PHL109: Ancient Philosophy: Socrates

Xenophon is less speculative than Plato and applies Socratic principles more to everyday life: by reading his book, we not only learn about Socrates and his philosophy but also gain fascinating insights into the daily life of ancient Greece and into the religious, political and moral views of a certain type of Athenian.

This volume presents new translations of three dialogues Xenophon devoted to the life and thought of his teacher, Socrates. Each is accompanied by notes and an interpretive essay that will introduce new readers to Xenophon and foster further reflection in those familiar with his writing.

"Memorabilia" Xenophon (c. 430 c. 354 BCE) adds to Plato's picture of Socrates from a different viewpoint. The "Apology" complements Plato s account of Socrates defense at his trial. The "Symposium" portrays a dinner party at which Socrates speaks of love. In "Oeconomicus" Socrates advises on household management and married life.

Translated, with an introd., by Anna S. Benjamin.

An essential text for understanding Socrates, Xenophon's Memorabilia is the compelling tribute of an affectionate student to his teacher, providing a rare firsthand account of Socrates' life and philosophy. The Memorabilia is invaluable both as a work of philosophy in its own right and as a complement to the study of Plato's dialogues. The longest of Xenophon's four Socratic works, it is particularly revealing about the differences between Socrates and his philosophical predecessors

The third volume of Professor Guthrie's great history of Greek thought deals in two parts with the Sophists and Socrates.

Outside of his Republic, the most widely read of Plato's dialogues are the three that cover the trial of Socrates: the 'Euthyphro', the 'Apology', and the 'Crito'. This collection includes these three, and the death scene from the 'Phaedo', as well other ancient sources that shed light on Socrates' trial and execution.

"Written by an outstanding international team of scholars, this Companion explores the profound influence of Socrates on the history of Western philosophy. Discusses the life of Socrates and key philosophical doctrines associated with him Covers the whole range of Socratic studies from the ancient world to contemporary European philosophy Examines Socrates' place in the larger philosophical traditions of the Hellenistic world, the Roman Empire, the Arabic world, the Renaissance, and contemporary Europe Addresses interdisciplinary subjects such as Socrates and Nietzsche, Socrates and psychoanalysis, and representations of Socrates in art Helps readers to understand the meaning and significance of Socrates across the ages."--Publisher's website.

"The Cambridge Companion to Socrates is a collection of essays providing a comprehensive guide to Socrates, the most famous Greek philosopher. Because Socrates himself wrote nothing, our evidence comes from the writings of his friends (above all Plato), his enemies, and later writers. Socrates is thus a literary figure as well as a historical person. Both aspects of Socrates' legacy are covered in this volume. Socrates' character is full of paradox, and so are his philosophical views. These paradoxes have led to deep differences in scholar's interpretation of Socrates and his thought. Mirroring this wide range of thought about Socrates, this volume's contributors are unusually diverse in their background and perspective. The essays in this volume were authored by classical philologists, philosophers, and historians from Germany, Francophone Canada, Britain, and the United States, and they represent a range of interpretive and philosophical traditions" --Jacket

"The author shows us a Socrates who, though he has been long overshadowed by his successors Plato and Aristotle, represented the true turning point in Greek philosophy, religion and ethics. In his quest for the historical Socrates, the author focuses on Plato's earlier dialogues, setting the Socrates we find there in sharp contrast to the Socrates of later dialogues, in which he is used as a mouthpiece for Plato's own doctrines, many of them anti-Socratic in nature." [Back cover].

This fresh outlook on Socrates' political philosophy in Plato's early dialogues argues that it is both more subtle and less authoritarian than has been supposed. Focusing on the Crito, Richard Kraut shows that Plato explains Socrates' refusal to escape from jail and his acceptance of the death penalty as arising not from a philosophy that requires blind obedience to every legal command but from a highly balanced compromise between the state and the citizen. In addition, Professor Kraut contends that our contemporary notions of civil disobedience and generalization arguments are not present in this dialogue.

This study argues that to understand Socrates we must uncover and analyze his religious views, since his philosophical and religious views are part of one seamless whole. Mark McPherran provides a close analysis of the relevant Socratic texts, an analysis that yields a comprehensive and original account of Socrates' commitments to religion (e.g., the nature of the gods, the immortality of the soul). McPherran contends that Socrates saw his religious commitments as integral to his philosophical mission of moral examination and, in turn, used the rationally derived convictions underlying that mission to reshape the religious conventions of his time. As a result, Socrates made important contributions to the rational reformation of Greek religion, contributions that incited and informed the theology of his brilliant pupil, Plato.

Contents: The formal charges against Socrates / Thomas C. Brickhouse and Nicholas D. Smith -- Did Plato write Socratic dialogues? / Charles H. Kahn -- Socratic midwifery, Platonic inspiration / Myles F. Burnyeat -- Socratic irony / Gregory Vlastos -- Plato's early theory of knowledge / Paul Woodruff -- Does Socrates commit the Socratic fallacy? / John Beversluis -- Misunderstanding the "what-is-F-ness?" question / Hugh H. Benson -- Elenchus and mathematics : a turning-point in Plato's philosophical development / Gregory Vlastos -- The unity of virtue / Terry Penner -- Socrates' use of the techne-analogy / David L. Roochnik -- Socrates the epicurean / Terence H. Irwin -- Socratic piety in the Euthyphro / Mark L. McPherran -- Ho Agathos as Ho Dunatos in the Hippias Minor / Roslyn Weiss -- Socrates on desire for the good and the involuntariness of wrongdoing : Gorgias 446a-468e / Kevin McTighe -- Meno's paradox and Socrates as a teacher / Alexander Nehamas