218 - The Education of Desire: Plato and the Philosophy of Religion

The Education of Desire: Plato and the Philosophy of Religion
By Michel Despland
Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1985. 395 pp. $45.00 ($25.00 paper).

The New York Times, on December 29, 1987, carried a front page story about the rift in American philosophy that has led to the creation of a new organization in opposition to the American Philosophical Association. Its spokesperson, Charles Sherover of Hunter College, says that the reason for this drastic measure is that all too often those accepted into the ranks of philosophers in America are not philosophically inclined. "You're much more likely to find philosophically inclined people outside of philosophy, because if you are philosophically inclined, you've probably been excluded."

Without going into what it is to be philosophically inclined, it is safe to say that Michel Despland would fit Sherover's notion of a philosopher. Despland is also closer to what non-philosophers think philosophers ought to be, namely, concerned with understanding our world and how we may live well in it. This is to bring philosophy very close to religion, as indeed Despland does. But Despland does not equate them. Rather, he makes a proposal about how philosophy of religion should be practiced today by examining how Plato brings the practice of philosophy to bear on the religion of his day. The result is a fascinating and exciting discussion that does not require of the reader a previous knowledge of Plato or philosophy.

But why does religion in Plato's day, and mutatis mutandis, religion today need philosophy? Fifth century Athens had passed through a commercial expansion, a period of empire, and finally a devastating war. There was immense confusion concerning the proper way to live, both as an individual and as a society. Religious traditions alone were not enough to deal with the new, widespread, ruthless individualism, which was not a spirit of independence but an impulsive assertion of self in contempt of all self-restraint. The ruthless individualist wants to get and keep the good things of life and wants to have more of them than the average citizen. The Sophists promised to teach people who would pay for it how they "could have it all." The sacredness of the city's traditions as the very voice of the gods was no match for such brutal self-assertion.

The philosopher strives to maintain or renew piety, that inner sense of restraint and obligation without which there is no moderation and no health in the handling of human affairs. Plato's Socrates believes that

219 - The Education of Desire: Plato and the Philosophy of Religion

philosophy can put an end to the vilifications of virtue and nobility and the attendant brutalization of life. He therefore wants to know what true piety is, as well as true justice and true love. He believes that human life can attain these virtues and will be better for it. He also believes that he can cure people of the misuse of language, which is both a symptom and a cause of moral confusion, by talking. Hence the title of Despland's book, The Education of Desire, and his notion that, by educating our desires, philosophy can enable us to attain a good life. He mentions that philosophy, too, is not in full health and how that greatly complicates the task of a philosopher like Socrates.

In a long, unplatonic postscript, as he calls it, Despland explains that although Plato is concerned with the education of desires, in contrast to Christianity, which is concerned with the education or reformation of the will, Plato's work is still relevant today. The approach to a discussion of religion as found in Plato's philosophy has a relevance for religion that is generally absent in contemporary philosophy.

These remarks fail to do justice to the immense value of this book in a time of moral and spiritual perplexity. It is not dogmatic, but from its careful presentation of the way Socrates and Plato face deep human problems, one gains confidence that there are real differences between good and evil, right and wrong, true and false piety, true and ignoble love, and that it is of vital importance to seek for these differences and to seek to be a righteous or just person.

Diogenes Allen

Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, New Jersey