Greek
| Author: | Roslyn Weiss |
| Origin: | USA |
| Publisher: | Chicago University Press |
| ISBN: | 9780226891729 |
| Edition number: | 1st edition |
| Publication year: | 2006 |
| Dimensions: | 24x17 |
| Pages: | 248 |
| Location: | 36Β |
In The Socratic Paradox and Its Enemies, Roslyn Weiss argues that the Socratic paradoxes—no one does wrong willingly, virtue is knowledge, and all the virtues are one—are best understood as Socrates’ way of combating sophistic views: that no one is willingly just, those who are just and temperate are ignorant fools, and only some virtues (courage and wisdom) but not others (justice, temperance, and piety) are marks of true excellence.
In Weiss’s view, the paradoxes express Socrates’ belief that wrongdoing fails to yield the happiness that all people want; it is therefore the unjust and immoderate who are the fools. The paradoxes thus emerge as Socrates’ means of championing the cause of justice in the face of those who would impugn it. Her fresh approach—ranging over six of Plato’s dialogues—is sure to spark debate in philosophy, classics, and political theory.
Contents
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction: The Fight for Justice
2. The Protagoras: “Our Salvation in Life”
3. The Gorgias: How Ought a Human Being to Live?
4. The Hippias Minor: “If There Be Such a Man”
5. The Meno: Desiring Bad Things and Getting Them
6. Republic 4: “Everyone Desires Good Things”
7. Laws 9: All Just Things Are Beautiful
8. Conclusion: Socrates Reconsidered
Notes
Works Cited
Index
