Abstract

I argue that the dramatic presentation of nature and the natural order in Euripidean drama betrays positive metaphysical and epistemological commitments. The metaphysical order presented in Euripidean drama bears a philosophical kinship with the views attributed to Heraclitus by both Plato and Aristotle; Heraclitus' dictum that "all is change" is dramatically represented in Euripides' major works. Euripides' tragedies consistently illustrate the metaphysical instability at the core of the cosmos. The problems of change dominated the theories of several Presocratic philosophers, and I contend that Euripides' tragedies offer a dramatic representation of the problem of change that deserves philosophical consideration along with the works of the Presocratics. The metaphysical instability suggested by Euripidean drama implies significant consequences for the epistemological and the ethical realms. Euripidean drama voices doubts regarding the adequacy and reliability of human knowledge. These tragedies suggest that human knowledge is incapable of insulating a good human life from the often inscrutable and destructive forces of tuche and anangke ; further, Euripides' tragedies repeatedly cast doubt on the ability of human reason to control the powerful and irrational forces of human nature. Euripidean drama thus calls into question two fundamental rationalist maxims: first, that reason can be relied upon to obtain adequate knowledge, and second, that reason can be relied upon to guide an agent's ethical decision-making. ;The metaphysical and epistemological views advanced by these tragedies thus serve as a compelling criticism of the emerging rationalist tendencies in Greek philosophy, best embodied by Socrates and Plato. My interpretation of Euripidean drama thus stands in stark contrast to that of Nietzsche, who famously argued that Euripides caused the death of tragedy by allowing Socrates onto the stage. Contra Nietzsche, I argue that Euripides' plays do not merely criticize the emerging Socratic aspiration to rational self-sufficiency and self-control; Euripides' plays offer the suggestion and hope that though reason may fail us, the binding obligation of love and friendship serves as humanity's greatest resource in a world of tragedy