In this Book
- Bitter Knowledge: Learning Socratic Lessons of Disillusion and Renewal
- Book
- 2009
- Published by: University of Notre Dame Press
summary
Thomas Eisele explores the premise that the Socratic method of inquiry need not teach only negative lessons (showing us what we do not know, but not what we do know). Instead, Eisele contends, the Socratic method is cyclical: we start negatively by recognizing our illusions, but end positively through a process of recollection performed in response to our disillusionment, which ultimately leads to renewal. Thus, a positive lesson about our resources as philosophical investigators, as students and teachers, becomes available to participants in Socrates’ robust conversational inquiry. Bitter Knowledge includes Eisele’s detailed readings of Socrates’ teaching techniques in three fundamental Platonic dialogues, Protagoras, Meno, and Theaetetus, as well as his engagement with contemporary authorities such as Gregory Vlastos, Martha Nussbaum, and Stanley Cavell. Written in a highly engaging and accessible style, this book will appeal to students and scholars in philosophy, classics, law, rhetoric, and education.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- 1: Introduction
- pp. 1-32
- 3: The Poverty of Socratic Questioning
- pp. 83-128
- 4: The Labor of Socratic Inquiry
- pp. 129-194
- 5: Learning to Find Ourselves at a Loss
- pp. 195-236
- Bibliography
- pp. 327-336
Additional Information
ISBN
9780268078638
Related ISBN(s)
9780268027742
MARC Record
OCLC
694144458
Pages
480
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No