Socrates: A Guide for the Perplexed

Socrates is regarded as the founder of Western philosophical inquiry. Yet he left no writings and claimed to know ‘nothing fine or worthy.' he spent his life perplexing those who encountered him and is as important and perplexing now as he was 2500 years ago. Drawing on the various competing sources for Socrates that are available, Socrates: A Guide for the Perplexed guides the reader through the main themes and ideas of Socrates' thought. Taking into account the puzzles surrounding his trial and death, the philosophical methods and ethical positions associated with him, and his lasting influence, Sara Ahbel-Rappe presents a concise and accessible introduction. She concludes by suggesting that it is in fact the Socratic insistence on self-knowledge that makes Socrates at once so pivotal and so elusive for the student of philosophy.

Sara Ahbel-Rappe is Associate Professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan, USA. She is the author of Reading Neoplatonism (CUP, 2000) and co-editor, with Rachana Kamtekar, of A Companion to Socrates (Blackwell, 2006).