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Suggestions about Socrates

Thursday, 14 February 2008 in Problems by Ari Kohen | 3 comments

I’ve just started working on a paper about Socrates and heroism, looking at the speeches and deeds of the Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. Given that something on the order of a million books and articles have been written about Socrates, I thought I would write a short note here to see if there were any suggestions for readings I absolutely must not miss. I’ve found a number of very good articles (highlights include Greenberg (1965), Weinrib (1982), and Zuckert (1984)) and a couple of good books (Ahrensdorf (1995) and Hobbs (2000), in particular). But where else should I be looking? Thanks in advance! 

3 comments

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1 - Monday, 18 February 2008 at 5:33 am

Simon Cabulea May

What are you going to argue about Socrates and heroism Ari?

2 - Tuesday, 19 February 2008 at 12:11 am

Ari Kohen

Simon,
I want to argue that, even though the sequence of dialogues that culminate in Socrates’ death might seem to be the most obviously critical of the life of the philosopher, these dialogues actually serve to enshrine the character of Socrates as the second of two classical heroic archetypes that inform Western thought (along with Achilles), as he actively chooses death rather than a longer life in which he cannot devote himself to wisdom.

3 - Tuesday, 19 February 2008 at 3:34 pm

Patrick S. O'Donnell

I recommend one read Franciso J. Gonzalez’s Dialectic and Dialogue: Plato’s Practice of Philosophical Inquiry (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1998) before writing anything about Socrates (one learns, for instance, what courage meant for Socrates, how it was exemplified in dialectical dialogue, etc.). And then there’s Richard Kraut’s absolutely indispensable Socrates and the State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984). Just two books, but wonderful stuff.

(I sent you an e-mail as well suggesting the above, and then I decided to register.)

All good wishes,
Patrick

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