What does it truly mean to live an examined life? This is the monumental question at the heart of Agnes Callard’s provocative new book, “Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life.” In an era saturated with self-help bromides and easy “life hacks,” Callard makes a compelling case that the ideas of Socrates, the notoriously ugly yet profoundly wise ancient Greek philosopher, offer a refreshingly substantive path to genuine self-knowledge and ethical living.
The Perils of Unexamined Assumptions
As Callard brilliantly illustrates, the Socratic approach is not some relic of antiquity to be casually name-checked, but rather a potent methodology for unsettling our most cherished assumptions. Unlike the duplicitous Cromwell, who urged others to question themselves while leaving his own beliefs unchallenged, Socrates embodied intellectual integrity, subjecting his own ideas to the same merciless scrutiny he applied to others.
Confronting the “Tolstoy Problem”
Central to Callard’s analysis is what she dubs the “Tolstoy Problem” – the existential dread that can arise when we dare to ask life’s most momentous questions. As Tolstoy discovered at the height of his literary fame, material success offers scant consolation in the face of the ultimate query: “What will come from my whole life?” While such “untimely questions” may induce vertigo, Callard insists the Socratic response is not evasion, but courageous, clear-eyed engagement.
Socrates represents both a “midwife” and a “gadfly”, in that someone adopting his techniques helps us bring new and better understanding into the world while being, frankly, annoying.
The Road to Epistemological Humility
Far from a fast track to easy enlightenment, the Socratic method demands a grueling honesty, a willingness to follow the argument wherever it leads. Callard emphasizes that genuine self-inquiry requires an almost heroic humility, a recognition of the depths of our own ignorance. And in a poignant reading of Socrates’ final days, she suggests that even the great gadfly himself may have experienced doubts and terrors as he contemplated his own untimely demise.
A Philosophical Life
Ultimately, “Open Socrates” makes a passionate case for philosophy not as an academic exercise, but as a transformative way of being. Callard argues that in embracing “epistemological humility” and forever striving to “move forward,” we imbue life with profound meaning and purpose. Philosophy in this sense is a never-ending journey, a perpetual grappling with untimely questions that defy final answers, but ennoble us in the asking.
Conclusion
Through her incisive and often irreverent analysis, Callard vividly resurrects Socrates in all his infuriating yet indispensable glory, revealing the enduring power of authentic philosophical inquiry. “Open Socrates” is an invigorating read, one that invites us to transcend the superficial preoccupations of our age and grapple with the perennial questions at the heart of the human experience. It is a book that, in true Socratic fashion, leaves the reader not with trite platitudes, but with an awakened hunger for genuine self-knowledge and an examined life.
Central to Callard’s analysis is what she dubs the “Tolstoy Problem” – the existential dread that can arise when we dare to ask life’s most momentous questions. As Tolstoy discovered at the height of his literary fame, material success offers scant consolation in the face of the ultimate query: “What will come from my whole life?” While such “untimely questions” may induce vertigo, Callard insists the Socratic response is not evasion, but courageous, clear-eyed engagement.
Socrates represents both a “midwife” and a “gadfly”, in that someone adopting his techniques helps us bring new and better understanding into the world while being, frankly, annoying.
The Road to Epistemological Humility
Far from a fast track to easy enlightenment, the Socratic method demands a grueling honesty, a willingness to follow the argument wherever it leads. Callard emphasizes that genuine self-inquiry requires an almost heroic humility, a recognition of the depths of our own ignorance. And in a poignant reading of Socrates’ final days, she suggests that even the great gadfly himself may have experienced doubts and terrors as he contemplated his own untimely demise.
A Philosophical Life
Ultimately, “Open Socrates” makes a passionate case for philosophy not as an academic exercise, but as a transformative way of being. Callard argues that in embracing “epistemological humility” and forever striving to “move forward,” we imbue life with profound meaning and purpose. Philosophy in this sense is a never-ending journey, a perpetual grappling with untimely questions that defy final answers, but ennoble us in the asking.
Conclusion
Through her incisive and often irreverent analysis, Callard vividly resurrects Socrates in all his infuriating yet indispensable glory, revealing the enduring power of authentic philosophical inquiry. “Open Socrates” is an invigorating read, one that invites us to transcend the superficial preoccupations of our age and grapple with the perennial questions at the heart of the human experience. It is a book that, in true Socratic fashion, leaves the reader not with trite platitudes, but with an awakened hunger for genuine self-knowledge and an examined life.
