Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life
Language: English
Published by Penguin Books Ltd, 2025
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: Book Grocer, Tullamarine, VIC, AustraliaBook Grocer
AbeBooks seller since October 15, 2025
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Agnes Callard, Penguin Books Ltd. From philosopher Agnes Callard, one of today's leading public intellectuals, comes a new and vibrant understanding of Socrates, his work, and his unique approach to learning The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, perhaps the single most important figure in Western culture, is hidden in plain view. If his claim that 'the unexamined life is not worth living' has ceased to shock us, that is not because we know how to live examined ones; we speak of 'the Socratic method' in ignorance of just how much that method demands of us. In Open Socrates, acclaimed philosopher Agnes Callard takes us deeper into Socrates' thought than any modern writer has. As she shows, Socrates noticed that the most important questions start off closed- before a person even has a chance to ponder how she should live, her bodily desires or the forces of social conformity have already answered on her behalf. Is it even possible to ask a question that you think you have already answered? Callard answers yes - but we can't do it alone. She argues that the true ambition of the Socratic method is to reveal what one human being can be to another. You can use another person in many ways - for survival, for pleasure, for comfort - but you are engaging them to the fullest when you call on them to help answer your own questions, and challenge your own answers. How should we manage romantic love? What is the right way to think about one's own death? What form should our politics take? These were the most intractable questions back in Socrates' time, and that continues to be true, 2,500 years later. Callard shows us how Socrates' method allows us to make progress in answering them - and, in the process, gives us nothing less than a new ethics to live by.…
Seller Inventory # 9780241476192-RETAIL
- Title
- Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life
- Author
- Agnes Callard
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publication year
- 2025
- Book Type
- Hardback
- Binding
- Hardback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0241476194
- ISBN 13
- 9780241476192
- Item weight
- 627 grams
- Dimensions
- 160
A Book of the Year according to The Telegraph and Prospect
'A gem of a book, serious and clever yet funny and playful' Financial Times
'Professor of philosophy and a public intellectual for the internet age, Callard shows how Socrates can inform the way we live our lives – from romance to politics' Guardian
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’s youths, to introduce them to philosophy. We’ve lost sight of what made him so dangerous. In Open Socrates, acclaimed philosopher Agnes Callard recovers the radical energy at the centre of Socrates’ thought and shows why it is still the way to a good life.
Callard draws our attention to Socrates’ startling discovery that we don’t know how to ask ourselves the most important questions― 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 “Socratic method” is to reveal what one human being can be to another. You can use another person in many ways―for survival, for pleasure, for comfort― but you are engaging them to the fullest when you call on them to help answer your questions and challenge your answers.
Here Callard shows that Socrates’ method allows us to make progress in thinking about how to manage romantic love, how to confront one’s own death, and how to approach politics. In the process, she gives us nothing less than a new ethics to live by.
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