This article aims to shed light on both the foundations and the consistency of the position regarding akrasia Xenophon attributes to Socrates in the Memorabilia. As does Plato's Socrates, Xenophon's Socrates maintains that akrasia is impossible in the presence of knowledge. On the other hand, he differs from the platonic Socrates by granting to enkrateia, instead of knowledge, the role of foundation for virtue. If enkrateia is the very condition for acquiring knowledge and virtue, consequently the responsibility for countering akrasia (...) falls to enkrateia. (shrink)

L’une des thèses les mieux connues du Socrate de Platon, encore que l’interprétation de cette thèse demeure controversée, est l’affirmation paradoxale de l’impossibilité de l’akrasia, c’est-à-dire de l’impossibilité, pour celui qui connaît le bien, de faire néanmoins le mal en connaissance de cause. Dans le Protagoras, Socrate soutient en effet que le savoir est invincible et que l’homme en possession de la sophia ne peut pas être vaincu par l’attrait du plaisir, par les désirs, les passions, etc. Autrement dit, la (...) sophia détermine souverainement l’agir moral et elle n’a pas à craindre que son efficacité soit battue en brèche, voire anéantie par d’autres facteurs, tels que les passions, les désirs, etc., qui renverseraient son autorité et qui usurperaient son privilège de déterminer l’action et le comportement. (shrink)

Dans les Mémorables, Socrate exhorte ses compagnons à vivre kata dunamin. Or il est possible de distinguer deux emplois assez différents de cette expression ; en effet, la dunamis que l’on doit respecter et en fonction de laquelle l’on doit vivre désigne tantôt les ressources matérielles, tantôt la compétence technique dans un domaine précis. Le premier emploi concerne le régime de vie de chacun, l’aide aux amis et les offrandes aux dieux, alors que le second emploi est directement lié au (...) thème de la connaissance de soi.In the Memorabilia, Socrates urges his companions to live kata dunamin. This expression can be used in two very different ways. Sometimes the dunamis that we must respect and in accordance to which we must lead our lives refers to material resources, and sometimes it refers to expert knowledge in a specific field. The first usage concerns our way of life, our assistance to our friends and our offerings to the gods. The second usage ties in directly with the theme of self-knowledge. (shrink)

The Cambridge Companion to Socrates is a collection of essays that provides a comprehensive guide to Socrates, the most famous Greek philosopher a comprehensive guide to Socrates, the most famous Greek philosopher. Because Socrates himself wrote nothing, our evidence comes from the writings of his friends , his enemies, and later writers. Socrates is thus a literary figure as well as a historical person. Both aspects of Socrates' legacy are covered in this volume.Socrates' character is full of paradox, and so (...) are his philosophical views. These paradoxes have led to deep differences in scholars' interpretations of Socrates and his thought. Mirroring this wide range of thought about Socrates, this volume's contributors are unusually diverse in their background and perspective. The chapters in this volume were authored by classical philologists, philosophers, and historians from Germany, Francophone Canada, Britain, and the United States, and they represent a range of interpretive and philosophical traditions. (shrink)