Misology [note 1] is defined as the hatred of reasoning; the revulsion or distrust of logical debate, argumentation or the Socratic elenchus.
Defined by Plato in his dramatic work Phaedo (Φαίδων in Attic Greek), which presents the final hours and execution of Socrates, ultimately, by those who were offended by his philosophical pursuit, the term may be viewed, by extension, as being synonymous with anti-intellectualism in general.
Plato’s Phaedo tells the story of Phaedo of Elis recalling the death and final hours of Socrates some time afterwards to Echecrates, who had heard tell of Socrates' trial, but had no account of his death and is curious to hear of it. Phaedo begins and explains that he and others had gathered early to visit Socrates on the day of his execution. There, Simmias and Cebes had begun a discussion with Socrates on the afterlife, and Cebes in particular had questioned Socrates on his belief that the soul must be immortal. Phaedo continues and says that Socrates had just presented an argument to this effect, when both Simmias and Cebes presented excellent objections. Phaedo breaks from his story and says to Echecrates:
When we heard what they [Simmias and Cebes] said we were all depressed, as we told each other afterwards. We had been quite convinced by the previous argument [Socrates' argument], and they seemed to confuse us again, and to drive us to doubt not only what had already been said but also what was going to be said, lest we be worthless as critics or the subject itself [the fate of the soul] admitted of no certainty.—Plato, Phaedo, 88c [5]
Phaedo then tells Echecrates that before replying to Simmias and Cebes' argument, Socrates, having no doubt seen the disquiet that their objection had caused among all those present, which Phaedo himself evidenced above, breaks from his argumentation to make an important point: that they must not lose heart because of this objection and reject philosophy as a result. Phaedo says that Socrates begins thus:
...but first there is a certain experience we must be careful to avoid...That we must not become misologues, as people become misanthropes. There is no greater evil one can suffer than to hate reasonable discourse. Misology and misanthropy arise in the same way. Misanthropy comes when a man without knowledge or skill has placed great trust in someone and believes him to be altogether truthful, sound and trustworthy; then, a short time afterwards he finds him to be wicked and unreliable, and then this happens in another case; when one has frequently had that experience, especially with those whom one believed to be one's closest friends, then, in the end, after many blows, one comes to hate all men and to believe that no one is sound in any way at all...This is a shameful state of affairs...and obviously due to an attempt to have human relations without any skill in human affairs.—Plato, Phaedo, 89d–89e [5]
Plato has his character, Socrates, warn the reader that, just as one should not hate his fellow man because they themselves were poor in judging character, they should not hate argumentation and reason — partake in "misology" — just because they may not be skilled enough to discern the flaws and strengths of an argument:
It would be pitiable...he [Socrates] said, when there is a true and reliable argument and one that can be understood, if a man who has dealt with such arguments as appear at one time true, at another time untrue [just as Socrates' argument had appeared to those present], should not blame himself or his own lack of skill but, because of his distress, in the end gladly shift the blame away from himself to the arguments, and spend the rest of his life hating and reviling reasonable discussion and so be deprived of truth and knowledge of reality...This then is the first thing we should guard against, he [Socrates] said. We should not allow into our minds the conviction that argumentation has nothing sound about it; much rather we should believe that it is we who are not yet sound and that we must take courage and be eager to attain soundness—Plato, Phaedo, 90c–e [5]
The word itself, misology, is first attested for in 1833,[6] and was used in Benjamin Jowett's famous 1871 translation of Plato's Dialogues: "as there are misanthropists or haters of men, there are also misologists or haters of ideas."[7]
Apart from a Platonic source, Kant, in Fundamental Principles of Moral Philosophy (Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten), which was published in 1785, wrote: "Misologie, d. i. [das ist] haß der vernunft,"[8][9] translated by Thomas Kingsmill Abbott in 1895, straightforwardly, as: "misology, that is, hatred of reason."[10][11]