In Your Life You Have These Jars

“In Your Life You Have These Jars”
by Luisa Cichowski

(a song about the argument, in Plato’s Gorgias, between Callicles and Socrates over the place of pleasure in the good life)

Lyrics

Pleasure is a feeling, strong and nice
Should we control it, or let pleasure rule our lives?
“My name is Socrates,” I said,
“I’d like an answer from your head”
Should we control it, or let pleasure rule our lives?

I asked a man called Callicles this question once.
If you’ve read Plato then you know what this man wants
At line four hundred ninety two E,
Callicles says rashly to me
“Pleasure’s king, if you control it, you’re a dunce.”

My name is Socrates!
And I don’t let dumb shit fly.
I make up nice examples
To explain what’s in my mind.
Intuitive examples are so easy to create.
Callicles will see that my argument is great.

In your life you have these jars.
Every one of us has ours!
Filled with honey, some with wine, and some with milk.
The best people that I know
Have big jars that never flow
All their contents, stuck like concrete, never spilt.

Your love of pleasure, Callicles
Is like a jar that always leaks
Like a jar that leaks and then gets filled again.
Leaking, filling, running wild
Like a tyrant, like a child
Ceaseless wanting is, in fact, a kind of pain.

Then I said more to Callicles because he’s slow.
“Just think of thirst: you’d say, that thirst should stay and grow”
At four hundred ninety six E
I asked him this and he agreed
Thirsting is painful, but brings pleasure, so it goes.

I always talk about “The Good” because I’m Socrates.
And you can see this at four ninety seven D.
If “The Good” were really pleasure
And if pain was bad by measure
Pain and pleasure couldn’t rule concurrently.

My name is Socrates!
And I don’t let dumb shit fly.
I make up nice examples
To explain what’s in my mind.
Intuitive examples are so easy to create.
Callicles will see that my argument is great.

In your life you have these jars.
Every one of us has ours!
Filled with honey, some with wine, and some with milk.
The best people that I know
Have big jars that never flow
All their contents, stuck like concrete, never spilt.

Your love of pleasure, Callicles
Is like a jar that always leaks
Like a jar that leaks and then gets filled again.
Leaking, filling, running wild
Like a tyrant, like a child
Ceaseless wanting is, in fact, a kind of pain.

If I were Callicles,
I might find this little weakness…
Inside of my fantastic argument!
Who’m I to say that pain and pleasure,
Get experienced together?
If I were Callicles I’d call this all bullshit.

Now if you think of this,
In terms of classic mason jars.
A leaky one might end up being fine
You’ll feel the pleasure of consumption
And no pain will mar your gumption
And it’s “good” because they’re not at the same time.

Your love of pleasure, Callicles
Is like a jar that always leaks
Like a jar that leaks and then gets filled again.
Leaking, filling, running wild
Like a tyrant, like a child
Ceaseless wanting is, in fact, a kind of pain.

My name is Socrates…
And I don’t let dumb shit fly !