Die Ironie des Sokrates, insbesondere im Blick auf Prozeß und Tod

Socrates was one of the great innovators of Greek philosophy inasmuch as he discovered the principal role of the general notion as such in finding truth. Without a doubt, his criterion in doing so was, besides an absolute confidence in reason, something like a response to an instance he believed to be somehow divine. This included a certain distance, rational and existential, from all the principles and values of the community in which he lived. A deeper analysis of Socrates' essential intentions reveals a special view of existential honor which made it impossible for Socrates to escape what he considered his destiny. This existential attitude took the form of irony, as his fellow-citizens were quite incapable of understanding what he meant.