Papers by Asgeir Theodor Johannesson
In this essay I account for the term Socratic irony and I explain its meaning. My focus is primar... more In this essay I account for the term Socratic irony and I explain its meaning. My focus is primarily on the aspects of irony that are directly valuable philosophically, although such a task also requires a discussion of its mere rhetorical forms. I begin by addressing the conceptual change caused by the figure of Socrates, primarily as he was depicted in the dialogues of his student Plato. Then I discuss Melissa Lane’s criticism of the scholarship on Socratic irony in her chapter ‘Reconsidering Socratic Irony’, where she questions that irony should be juxtaposed as thoroughly with Socrates as it has been. Next, I explain Gregory Vlastos concept of complex irony, where an ironic uttering plays on two senses of what is said. Finally, after a necessary prelude, I reach the climax of the essay by giving a fully-fledged account of the philosophical meaning of Socratic irony. My guiding lights are the writings of two important scholars, Pierre Hadot and Alexander Nehamas. According to the view I propose, Socrates realised that the only way for him to be an ethical teacher was to help people to become wise and virtuous by making them more reflective and by increasing their awareness. He subtly inspired them to take the same route to the good and virtuous life as he himself took: the route of learning from experience, self-examination and enquiry. Socratic irony is rooted in the rich variety of individuals, the limits of language and the problem of communication. It is a rhetorical device, an art of honest concealment, an indirect expression and a valuable educational tool.
Let us beware. … When will all these shadows of God cease to darken our minds? When will we compl... more Let us beware. … When will all these shadows of God cease to darken our minds? When will we complete our de-deification of nature? When may we begin to "naturalise" humanity in terms of a pure, newly discovered, newly redeemed nature? 1 -Friedrich Nietzsche
discusses the nature of thinking in the Philosophical Investigations and one of his topics is the... more discusses the nature of thinking in the Philosophical Investigations and one of his topics is the relation between thought and language. The interlocutor asks in section 327 whether one can think without speaking, and as Wittgenstein implies in his reply, the answer is not to be found by introspection of some inner process, but by conceptual analysis. In order to answer the question we must therefore turn our attention to grammar: the verb ʻto thinkʼ and how it is used in various context and circumstances. 1 Peter Hacker admits that it is "tempting to wonder whether one can think without language", but he claims that the question "is a natural foil to the dual-process conception of speaking with thought or understanding, for one wants to get behind language in order to find what ʻgives language lifeʼ". 2
It is far easier to point out the faults and errors in the work of a great mind than to give a cl... more It is far easier to point out the faults and errors in the work of a great mind than to give a clear and full exposition of its value.
The question which stirs us as we think beyond the grave of our own generation is not the well-be... more The question which stirs us as we think beyond the grave of our own generation is not the well-being human beings will enjoy in the future but what kind of people they will be.… We do not want to breed well-being in people, but rather those characteristics which we think of as constituting the human greatness and nobility of our nature.
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Papers by Asgeir Theodor Johannesson