Plato's Socrates

Socrates, as he is portrayed in Plato's early dialogues, remains one of the most controversial figures in the history of philosophy. Plato's Socrates covers six of the most vexing and often discussed features of Plato's portrayal: Socrates' methodology, epistemology, psychology, ethics, politics, and religion. Brickhouse and Smith cast new light on Plato's early dialogues by providing novel analyses of many of the doctrines and practices for which Socrates is best known. Included are discussions of Socrates' moral method, his profession of ignorance, his denial of akrasia, as well as his views about the relationship between virtue and happiness, the authority of the State, and the epistemic status of his daimonion. By revealing the many interconnections among Socrates' views on a wide variety of topics, the authors demonstrate both the richness and the remarkable coherence of the philosophy of Plato's Socrates. The book will be of key interest to classicists, philosophers, intellectual historians, political scientists, and historians of religion