Note 132 — Chapter XXXII · PHILEBUS.

Plato, Philêbus, p. 51 A. πρὸς τὸ τινὰς ἡδονὰς εἶναι δοκούσας, οὔσας δ’ οὐδαμῶς, &c. τὸ φαινόμενον ἀλλ’ οὐκ ὄν, p. 42 C, which last sentence is better explained (I think) in the note of Dr. Badham than in that of Mr. Poste.

Mr. Poste observes justly, in his note on p. 40 C:— “The falsely anticipated pleasure in mistaken Hope may be called, as it is here called, False Pleasure. This is, however, an inaccurate expression. It is not the Pleasure, but the Imagination of it (i.e. the Imagination or Opinion) that is false. Sokrates therefore does not dwell upon this point, though Protarchus allows the expression to pass.” The last phrase of the passage which I have thus transcribed (“Sokrates therefore does not dwell upon this point”) is less accurate than that which precedes: for it seems to imply that the Sokrates of Philêbus admits the inaccuracy of the expression, which seems to me not borne out by the text of the dialogue. Both here and elsewhere in the dialogue, the doctrine, that many pleasures are false, is maintained by Sokrates distinctly — τὸ ἥδεσθαι is put upon the same footing as τὸ δοξάζειν, which may be either ἀληθῶς or ψευδῶς.

When Sokrates (p. 37 B) puts the question, “You admit that δόξα may be either ἀληθὴς or ψευδής: how then can you argue that ἡδονή must be always ἀληθής?” the answer is, that pleasure is not, if we speak correctly, either true or false: neither one predicate nor the other is properly applicable to it: we can only so apply them by a metaphor, altogether misleading in philosophical reasoning. When Sokrates further argues (37 D), “You admit that some qualifying predicates may be applied to pleasures and pain, great or small, durable or transient, &c. You admit that an opinion may be correct or mistaken in its object, and when it is the latter you call it false: why is not the pleasure which accompanies a false opinion to be called false also?” Protarchus refuses distinctly to admit this, saying, “I have already affirmed that on that supposition the opinion is false: but no man will call the pleasure false” (p. 38 A).