Thrasymaque, la polis et les dieux

An adequate account of Thrasymachus’ thought has to meet a double charge of incoherence. The theses he puts forward in Plato’s Republic have been charged for being incompatible; besides, such theses seem to contrast with other extant fragments. Aim of the paper is to show that a political reading of Thrasymachus’ thought can account for difficulties. Along with his rhetorical interests, testimonies at our disposal point out Thrasymachus’ political engagement, probably in the context of polemics against the Athenian democracy. And an anti-democratic stance is implied in many of the claims Thrasymachus defends in Plato’s Republic. Second, and most important, the famous testimony on the gods (DK B8) far from being the bitter cry against men’s violation of justice is better taken as a paradoxical provocation against traditional morality, arguing that the gods do not care for human beings. Fragment B8 further confirm Thrasymachus’ strategical role in Plato’s political philosophy. For Plato’s major target, from the Republic to the Laws, is the ‘theological’ foundation of justice in open opposition to the conventionalist views such as the one endorsed by Thrasymachus.