Socrate's Approach and Our Approach (Socrate's Historical Views of Iran and Iranians)

Previously, in a paper entitled Iranian Thought in Socratic Thought (presented in the “Conference on Commemorating Socrates, the Greek Philosopher”, Tehran, 2001), the writer of the present paper argued that in Plato’s dialogues, the rights of Iranians and the Iranian government have not been clearly stipulated. Socrates, who expected Iranians to officially recognize the government of Athens, does not explicitly talk about the official or de facto recognition of the Achaemenid government. Plato has spoken about the poets, playwrights, and historiographers of other nations, particularly those of Iranians, more freely than other Greek thinkers and scholars. However, he does not believe that Athenians’ democratic rights are conditioned by protecting the rights of other nations, including Iranians and Egyptians, and recognizing the legitimacy of their governments. The present paper is intended to define and review the features of Athenian self-knowledge and Iranian self-knowledge and compare them with each other. As Socrates himself considers it justified, strangers can also discuss the nature of “terms”, including the description of the characteristics of the Greeks. As we know, once Phaedrus told Socrates, “Yes, Socrates, you can easily invent tales of Egypt, or of any other country.” In this paper, the writer does not intend to copy Socrates’ approach in this regard; neither does he intend to provide a mythical, narrative, or historical account of the conditions of Greece during the time of this philosopher. Rather, he seeks to extensively explain and interpret his political view of Iran, specifically with reference to Alcibiades and Laws dialogues.