Platoªs Socrates As Educator (S U N Y Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy)
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: October 2000
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 251
ISBN-13: 9780791447239
Subjects: Ancient Greek & Roman philosophy; Study and teaching; Greek Philosophy; Philosophy; Ancient Greece; History & Surveys - Ancient & Classical; History; Methodology; Socrates
Description: Despite his ceaseless efforts to purge his fellow citizens of their unfounded opinions and to bring them to care for what he believes to be the most important things, Plato's Socrates rarely succeeds in his pedagogical project with the characters he encounters. This is in striking contrast to the historical Socrates, who spawned the careers of Plato, Xenophon, and other authors of Socratic dialogues. Through an examination of Socratic pedagogy under its most propitious conditions, focusing on a narrow class of dialogues featuring Lysis and Alcibiades, this book answers the question: "why does Plato portray his divinely appointed gadfly as such a dramatic failure?"