Socrates: A Man for Our Times

Paul Johnson

Oct 2011 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

A brilliant portrait of the Greek philosopher who personified philosophy.

Socrates was undeniably one of the greatest thinkers of all time, yet he wrote nothing. Throughout his life, and indeed until his very last moment alive, Socrates fully embodied his philosophy in thought and deed. It is through the story of his life that we can fully grasp his powerful actions and ideas.

In his highly acclaimed style, historian Paul Johnson masterfully disentangles centuries of scarce sources to offer a riveting account of a homely but charismatic middle-class man living in Athens in the fifth century b.c., and how what this man thought still shapes the way we decide how to act, and how we fathom the notion of body and soul. Johnson provides a compelling picture of the city and people Socrates reciprocally delighted in, as well as many enlightening and intimate analyses of specific aspects of his personality. Enchantingly portraying "the sheer power of Socrates's mind, and its unique combination of steel, subtlety, and frivolity," Paul Johnson captures the vast and intriguing life of a man who did nothing less than supply the basic apparatus of the human mind.

Ratings and reviews

Initially, this began as a fascinating examination of a legendary philosopher. Johnson has a true gift for presenting complex subjects with a breezy geniality. His reverence for Socrates was infectious and the discoveries in the book felt exciting and important. Johnson stresses again and again how little source material there is to compile an accurate depiction of Socrates and the reader is appreciative that Johnson was able to piece this account together. But about half way through the book, one begins to realize that some of the author's most fundamental assertions seem impossible to verify. Being new to the subject, it was fascinating for me to learn how Plato used Socrates' voice for his own purposes in THE REPUBLIC. Johnson expressed a deep outrage at the famous student's self-serving methods and, as a reader, you shared that outrage. But Johnson's treatment of the existing source material begins to feel equally suspect. The inimitable A.C. Grayling gives a particularly damning account of the author's practice: ""and at his greater peril, he disdains Plato, asserting that "[the Republic] is not a text where, in general, the real Socrates speaks, though I think he does in this particular passage" -- meaning that he, Johnson, knows better than Plato (or any Plato scholar of the last 2,500 years) when the "real Socrates" speaks. When Plato's depiction fails to chime with Johnson's made-up version, it is dismissed as "illustrating his [Plato's] irritating habit of foisting his personal views on others." Pot and kettle here! So he cherry-picks words and passages that suit his purposes, and discards the rest."" Grayling, a Professor of Philosophy at London University, raises other troubling issues with the scholarship of the book that should flat out embarrass both Johnson and his publisher, Penguin Group (USA). Apparently Johnson is renown for stuffing his conservative ideologies into his examinations of historical figures and earnestly tries to pass them on as factual biographies. Although I can never recover the time I wasted reading this hack hagiography, I would still like to ask Penguin for a monetary refund. Too bad the publisher does not list any sort of complaint address on their website.

Very nice. Book

About the author

Paul Johnson’s many books, including A History of Christianity, A History of the Jews, Modern Times, Churchill, and Napoleon: A Penguin Life, have been hailed as masterpieces of historical analysis. He is a regular columnist for Forbes and The Spectator, and his work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many others publications. He lives in London.