Socrates' discursive democracy : Logos and Ergon in Platonic political philosophy /

Mara's title is his thesis--that Socrates' life of discourse is not to be seen as a diatribe against Athenian democracy, but rather a therapeutic for its ills. In answer to those who see Socrates as antidemocratic, Mara grounds his subtly crafted case on Socrates' devotion to calling Athenian democracy to moderation (sophrosyne) and self-knowledge, an activity salutary, not subversive, to democratic citizenship. Mara contends that critics of Socratic philosophy, especially today's liberals and communitarians, miss the real implications of Socratic irony, the revealing counterpoints of Socratic word (logos) and deed (ergon), and the resulting balance Socrates achieves in his loving dialectical strife with the citizens of his democratic hometown (polis). Appearances to the contrary, Socrates, in Mara's view, ultimately eschews both an architectonic and deconstructive excess dismissive of the limitations or the potency of dialectical wisdom. Mara's rhetoric is unassuming, his argument forceful. His book, a thoughtful addition to the unquenchable debate over Plato's Socrates, will be useful in courses where Plato's dialogues are read. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. C. A. Linden; George Washington University