Warnek
Philosophy
Descent of Socrates
Since the appearance of Plato’s dialogues, philosophers have been preoccupied with the identity of Socrates and have maintained that successful interpretation of the work hinges upon a clear understanding of what thoughts and ideas can be attributed to him. In Descent of Socrates, Peter Warnek offers a new interpretation of Plato by considering the appearance of Socrates within Plato’s work as a philosophical question. Warnek reads the dialogues as an inquiry into the nature of Socrates and in doing so opens up the relationship between humankind and the natural world. Here, Socrates appears as a demonic and tragic figure whose obsession with the task of self-knowledge transforms the history of philosophy. In this uncompromising work, Warnek reveals the importance of the concept of nature in the Platonic dialogues in light of Socratic practice and the ancient ideas that inspire contemporary philosophy.
Descent of Socrates
PETER WARNEK is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oregon. He is co-translator (with Walter Brogan) of Martin Heidegger’s Aristotle’s Metaphysics θ 1-3 . He is a founding member of the Ancient Philosophy Society.
Self-Knowledge & Cryptic Nature in the Platonic Dialogues
Studies in Continental Thought—John Sallis, editor Cover photo: Zeus and Typhon locked in mortal combat. Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich.
INDIANA
University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis
http://iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796
INDIANA
Peter Warnek
DESCENT
OF
S O C R AT E S
Studies in Continental Thought John Sallis, G E N E R A L
EDITOR
C O N S U LT I N G E D I T O R S Robert Bernasconi Rudolph Bernet John D. Caputo David Carr Edward S. Casey Hubert Dreyfus Don Ihde David Farrell Krell Lenore Langsdorf Alphonso Lingis
William L. McBride J. N. Mohanty Mary Rawlinson Tom Rockmore Calvin O. Schrag † Reiner Schürmann Charles E. Scott Thomas Sheehan Robert Sokolowski Bruce W. Wilshire
David Wood
Descent of Socrates Self-Knowledge and Cryptic Nature in the Platonic Dialogues
Peter Warnek
Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis
This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800–842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail
[email protected] © 2005 by Peter Warnek All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in wri