From philosopher Agnes Callard, one of today\u2019s leading public intellectuals, comes a new and vibrant understanding of Socrates, his work, and his unique approach to learning.<\/p>\n
Socrates has been hiding in plain sight. We call him the father of Western philosophy, but what exactly are his philosophical views? He is famous for his humility, but readers often find him arrogant and condescending. We parrot his claim that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living,’ yet take no steps to live examined ones. We know that he was tried, convicted, and executed for ‘corrupting the youth,’ but freely assign Socratic dialogues to today\u2019s youths, to introduce them to philosophy. We\u2019ve lost sight of what made him so dangerous. In\u00a0Open Socrates<\/i>, acclaimed philosopher Agnes Callard recovers the radical energy at the centre of Socrates\u2019 thought and shows why it is still the way to a good life.<\/p>\n
Callard draws our attention to Socrates\u2019 startling discovery that we don\u2019t know how to ask ourselves the most important questions\u2014 about how we should live, and how we might change. Before a person even has a chance to reflect, their bodily desires or the forces of social conformity have already answered on their behalf. To ask the most important questions, we need help. Callard argues that the true ambition of the famous \u201cSocratic method\u201d is to reveal what one human being can be to another. You can use another person in many ways\u2014for survival, for pleasure, for comfort\u2014 but you are engaging them to the fullest when you call on them to help answer your questions and challenge your answers.<\/p>\n
Here Callard shows that Socrates\u2019 method allows us to make progress in thinking about how to manage romantic love, how to confront one\u2019s own death, and how to approach politics. In the process, she gives us nothing less than a new ethics to live by.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From philosopher Agnes Callard, one of today\u2019s leading public intellectuals, comes a new and vibrant understanding of Socrates, his work, and his unique approach to learning. Socrates has been hiding in plain sight. We call him the father of Western philosophy, but what exactly are his philosophical views? He is famous for his humility, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":69572,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[707],"product_tag":[],"product_group":[655],"product_general_cat":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-69573","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-books","7":"pa_material-paper","8":"product_group--en","10":"first","11":"outofstock","12":"taxable","13":"shipping-taxable","14":"purchasable","15":"product-type-simple"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n