Socrates: A Man for our Times by Paul Johnson

What makes Paul Johnson's Socrates palatable is the author's knack for distilling with clarity the essential beliefs and actions of the great philosopher.

It is well known that Socrates never committed his ideas to writing. So, it is from the dialogues of Plato, the writings of Aristotle and the observations and testimonies of others that we attempt to construct what Socrates believed.

 Just how reliable can this method be?

Johnson underscores (one might say, unlocks) some of the underlying principles and character traits of his subject. Here, they are.

1. Socrates (469 BCE-399 BCE) loved to wander the streets of Athens and conduct question and answer sessions with its individual denizens--its "tanners, metalworkers, shopkeepers, water sellers, hucksters, barrow folk, scribes and money changers." One answer then elicited another question and so on. This Socratic method or dialectic he loved to employ; he probably had a pleasing personality with charm so his efforts were fruitful.

It was Cicero who succinctly pointed out that "Socrates was the first to call Philosophy down from the skies, and establish her in the towns and introduce her into peoples homes and force her to investigate ordinary life, ethics, good and evil."

2. Socrates as a citizen of Athens fought in the battles that helped to protect her interests. He was at the siege of Potidea; during the Athenian retreat from this port, his wounded aristocratic friend Alcibiades commented on Socrates' courage in saving his life by standing over him and fighting off the enemy.

3. In a culture that worshiped many deities, Socrates firmly believed in one divinity. It was the voice of this single god that constantly inspired him and guided him on his life's mission. He believed in the separation of the body and the soul.

4. He firmly espoused the belief that revenge has no place in the system of justice. The law of retaliation simply did not exist for him. In fact, Johnson believes that Socrates may have been the reason an order to execute all the adult males in Mytilene (on the island of Lesbos) was overturned at the last moment.

5. He had an unwavering devotion and respect for the law--even if it meant compromising his safety.

6. He believed that women should be allowed to develop their minds and skills to realize their potential.
(According to Plato, he is said to have been greatly influenced by Diotima who used the Socratic method to educate him)

Johnson spices the book up by using Socrates's positions to draw parallels to modern day thinkers as Bertrand Russel, Richard Nixon, Churchill and others.

The book is a great read. Enjoy it.
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