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4 - Plato’s Socrates and his Conception of Philosophy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2022

By
Eric Brown
Edited by
David Ebrey  and
Richard Kraut
David Ebrey
Affiliation:
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Richard Kraut
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
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Summary

This chapter addresses Plato’s conception of philosophy by examining how the Apology of Socrates represents Socrates as a model lover of wisdom. This Socrates loves expertise about how to live well, and he does so in three ways: (i) by examining others to test them for this expertise and to confirm that only the gods possess it, (ii) by pursuing the expertise, nonetheless, to improve his beliefs about how to live well, and (iii) by exhorting others to examine themselves and to pursue wisdom. The chapter pays special attention to Socrates’ conceptions of knowledge, living well, and teaching, and it suggests briefly how Plato tweaks or transforms this Socratic model in other dialogues.

Keywords

ApologySocratesphilosophywisdomknowledgecraftexpertisewell-beingteaching
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Plato , pp. 117 - 145
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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