Socrates: A Life Examined

""Know thyself"" was the foundation of Socratic philosophy. Ironically, history knows little of Socrates, because he refused to write about himself and only fragments of Socratic writing survive. New York Institute of Technology philosophy professor and Social Sciences chair Navia sifts through the writings of Aristophanes, Xenophon and Plato, all of whom knew Socrates personally, to discover the man in full, but an incomplete historical record and conflicting accounts prevent Navia from delivering a nuanced biography. Aristophanes portrayed Socrates in his comedy Clouds as a ""ridiculous man,"" for instance, while Xenophon and Plato described Socrates as ""a gregarious man...possessed by an irresistible passion to communicate his message."" But murkiness is prevalent, as with Navia's account-based on Xenophon's Apology-of Socrates's trial for asebia (worshipping gods not accepted by the state), in which the author constructs a rickety case of conjecture to explain Socrates's motivations. Philosophy scholars will benefit most; casual readers with an interest in philosophy or Socrates will likely find the book tough going.