Socrates at Play

The Social Virtues in the ›Symposia‹ of Plato and Xenophon

Gabriel Danzig (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

XII, 311 Seiten

2025
De Gruyter (Verlag)
978-3-11-151700-1 (ISBN)

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Although we have the complete works of two major Socratic writers, Plato and Xenophon, little work has been done to bring them into relation with each other, other than investigating them as sources for the historical Socrates. Today an emerging consensus holds that neither author aimed at historical veracity, and that the portraits of Socrates primarily express the views of their authors. This book analyzes the behavior of Socrates and other characters in the two Symposia through the lens of the social virtues discussed by Aristotle in his Nichomachean Ethics: friendliness, truthfulness in self-presentation, and good humor. Starting with the prologues to the two Symposia and Republic, which is closely related to them, the book sketches a portrait of Socrates as a social creature. It focuses on Socratic boasting in Plato's Symposium and Socratic joking in Xenophon's Symposium, highlighting the virtuosity of Socrates' social techniques and showing how he presses the limits of good behavior in both his self-presentation and his use of humor. The book concludes that this was a feature of the historical Socrates and that it inspired Plato and Xenophon to conceive of virtue in characteristically different ways.

Gabriel Danzig, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.

Erscheint lt. Verlag	17.3.2025
Reihe/Serie	Socratic Studies ; 1
Verlagsort	Berlin/Boston
Maße	155 x 230 mm
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Märchen / Sagen
	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Altertum / Antike
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Philosophie Altertum / Antike
Schlagworte	Boasting • Humor • Prahlerei • Symposium • Tugend • virtue
ISBN-10	3-11-151700-4 / 3111517004
ISBN-13	978-3-11-151700-1 / 9783111517001
Zustand	Neuware