Did Socrates Meditate? On Some Traces of Contemplative Practices in Early Greco-Latin Philosophy

Drawing on Pierre Hadot's insights, this paper argues that while explicit discussions of breath control and psychosomatic techniques are absent in early Greek thought, analogous practices likely existed, possibly as early as Socrates. Evidence from Aristophanes and Plato suggests Socrates may have engaged in a two-stage meditative practice resembling Zen Buddhism: first, a top-down, egocentric focused meditation leading to sensory absorption, followed by a bottom-up, allocentric open meditation for a universal perspective. The paper also examines contemplative withdrawal in Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Evagrius Ponticus, and Gregory Palamas.

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Abstract

Following insights by Pierre Hadot, I suggest that although explicit discussions of practices of breath control and other psychosomatic techniques of contemplative attention management are conspicuously absent in early Greek thought, there are some signs that analogous practices did exist, perhaps as early as Socrates. The combined evidence of Aristophanes and Plato suggests that Socrates may have engaged in a practice that has key features in common with meditative practices and experiences as attested in Zen Buddhism. This technique consists in two stages: an initial practice of top-down, voluntary, egocentric focused meditation resulting in a state of “absorption” or abstraction from all sensory input, followed by the practice of a more bottom-up, open, other-centered (allocentric) form of meditation, intended to provide a more global or universal perspective, in which the practitioner situates herself as a part of the cosmos. This paper includes discussion of “withdrawal” into oneself as a contemplative practice in Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Evagrius Ponticus, and Gregory Palamas.