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Can we learn, through the model of Socrates, practical wisdom that we can apply to our lives? What are we to make of the paradoxical and strange figure who claimed that the unexamined life is not worth living, that only knowledge can save our souls, that love is nothing but the desire for wisdom, and that knowledge can save our souls, that love is nothing but the desire for wisdom, and that knowledge of human excellence is such that only a god can possess it?
Protesting against traditional interpretations that tame the ancient philosopher by observing him through a lens of conventional wisdom, George Rudebusch's Socrates presents a compelling case for taking Socrates' arguments and wild conclusions seriously, not merely as abstract exercises in cross-examining ideas of human excellence, but as a heavenly way for human beings to live.
Original in approach, lovingly crafted with humor, thought-experiments, and literary references (from the Iliad to Harry Potter), and with close readings of key Socratic arguments, the book brings the strange figure of Socrates and his divine mission to life, philosophizing at the center of human concerns.
acknowledgments ix
translations used xi
introduction xii
the ion 1
1 interpreting socrates 3
the apology 15
2 mission from god 17
3 puzzling notoriety 30
the protagoras 47
4 bravery 49
5 knowledge rules 62
the laches 75
6 bravery again 77
7 puzzling pedagogy 88
the lysis 101
8 love 103
the euthydemus 119
9 luck 121
the meno 129
10 desire 131
book 1 of the republic 141
11 benevolence 143
12 happiness 148
13 freedom 164
the euthyphro 171
14 reverence 173
the crito 185
15 world religion 187
the phaedo 193
16 last words 195
epilogue: Socrates or plato? 203
index of passages cited 208
general index 214
Overview
Can we learn, through the model of Socrates, practical wisdom that we can apply to our lives? What are we to make of the paradoxical and strange figure who claimed that the unexamined life is not worth living, that only knowledge can save our souls, that love is nothing but the desire for wisdom, and that knowledge can save our souls, that love is nothing but the desire for wisdom, and that knowledge of human excellence is such that only a god can possess it?
Protesting against ...