Socrates’ Irrational Rationality

Abstract

Socrates seems to most to be a paragon of rationality. In nearly every encounter, he draws distinctions, deploys arguments, and relentlessly pursues definitions of the virtues. He is not satisfied knowing that something or other is just, or courageous, or pious; he wants to know why it is so. To acquire this knowledge, he insists on consistency, expecting it of others no less than himself. But despite the importance to him of these rational techniques, James Hans considers them only part of his wisdom, a broader sensibility whose most important resources are irrational. Only by investigating Socrates' deep, lifelong commitments to the irrationalities at the center of our being, Hans declares, can we properly appreciate the mixture of qualities that contribute to Socrates' well-being and to our (19). Socrates and the Irrational is thus at once an interpretation of Socrates and an impassioned recommendation that we adopt in our times and our own lives the wisdom that emerges from this interpretation. Signs of Socrates' irrationality are his persistent attention to poetry, myths, oracles, dreams, and his personal daimonion (55). Hans does well to highlight these signs, which have been too often overlooked by those eager to distill sound arguments from his conversations. According to Hans, these irrational voices help acquaint Socrates with patterns, rhythms, and contexts that escape rational scrutiny (82), permitting him to live intuitively (91, 97, 141). Rather than regimenting his environment to harmonize with a score prescribed by reason, Socrates tunes himself instead to his environment's independent music (98). This is the greater part of his wisdom, but it need not be a divine revelation, even if that is how Socrates himself understands it. In Hans'