CL 390 - The Political Challenge of Socrates

(3.00 cr.)

Draws on the striking stance of Socrates in the Athenian crisis of the fifth century to illuminate a perennial tension now evident in our age of political hyper-partisanship. How are we to balance the need for political concord and patriotism against the need for critical independence and moral self-examination? Did Socrates deserve his hemlock for sowing disunity in a time of trouble, or was he the tragically unheeded voice of reasoned rehabilitation? Readings from ancient authors Plato, Aristotle, and Thucydides, alongside moderns including Mill, Nietzsche, and Rousseau. Same course as PL 390 and PS 390 .

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