Plato's Socrates on Socrates: Socratic Self-Disclosure and the Public Practice of Philosophy by Anne-Marie Schultz

Abstract

Reviewed by: Plato's Socrates on Socrates: Socratic Self-Disclosure and the Public Practice of Philosophy by Anne-Marie Schultz Doug Reed SCHULTZ, Anne-Marie. Plato's Socrates on Socrates: Socratic Self-Disclosure and the Public Practice of Philosophy. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2020. x + 141 pp. Cloth, $90.00; paper, $39.99; eBook, $38.00 The subtitle aptly sums up the twin projects Anne-Marie Schultz sets for herself in this book. One project is a detailed analysis of episodes in Plato's dialogues where Socrates shares his emotional state and personal history, especially his educational experiences, with his audience. Throughout the book, Schultz considers passages familiar to Plato scholars but does so with an eye toward a neglected aspect of the dialogues, namely, "Plato's presentation of Socrates as a philosopher who tells personal narratives." Through careful attention to the text and in conversation with up-to-date scholarship, Schultz makes the case that Socratic self-disclosure is a widespread and significant feature of these dialogues. In doing so, she gives the reader plenty to think about regarding Plato's portrayal of Socrates and other characters, Socratic method, as well as other philosophical and dramatic elements of these passages. The other project concerns public philosophy. Schultz asks us to consider why Plato should present Socrates as a self-disclosing philosopher and what we, contemporary academic philosophers, can learn about (public) philosophy by appreciating this feature of Socrates' practice. Ultimately, she makes the case that we should see Socrates as a model for a public philosopher, one who draws people in by letting them in and encourages the creation of a philosophical community. The book has a clear and straightforward style. Each of the six chapters (along with an introduction and postscript) is well structured with connections that are legible to the reader. In chapter 1, Schultz looks at instances of Socratic self-disclosure in the Theaetetus and by building on the work of Holger Thesleff and Harold Tarrant explores the possibility that Socrates narrated an earlier version of the dialogue. This discussion is worthwhile in its own right, but Schultz also uses it to begin making the case that Socrates employs autobiography and shares his emotions in order to "bring the listener into the experience of philosophical reflection by portraying the learning process as perspective changing, as life changing." Chapters 2 and 3 turn to the Symposium. In chapter 2 Schultz explores Socrates' self-presentation in the dialogue, arguing that he shares [End Page 829] his experiences with Diotima to model what it is to be an eager and engaged student with the aim of drawing his fellow symposiasts to philosophy. Chapter 3 looks at three imitators of Socratic narration in the Symposium : Alcibiades, Apollodorus, and Aristodemus. In addition to continuing the investigation of philosophical self-disclosure, this chapter offers a rich discussion of the frame of the dialogue, a sustained treatment of Alcibiades' speech, and a reevaluation of the two characters who transmit the dialogue to the reader, making it a valuable contribution to scholarship on the Symposium. Chapters 4 and 5 look at Socratic self-disclosure in the Apology and Phaedo, respectively. These dialogues are well known for including Socratic autobiographies. Given that Schultz is explicit that her aim is not to determine the historical reliability of Socrates' narratives, she does not consider any tensions between Socrates' two intellectual autobiographies in these dialogues. Instead, she analyzes them along with other instances of self-disclosure in the dialogues in order to show that Socrates deploys them to exhort his fellow citizens to philosophy and to nurture his intimate community with the hopes of extending philosophical reflection into the future. In chapter 6 Schultz offers a helpful summary of the book and shares examples of contemporary practitioners of Socratic narrative and public philosophy. In doing so, Schultz herself exemplifies Socratic self-disclosure by sharing her own intellectual experiences, which she continues in the postscript to the book. With each chapter, I became more convinced of Schultz's central interpretative claim that Plato portrays Socrates as a philosopher who shares his experiences and emotions openly. At times, though, an interpretive question occurred to me: Should we always take Socrates...