Olympiodorus’ View of Civic Self-Knowledge

Abstract

This chapter examines Olympiodorus’ conception of civic self-knowledge (gnônai heauton politikôs). It explores the ‘affective’, ‘particularist’ and ‘personal’ aspects involved in this mode of knowing oneself: on this level, self-knowledge concerns one’s dealings with feelings and emotions, with particular situations, but also with others in personal interaction. The concept is hard to pin down, however, which this chapter argues is evidence that it is inherently ‘transitory’. This last aspect suits the intermediary role of civic self-knowledge in ethical development, and makes it a suitable target for the Alcibiades I, the first dialogue of the Platonic curriculum in Neoplatonism.