GYGES'DILEMMA: MORALITY AND HAPPTI\fESS
TI\f HERODOTUS AND PLATO
by
TIMOTHY NIDEVER
A THESIS Presented to the Department of Classics and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts March 2009
11
"Gyges' Dilemma: Morality and Happiness in Herodotus and Plato," a thesis prepared by Timothy Nidever in partial fulfil1"i1ent of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in the Department of Classics. This thesis has been approved and accepted by:
"'-,,,. Dr. Marcolm Wilson, Chair of the Examining Committee
Date
Committee in Charge:
Dr. Malcolm Wilson, Chair
Accepted by:
Dean of the Graduate School
ll1
An Abstract of the Thesis of
Timothy Nidever in the Department of Classics
for the degree of to be taken
Master of Arts March 2009
Title: GYGES' DILEMMA: MORALITY AND HAPPINESS IN HERODOTUS AND PLATO Approved:
'-
~
Dr. Malcolm Wilson
Herodotus and Plato both tell of the usurpation of the Lydian throne by Gyges, a subject of the king. Both accounts, moreover, maybe interpreted as parables reflecting on moral choice, external contingency, and their bearing on human happiness. Herodotus' Gyges, properly understood, is endowed with the resources and affective responses of a respectable, if ordinary, moral agent. He successfully navigates a pair of perilous dilemmas that will catapult him, without ambition or malevolence, into ultimate power, privilege and, presumably, happiness. Plato's account teases out, clarifies, and reframes issues implicit in Herodotus' tale, exploring how and why ordinary moral agents may fail in their choices, despite apparently desirable outcomes, visiting ruin on their potential happiness. In the process Plato self-critically illustrates the inefficacy of the Socratic elenchus alone to prevent or
IV
correct the motivational mistakes of such agents, and vigorously expands the role of philosophy in...