the ideas of Plato in which one can find something similar to a modern thought experiment, are discussed in various courses in the social sciences - in the history of economic, political, and legal doctrines. Consideration of Plato through the prism of legal sciences looks like the construction of utopias or mental models of government, in the history of economics - through the idea of a society based on a subsistence economy with limited monetary circulation. To understand the place of a thought experiment in the social sciences, it is necessary to consider its form in Plato’s philosophy, as well as the specifics of its application in different fields of knowledge.

Keywords: Thought experiment, utopia, methodology, ideal object, Philosophy of science and technology

The experimental method is described as the constructive scientific method of modern European science. Turning to historical epistemology allows us to reconstruct the emergence of the method and also consider its place at each stage of the development of human cognition (Birger, 2015).

Ancient science, unlike engineering, did not make a significant contribution to the experimental method (which more often means a physical experiment using mathematical apparatus), except for such a form of knowledge as a thought experiment.

In the history of thought experiments, Plato plays an important role, as his works contain one of the earliest documented applications of thought experiments, and also construct the very form of this method.

A thought experiment is a cognitive procedure in the form of a hypothetical situation, when a certain position (theory, hypothesis, principle, problem) is put forward that needs to be resolved using the imagination/mind. The epistemological function of this tool is aimed at the real world, i.e. the thought experiment must be solvable in some way. This kind of method is used when it is not possible to conduct a “real” (physical) experiment. E. Mach writes about a thought experiment as “thoughts about what might have happened if a different course of action had been taken.” Thought experiments can form the basis of any theoretical model, including a model of society. In this case, we can talk about utopias and dystopias. With the help of utopias, the reaction of society to any innovations is studied - for example, technological breakthroughs. As an illustration, it is permissible to consider films of the science fiction genre. The film “Equilibrium” (2002) shows a high technogenic society faced with the biological essence of man, which cannot exist in a world without feelings.

In ancient Greece there was no term corresponding to the modern "thought experiment". However, this technique was used in a similar way - to defend one’s theories and refute others. Also, researchers of this problem, for example Katerina Lerodiakonou, find a third aspect - Hellenistic philosophy used a method for deferring judgment. To do this, arguments were formulated in support of two opposing points of view.

Plato's Republic (Polis) is where the most famous use of thought experiments can be found. He also uses literary devices in his dialogue, which makes it possible to consider different material as a thought experiment in the future - from Kafka's stories to science fiction films. And in Plato's dialogue "Timaeus" you can find the term “paradeigma”, meaning "a sample that is placed next to something for comparison or comparison." From this meaning of the term we understand its meaning as an example that serves as a standard for something to be judged of.

Through a literary device, in his “experiment” Plato turns to myths that he most likely composed himself. The most famous examples are the allegory of the cave and the Ring of Gyges. Plato also provides an example of utopia, an “ideal form of government”.

In the modern world, there is an attempt to merge different forms of knowledge. The thought experiment acts as an integrating link. For example, in economic sciences, a thought experiment helps to construct models because laboratory abstractions are of less importance than in economic theory. Plato's state serves as a good example of model building, since his polis was significantly politicized, like modern society. Plato described the division of labor, but the disadvantages of his model include the preservation of a natural economy.

In the history of political and law theories, Plato was the first to describe forms of government, in which, in the form of thought experiments, the processes actually occurring in ancient policies are reflected - successful ones: democracy (majority rule), aristocracy (the best people rule), monarchy (wise ruler). Unsuccessful: timocracy (power of the crowd), oligarchy (power of the rich) and tyranny (power concentrated in one hand). It is known that Plato tried to implement his ideas. But the experience seemed unsatisfactory to the author. And then Plato proposed a new form of government - a mixed one, combining monarchy and democracy. Plato also suggests regulating social relations through “written law.” And although in the history of political and legal theories it is considered incorrect to identify Plato’s ideas with modernity, they can be considered as a model of the state and models corresponding to the current course can be constructed, forming a social-legal experiment from them.

Thus, Plato's thought experiment finds its application not only in the history of philosophy, but also in the history of economic, political and legal doctrines.