The Ironic Defense of Socrates: Plato's Apology

by David M. Leibowitz

This book offers a controversial new interpretation of Plato s Apology of Socrates. By paying unusually close attention to what Socrates indicates about the meaning and extent of his irony, David Leibowitz arrives at unconventional conclusions about Socrates teaching on virtue, politics, and the gods; the significance of his famous turn from natural philosophy to political philosophy; and the purpose of his insolent defense speech. Leibowitz shows that Socrates is not just a colorful and quirky figure from the distant past but an unrivaled guide to the good life the thoughtful life who is as relevant today as in ancient Athens. On the basis of his unconventional understanding of the dialogue as a whole, and of the Delphic oracle story in particular, Leibowitz also attempts to show that the Apology is the key to the Platonic corpus, indicating how many of the disparate themes and apparently contradictory conclusions of the other dialogues fit together.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sokrates war der größte Ironiker seiner Zeit: Er starb, um seinen eigenen Tod zu rächen.

[Bas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wished there were more books like this one, guiding you through difficult classics.

[Arkar Kyaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leibowitz offers a nuanced, careful and speculative reading of the Apology of Plato. His approach and conclusions might look farfetched and sometimes ridiculous so some readers unfamiliar with the Straussian approach. For example, after seeing inconsistency in Socrates' opening speech concerning truth-telling, Leibowitz concludes that Socrates was giving hint to the listener/reader to care for truthfulness of his own words and that he might not be telling nothing but the truth. While seeming trivial, this opens up the possibility that Socrates intended his speech to be heard differently by different audience. Leibowitz presents the hypothesis that Socrates intends to aggravate his charges in front of the jury to ensure his death sentence at the same time presents himself as a high-minded great-souled individual in order to entice the youth and make Athen regret killing him thereafter thereby protecting his philosophically inclined friends from the city.

While this line of reading may sound fanciful to the uninitiated, one must aware that this results from taking a generous position in the face of apparent inconsistencies and logical flaws of Plato's writing. When faced with such inconsistencies and logical mistakes, one must make a choice- whether to reject Plato's writings as immature, outdated, and archaic thing of the past OR take up the challenge presented by Plato's riddles and clues in the form of obvious flaws as an invitation for a careful thinker to the world of philosophy. In this sense, Leibowitz provides an example as a experienced wayfarer guiding the readers.

[Amelia Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting comments on democracy in general, looking into his words generates great debate and ideas, overall a great read!

[Will Spohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely penetrating and insightful. I could almost hear him speaking as I read some of the lines, as well. It manages to bring out what seems to be the central, or one of the central, elements of Socratic thought. I was also struck, more now perhaps than before, by the extremity of the devaluation of virtue, though I could not find the grounds to disagree myself.