Gadflies in the Public Space: A Socratic Legacy of Philosophical Dissent

by Ramin Jahanbegloo, Fred R. Dallmayr (Foreword by)

Overview

The concept of disobedient consciousness and the rebellious Socratic mind that grows out of this book is, above all, a product of Ramin Jahanbegloo’s life meetings with the two apparently contradictory worlds of philosophy and politics. More precisely, it is the result of approaching the public realm in terms of a philosophical quest for truth and justice. This restless quest for truth and justice has a history that continues to bear upon us, however much we choose to ignore it. We can think about the current situation of philosophy by exploring that history. The image of Socrates represents a mid-point between politics and philosophy; the Socratic mind, exemplified by the presence of the public gadfly in history, finds itself at the beginning of a new struggle for truth. The journey to this struggle started with the trial of Socrates, followed by the experiences of Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Albert Camus. But the forging of the rebellious mind and the sustaining of the civic task of philosophy are goals which impose themselves to each of us whenever we are reminded by the urgency of critical thinking in our own dark times. The future of humankind necessarily requires convictions and commitments, but it also requires Socratic rebels, of the mind and of action, who have the courage to swim against the tide.

Examining dissent in the history of philosophy, this book will appeal to scholars of political theory and political philosophy and to scholars and students of political and intellectual history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498541466
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	12/13/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	122
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Ramin Jahanbegloo is executive director of Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Peace Studies at O. P. Jindal Global University.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Fred Dallmayr
Introduction
Chapter I: Gadfly on Trial: Socrates as Philosopher- Citizen
Chapter II: Mahatma Gandhi: A Nonviolent Gadfly
Chapter III: Henry David Thoreau: An American Gadfly
Chapter IV: Martin Luther King Jr.: A Gadfly in Montgomery
Chapter V: Albert Camus: A Gadfly in Purgatory
Conclusion: Gadflies Against the Tide