Historical Period of the Author
Due to philosophy, humanity can understand the world in all its diversity, changeability, and uniqueness. Much of what the ancient sages wrote and spoke about is still relevant today; nevertheless, the historical era has the most crucial role in the semantic content of the creations. For example, the Aristophanes era is characterized by considerable transformations (Konstan 78).
Although the Athenians managed to take two more strategically essential points in the Peloponnese, they were defeated by the Spartans at Delia in Boeotia. As a result, in the spring of 423 B.C., a truce for one year was concluded. Aristophanes was deprived of the reason for anti-military propaganda, constituting a basis of the previous comedies (Konstan 78).
Clouds is Aristophanes’ subsequent and most criticized comedy, produced in 423 B.C. The fame of the comedy was brought first of all by the image of one of the central characters, Socrates, who is represented rather maliciously and caricatured.
Socrates is portrayed in the comedy as a typical teacher of wisdom – a sophist, imparting his wisdom to his students through a kind of thought. However, one should not perceive Aristophanes’ purpose merely as an evil personal satire. The author ridiculed a specific set of the newest scientific and philosophical techniques and themes of the time, the center of which is Socrates as a figure directly associated with Athens and the same philosophical exercises.
Thesis of the Book
The Clouds is the author’s mockery of the widespread infatuation with sophistry, which was prevalent in Ancient Greece in 50-40 B.C (Konstan 78). This theme runs throughout Aristophanes’ comedy, but it is expressed especially vividly in the various details, which complete and finally delineate the image of this philosopher. While choosing a comic plot as the basis, Aristophanes still emphasizes psychological and moral issues. The book’s central thesis is a special verdict on society and is not overly optimistic. The virtues that formed the foundation of the past are now irrelevant, with the younger generation chasing only entertainment, pleasure, and wealth.
Metaphors and Their Relation to the Thesis
The comedy’s plot is undoubtedly exciting, and numerous metaphors can captivate even the most pretentious reader. Aristophanes strikes a comic blow to sophistry by showing the purpose of the farmer’s visit, which has nothing in common with the “high soul” (Aristophanes 29). It proves that the comedy’s heroes have begun to forget what constitutes the value of human life, the construction of relationships, which is the direct value of the philosophy of communication. It is thoroughly reflected in the relationship between the young Thidippides and his father, who, in the comedy, symbolizes the past and the traditions that Aristophanes honors.
The significant problem of Aristophanes’ contemporary society is the neglect of religion and religious worship, and the infatuation with crookedness. From Aristophanes’ point of view, the sophists’ “unjust” leads people away from earthly life, from those needs and problems that are natural, not contrived (Aristophanes 10). From the point of view of the communication of philosophy, that metaphor denotes the falsity of thought, the need to return to the truth of problems, and the destruction of the principles of false communication.
Moreover, Socrates’ “shop of meditation” is where wisdom is shared, but not priceless (Aristophanes 11). Using that metaphor, the author points to the acquisition of false knowledge that alienates people from acquiring family values. Again, this is ridiculed by Aristophanes, who was the undisputed promoter of the Philosophy of Communication, which values knowledge and education, the values of spiritual being, but not the object of market trade. Aristophanes also uses the device of grotesque ridicule concerning the teaching methods used by the sophists.
Thus, Socrates’ disciples solve minor problems, such as “whether the Buz of a Gnat proceeded from its Throat or its Breech,” that are unnecessary to society, and Aristophanes calls their pseudo-wisdom a divine swarm of clouds(Aristophanes 10). That metaphor means verbiage, and society goes to its moral degradation, to the cult of falsehood and profiteering. Education, due to the sophists, becomes a service. At the same time, the Philosophy of Communication can give truth, profound and traditional values, such as reverence for the gods, respect for elders, the desire for education, and the acquisition of new knowledge.
Implications for Philosophy of Communication
Therefore, with great skill and determination, Aristophanes, in his comedy The Clouds, denounces the vices of modern society, calling for respect for traditional spirituality. It is of great importance for the philosophy of communication because the playwright mocks the new science and its pseudo-values in the characters of the Sophists. Even though the Sophists are considered the founders of the European humanistic philosophical tradition, Aristophanes’ attitude to sophistry was sharply negative based on the comedy’s plot. It describes the reasoning of the Sophists on those concerns, which are empty and do not bear anything valuable for society. This view contributes to an awareness of the importance of the problem of communication and the activity of society as a communicative system.
The comedy is a protest against verbal manipulation and substituting concepts; it calls for honesty, openness, and traditionalism. This protest is expressed, in particular, in the destruction of concepts, which have a symbolic meaning and call for the creation of new values that will become the basis of a unique philosophy, a philosophy of communication.
Works Cited
Aristophanes. The Clouds. 1715. ProQuest.
Konstan, David. “Socrates in Aristophanes’ Clouds.” The Cambridge Companion to Socrates, 2011, pp. 75-90.