Abstract
‘Socratic irony’ is a familiar enough phrase. In the words of the Concise Oxford Dictionary it means the ‘simulation of ignorance as [a] means of confuting [one’s] adversary’ in argument. It is named after the philosopher Socrates, who was notorious for his use of the device as a means of discomforting his opponents without exposing himself to the risk of being shown to be wrong. Examples of Socratic irony abound in the early dialogues of Plato: the locus classicus for this unpopular trait is a disgusted outburst of Thrasymachus in the first book of the Republic. Socrates has just explained why neither he nor Polemarchus has given a satisfactory account of justice— ‘You see, we have not the ability as I believe’—when Thrasymachus realizes the familiar trick being played on him.
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