Socrates, Ironist and Moral Philosopher (Cornell Studies in Classical Philology, 50)

As a beginning student of philosophy, I had to take my time with this book and read it carefully. Prof. Vlastos writes very clearly and makes his arguments step by step so that there is no mistaking his point, which you are then able to judge for yourself. He is persuasive, not dogmatic, but you have to be able to follow his train of reasoning.In my opinion, it is unfair to accuse Prof. Vlastos of "special pleading", that is, presenting only evidence that supports his own arguments. Vlastos spent his life studying Socrates, and no doubt developed strong feelings for the object of his study, but it seems to me that he goes to great lengths to acknowledge evidence contradicting his own conclusions. But Vlastos makes his points very thoroughly, so if you want to quibble with him you have to have your own ducks in a row.Vlastos covers the following topics: - Socratic Irony. - The "Socratic problem" - what we can know about Socrates as an actual historical figure, as opposed to the various impressions handed down to us by Aristophanes, Plato, Xenophon, and others. - The shift from the Socratic method ("elenchus") to mathematics in Plato's middle dialogues. - Does Socrates cheat? (Yes, but only in jest.) - Socrates' religious beliefs. (He believed in his "daimonion", but was not a mystic.) - Socrates' rejection of the "lex talionis". (I found this to be by far the most interesting chapter, Socrates articulating the "Golden Rule" 400 years before Christ.) - An explication of Socrates' theory that Happiness and Virtue are identical.Vlastos concludes that Socrates, believing what he believed, died a happy man.Anyone interested in philosophy will benefit from spending a few hours with Professor Gregory Vlastos and his friend, Socrates.

This book illuminates aspects of Socrates' philosophy that are not found in such depth in other texts.

Excellent condition and super quick arrival

Gregory has offered manking a great service. He brought forth Socrates to shine like a diamont in the Philosophical environment. He pulled Socrates out of the Shadow of Plato and Aristotle and he has brought Socrates to stand out by Himself. He has ascertained the impeccable logic of the Socratic elenctic dialogs. Beyond that he has made several mistakes. This can be forgiven, because beyond that one starts dealing with subjects that are not for Academia. Academia is trying to by pass that all greek philosophers were initiated to the Mystical Rites of Eleusis, or Pythagora. it is worth reading by all. Vlastos brought Socrates out of the Academic and Religious deep freeze.

wonderfuli was wondering about the different socrates in the early dialogs - a very satisfying and entertaining answer5+*

Absolument passionnant. Se lit comme une enquête policière faite par un policier d'une impressionnante érudition et d'une grande honnêteté !

Great!

Viewed from the outside the study of ancient philosophy has strange fixations it can be hard to relate to. The example of Gregory Vlastos, the 20th century Princeton professor, can be found in recent work -- he set the standard for all major contemporary work which takes the philosophy of ancient writers as straight-up interesting -- but he is not of that milieu; *Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher*, like the writings of R.M. Hare, is the work of a *homme de lettres* who wants to explain things clearly to the slightly addled, slightly ignorant person who is the average college student or graduate (though some actual learning and acuity is of course assumed).The legend of Socrates is one of the oldest and most enduring tropes of Western culture; though many may not know the actual works of Plato were hardly read outside of the Byzantine Empire for a thousand years, the powerful example of an ordinary man with extraordinary gifts for debate and bent on impressing the importance of moral clarity on his fellow citizens -- who rewarded him with a cup of poison he drank "cheerfully" -- obviously resonates with the larger story of Christendom and forms the basis for philosophical argument even today. However, if a philosophy tyro gets into the Platonic texts it is difficult to relate the "established" conclusions to anything recognizable as contemporary conventional wisdom, and if one gets initiated into the question of the "philosophy of Socrates" -- how the actual man's thinking differed from that of the Plato of eternal Forms -- matters become almost impossible.Vlastos helps clear up many confusions a Greek-less philosophy fan will have about Socrates' "irony", the different stories about Socrates in Plato and Xenophon (and Aristotle too), how tenable famous principles like "virtue is knowledge" are if cast in modern analytic dress and other such topics. He opts wholeheartedly for distinguishing the Socrates of Plato's "early" dialogues, who focuses solely on morality, from the polymathic Socrates in later dialogues; though obviously some of this is anyone's guess, it is still the standard approach today. Finally, like all Platonists he insists on the singular contribution of Socrates to a Greek culture fixated on the showy and overpowering; if there was a "Greek miracle" that set the stage for Western Civilization, it certainly could not have occurred without the raising of objective truth to the standard of a beautiful ideal in Socrates' *Lebenspraxis* and the teachings of Plato inspired by him.Anyone with a basic philosophical education will be able to follow this book and ought to read it.

Un libro fondamentale sulla figura e filosofia di Socrate. Assolutamente da leggere.

When I first started reading this tome I was expecting it to be dry and singularly bereft of wit or humanity, as is all too normal for academic text books. I was delighted to be proved wrong.Vlastos readily communicates his wisdom and enthusiasm for the subject in a pleasingly infectious manner. Although it is obviously of university level, the idiom is welcoming for non academics.The text begins with an exploration of the definition of the Greek words translated by terms such as "irony", with a historigraphy thereof. The (near) contemporaries of Socrates are examined for their descriptions of this enigmatic figure. There is even an analysis of "arete".There are some who argue that Socrates was rather like Robin Hood: he was not a real person, but possibly an amalgamation of characters. Vlastos attempts to find Socrates himself through an examinstion of what other writers expressed of him. I strongly believe that Socrates was enlightened (in the Buddhist / Daoist sense) and this book has been especially helpful its attentions to the snub nosed Athenian philosopher.

This book combines the two philosophical virtues of clarity and good argumentation. And for a general reader, like myself, it will provide the most philosophically fruitful foray into Plato,s corpus.