Socrates Dissatisfied: An Analysis Of Plato's Crito Hardcover

Roslyn Weiss

Roslyn Weiss contends that, contrary to prevailing notions, Plato's Crito does not show an allegiance between Socrates and the state that condemned him. Denying that the speech of the Laws represents the views of Socrates, Weiss deftly brings to light numerous indications that Socrates provides to the attentive reader that he and the Laws are not partners but antagonists in the argument and that he is singularly unimpressed by the case against escaping prison presented by the Laws. Weiss's greatest innovation is her contention that the Laws are very much like the judges who preside at Socrates' trial-interested not in justice and truth but in being shown deference and submission. If Weiss's argument is correct, then the standard conception of the history of political thought is in error-political philosophy begins not with the primacy of the state over the citizen but with the affirmation of the individual's duty to act in accordance with his own careful determination of what justice demands.

9780195116847

English

Oxford University Press Inc

1 January 1998

300

This remarkable book has a challenging title and argument... this is a very satisfying and searching Socratic study. * Marin McAvoy, The Classical Review Vol. XLIX No.2 * A landmark contribution to Socratic studies qua Platonic studies. * Times Literary Supplement * I find much to admire in her book. Her interpretation of the Crito is as detailed and thorough as any that exists. Her attention to the text is meticulous, and her discussion of the secondary literature is full and fair. Anyone who tries to understand the Crito must come to terms with Socrates Dissatisfied . * Richard Kraut, Mind, Vol 110, No 437, Jan 2001 *