On beauty in Plato`s dialogues

Platon velja za enega najbolj vplivnih literarnih umetnikov in filozofov zahodnega sveta, ki je postavil prve temelje estetike. Njegova dela so polna poskusov in sugestij, nedvomno tudi polna prečudovitih vpogledov. Celovito rečeno Platonova dela niso sistematična, se pa v njih jasno pojavlja filozofija lepega, filozofija, ki še danes premika meje estetike, umetnosti in filozofije. Namen našega »sprehoda po lepem« bo spoznati, uvideti in definirati pojem tò kalón. Pot vrnitve v antično Grčijo, v osrčje filozofije, pa nas ne bo vodila skozi definiense definienduma niti skozi sodobne filozofske ozire, ampak nam bo ta starodavna kultura sama razkrila dvoumnost in kompleksnost, ki se skrivata v pojmu tò kalón. Beseda tò kalón ima mnogo pomenov, ki se med sabo prepletajo in dopolnjujejo, njena naravna razsežnost in pojmovna raven je v antiki dosega načelo kalokagathia. Med ključne pomene razumevanja lepega nedvomno spadata tudi čutna lepota in etična lepota/dobrota. Lepota ne potrebuje telesnega nosilca, saj njena avtonomna eksistenca sije povsod in vsak etično izobražen človek v sebi nosi težnjo po lepoti, katere prvobitno naj ne bi iskal v fizičnem svetu, temveč v notranjem, torej v duši. Pri Platonu velja tudi to, da je utrpevanje lepega eden izmed najbolj mogočnih izkustev, ki jih lahko človek izkusi v svojem življenju. Zaradi teh in podobnih pogledov je teorija lepega pomembna tako za nas posameznike kot tudi za zgodovino filozofije ter predvsem za domeno estetike in umetnosti. Platonovi dialogi s Sokratovo iniciativo nas tako popeljejo v osupljiv svet lepega, v katerem lahko spoznamo lépo v njegovi polni manifestaciji. »Sprehod po lepem« nas bo tako popeljal v misterije, kjer pa ne bomo spoznali le »lépega po sebi« in tega, da je eros »nekje vmes« med lepim in grdim, temveč tudi to, da znotraj pojma »lépo« obstajajo vzponi, katerih bistvo ni nič drugega, kakor razumeti »lépo po sebi« v njegovi polni manifestaciji oziroma v vseh njegovih oblikah, njihov cilj pa je uvesti »lépo« kot resnično človeško vrlino. Najvišji vzpon in obenem sklep diplomskega dela bo »metafilozofski« dialog, v katerem nas Sokrat skozi palinodijo uči o »božanski blaznosti« in o tem, da je vsaka duša nesmrtna ter da je lepota paradigma za resnico, ki so jo sposobni spoznati le tisti, ki so modri, saj le-ti živijo najbolj krepostna življenja – med slednje nedvomno spadajo tudi filozofi.Plato, who is referred to as the founder of aesthetics, is considered to be one of the most influential literary artists and philosophers of the Western world. There is much in his writings that is tentative and suggestive, yet they are also full of wonderful insights. Although Plato\u27s works are not systematic, a clear philosophy of beauty emerges from them, a philosophy, which even today extends the boundaries of aesthetics, art and philosophy. The purpose of our “walk in beauty” is to recognize, realize and define the concept of tò kalón. The return to ancient Greece, into the heart of philosophy will not take us through definiens of definiendum, neither through contemporary philosophical considerations, but this ancient culture will reveal us the ambiguity and complexity hidden in the concept of tò kalón. Tò kalón is a word that has many meanings that intertwine and complement each other, and in ancient times its natural dimension and conceptual level has reached the principle of kalokagathia. Sensuous beauty and ethical beauty/goodness definitely belong to crucial factors of understanding beauty. Beauty does not need a physical carrier, as its autonomous existence shines everywhere and every ethically educated person carries the tendency after beauty, which he primordially should not be searching for in the physical world but in the inner, in the soul. In Platonism the experience of beauty is one of the most powerful experiences that human can experience in life. Because of these and similar views the theory of beauty is so important for us individuals, for the history of philosophy, and especially for the domain of aesthetics and arts. Plato\u27s dialogues with Socrates’ initiative take us into an amazing world of beauty, where we can realize beauty in all its manifestations. Our “walk in beauty” will take us into mysteries, where we will realize not only the "beauty itself" and that eros is “somewhere between” the beautiful and the ugly, but also that within the concept of “beauty” there are ascents, the essence of which is nothing else than understanding the "beauty itself" in all its manifestations and forms, and the aim of which is to introduce "beauty" as a true human virtue. The culmination and also the conclusion of the thesis will be a “metaphilosophical” dialogue, where through a palinode Socrates teaches us on "divine madness" and that each soul is immortal and that beauty is the paradigm of truth, which can be seen only by those who are wise, because they live the most virtuous lives - among which are undoubtedly philosophers