Socrates has long faced the criticism of being intellectualist – of focusing excessively on the intellectual side of human conduct without adequately considering the emotional side. In this paper, I offer a different perspective on this issue. Focusing on the Protagoras, and drawing on contemporary philosophical work on the emotions, I propose an interpretation of Socratic knowledge that conceives of knowledge and emotion as intimately connected. Through this, a sense of intellectualism emerges in which it is not Socrates who is guilty of intellectualism, but us. Indeed, under this sense, Socrates is anti-intellectualist. More importantly, this perspective leads to an re-evaluation of the Socratic project, with implications for the cultural role of philosophy today.

Authors:
Michael Michael, Yonsei University, South Korea

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Michael Michael is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at Yonsei University in South Korea

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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