The Socratic Individual

Reviews / Votes

The Socratic Individual is one of those books that gestures beyond itself, provoking much delightful contemplation even beyond its pages. It is a must-read for those interested in Socratic reception, particularly the treatment of Socrates and Socratic philosophy in modern political thought. It is also a book for anyone interested more broadly in the themes of reason vs. passion, philosophy vs. faith, and, of course, the individual vs. the collective. * VoegelinView * Despite its announced focus on the "revival" of Socrates across 19th-century philosophy, this book is really about Kierkegaard, whose views on rationality and faith Ward (political science, Baylor Univ.) examines with skill. Socrates's questioning stands in relation to Abraham for Kierkegaard; knowing what he does not know "empties" Socrates and turns him away from reason and moral absolutes. Socrates lives questioning, as Abraham abandons moral argument in favor of his silent, living faith that God will restore Isaac. Neither man knows, yet both proceed with embodied passion. Ward explicates Kierkegaard in contrast to Hegel, Mill, and Nietzsche. For Hegel, Socrates plays a lesser role, since he lacked the modern liberal state required for ultimate fruition of rationality. Mill sees Socratic questions as crucial to individual diversity in the face of Christian homogenization. Nietzsche similarly suspects Christianity, but he finds in Socrates's physicality an example of the Dionysian dimension of life he wants to exalt. . . Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; graduate students. * Choice Reviews * "This is a brilliant study of how Nietzsche, Hegel, Kierkegaard and others responded to Socrates. As it unfolds multiple Socratic impacts, nineteenth century political thought emerges in new detail. The scholarship is impeccable and the arguments, groundbreaking." -- Edward Mooney, Syracuse University "In the nineteenth century, the collapse of the Hegelian system raised the question of the viability of the rational philosophical life. A number of major thinkers returned to the origins of Western philosophy - in Socrates - to address this question. The Socratic Individual provides an excellent examination of the role of Socrates in Kierkegaard, Mill, and Nietzsche. As Ward ably demonstrates, the rationalist Socrates is displaced by these figures, instead the erotic, the passionate, even the poetic Socrates comes to the fore, revealing other varieties of the philosophical life." -- Jeffrey Church, University of Houston "By examining the different ways that nineteenth-century political philosophers reformulate and celebrate the figure of Socrates, Ann Ward's excellent book provides us with valuable, new insights into the late Enlightenment's deepest concerns and aspirations. Drawing on a broad knowledge of ancient and modern political theory, Ward has given us a very readable, erudite, and instructive reflection on how modernity understands and shapes the life of reason." -- Mark Lutz, University of Nevada - Las Vegas