Abstract
In this essay, I begin by arguing that the moral character of the historical Socrates plays a role in our understanding of Socrates’ philosophy. In the second part of the essay, I turn to a key passage that has shaped our understanding of Socrates’ moral character: Alcibiades’ speech in Plato’s Symposium,. I examine three different approaches to Alcibiades’ speech and argue that all three of them fail to explain the humor in the speech. Based on this result, I develop and defend a new interpretation. I argue that the key to understanding the speech is Alcibiades’ use of irony. If we pay attention to the ironic elements in the speech, Alcibiades’ “praise” of Socrates turns out to be a witty deconstruction of Socrates’ self-image. Socrates emerges not as an otherworldly saint who has acquired all the cardinal virtues but rather as a human who tries to integrate eros within his life.
This essay is dedicated to David Keyt who taught me the art of love.
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Rauhut, N.C. (2013). How Virtuous Was Socrates?. In: Anagnostopoulos, G., Miller Jr., F. (eds) Reason and Analysis in Ancient Greek Philosophy. Philosophical Studies Series, vol 120. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6004-2_7
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