Overview

Tradition and Autonomy in Plato’s Euthyphro shows, through detailed commentary, that the purported opposition between tradition and autonomy is not a contradiction, but rather a necessary tension in human and political life. Norman J. Fischer II identifies the root of this tension and illuminates its various dimensions, giving an account of tradition and piety that does justice to the autonomy implicit in philosophical inquiry. This book demonstrates that the weakness in Euthyphro’s understanding of the relationship between generations is one of enmity and argues for a friendlier version of piety implicit in Socrates’ suggestions, actions, and arguments in the dialogue. Fischer argues that this version reveals an understanding of the human soul that both opposes that of Socrates’ accusers and sheds light upon the challenge that philosophy poses to the political community. In this reading, Plato’s Euthyphro is part of the defense of Socrates against the charges of impiety and corruption, one that puts into clearer relief both the common grounds of politics and philosophy and the tensions between political life and the life of the mind.

Full Product Details

Author:   Norman J. Fischer, II
Publisher:   Lexington Books
Imprint:   Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Dimensions:   Width: 15.80cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.90cm
Weight:   0.549kg
ISBN:  

9781666928259

ISBN 10:   1666928259
Pages:   234
Publication Date:   30 October 2023
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part One: Prosecution and Education Chapter One: Socrates Trial: Impiety and Novelty (2a1–3e3) Chapter Two: Euthyphro's Case (3e4–5a2) Chapter Three: Socrates the Student (5a2–c8) Part Two: Friendship and Love of the Gods Chapter Four: Doing What Euthyphro Does (5c8–6e7) Chapter Five: Hegemonic Divine Love (6e8–9d8) Chapter Six: The Being and Becoming of Divine Love (9d8–11b5) Interlude: Daedelus and Socrates (11b5–e1) Part Three: Service to the Gods Chapter Seven: Piety a Part of Justice (11e2–12e8) Chapter Eight: Servitude, Commerce, and Gratitude (11e8–15b3) Chapter Nine: Daedelus and Menelaus (15b3–16a4) Conclusion: The Lyceum and the Porch of the King

Reviews

"The first words of Plato's Euthyphro are ti neōteron--idiomatically, ""What's new?"" but, more literally, ""What's newer?"" Norman Fischer's Tradition and Autonomy in Plato's Euthyphro is organized around the penetrating insight that, for Plato, the answer to the idiomatic question is that to human beings nothing is ever really new and nothing is ever is really old--only newer and older. Accordingly, there are no absolute points of beginning from the past that altogether determine what we become; nor are our futures ever so open that we ourselves can make absolute beginnings. This is the character of our being in time. It shows up powerfully in the explicit theme of Plato's Euthyphro--piety--which involves honoring the past (tradition) so as to forge a future (autonomy). Fischer follows this pair of opposites bound irrevocably together, and other pairs born of it, with great care and imagination and forges a subtle and bold argument for what it is that makes piety a virtue. This is a book worth reading.--Michael Davis, Sarah Lawrence College"

Author Information

Norman J. Fischer II is associate professor of philosophy at Clark Atlanta University.

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