The Socratic Movement (review)

Book Reviews Paul A. Vander Waerdt, ed. The Socratic Movement. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1994. Pp. x + 4o6. NP. This anthology of essays on Socrates includes fourteen contributions on a wide spectrum of subjects and themes, ranging from the origins of the Socratic dialogue as a literary genre to the influence of Socratic ideas on the formation of Cynic and Cyrenaic philosophies. Other anthologies on Socratic philosophy have been published, such as Gregory Vlastos's The Philosophyof Socrates:A Collectionof Critical Essays (University of Notre Dame Press, 198o) and Eugene Kelly's New Essayson Socrates(University Press of America, 1984). Vander Waerdt's anthology, however, offers us a greater variety of approaches and a wider spectrum of issues than other similar anthologies. Its major strength--what makes it unique--is its orientation. Instead of dealing with Socrates as if he were only or mostly the creation of Plato, and instead of taking the unfortunate approach of some contemporary scholars who insist on dealing with the Socratic presence from an analytical point of view, Vander Waerdt has chosen to include in his anthology a great variety of essays which touch in one way or another on practically all the major issues and problems related to Socrates. Naturally, Plato's interpretation of Socrates is well represented in the contributions of Harold A. S. Tarrant ("The Hippias Major and the Socratic Theories of Pleasure") and Julia Annas ("Plato the Skeptic"). The editor is well aware of the enormous importance of Plato's testimony concerning Socrates, a testimony that presents to us the portrayal of Socrates as the very embodiment of the spirit of philosophy. But this awareness does not prevent the editor from attaching weight to the testimonies of Aristophanes and Xenophon, who left us other portraits of Socrates which differ significantly from that of Plato. The first part of this anthology explores the origins and development of the Sokratikoi logoi--that wonderful literary genre in which ideas are presented in the context of elenchical conversations, in most of which Socrates is assigned the chief role: The origins of this genre are explored in a clear and convincing way by Diskin Clay ("The Origins of the Socratic Dialogue"), and its manifestations in Aristophanes' Clouds ("Socrates in the Clouds")are discussed in an essay by the editor. His contention that the Aristophanic representation of Socrates is corroborated by the testimony of Xenophon , and that this representation cannot be dismissed as fictional, is a contention that makes perfect sense if we are willing to take into account the various traditions that are traceable to Socrates. The first part of the anthology also includes an essay by Charles H. Kahn ("Aeschines on Socratic Eros") and contributions by Thomas L. Pangle ("Socrates in [129] i3o JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 35: I JANUARY I997 the Context of Xenophon's Political Writings"), David K. O'Connor ("The Erotic SelfSufficiency of Socrates: A Reading of Xenophon's Memorabilia"), Donald R. Morrison ("Xenophon's Socrates as a Teacher"), and John A. Stevens ("Friendship and Profit in Xenophon's Oeconomicus").These last four essays make it perfectly plain that the testimony of Xenophon deserves to be taken as seriously as that of Plato in any attempt either to reconstruct the historical Socrates or to gain an appreciation of the extraordinary influence of the Socratic presence. The second part of the anthology is devoted to Socrates' influence in Hellenistic times. Six essays explore this issue: Gisela Striker's "Plato's Socrates and the Stoics," Joseph G. DeFilippo's and Phillip T. Mitsis's "Socrates and Stoic Natural Law," Paul A. Vander Waerdt's "Zeno's Republic and the Origins of Natural Law," Julia Annas's "Plato the Skeptic," Christopher J. Shields's "Socrates among the Skeptics," and Voula Tsouna McKirahan's "The Socratic Origins of the Cynics and Cyrenaics." The editor has done a superb job in collecting fourteen important contributions to Socratic scholarship, contributions that allow us to appreciate the complexity and relevance of Socrates as a philosopher. The annotations provided throughout the anthology are useful and pertinent, and the general index is of great value. This book is to be highly recommended for any student and scholar of...