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Chapter 2 - Socrates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2023

James Bernard Murphy
Affiliation:
Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
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Summary

Socrates is the only prophet in my book who is outside the tradition of biblical prophets. And yet Socrates also claimed to hear a divine voice and to be entrusted by his god with a mission to chasten the pride of his fellow Athenians by showing them that true wisdom is to know just how little you really know. At his trial, Socrates made it clear that he would not have accepted poverty, unpopularity, and eventually death unless he were certain that his philosophical mission was in service of his god. Like the Hebrew prophets, Socrates confronted both the political and religious leaders of his day. He vetoed the plans of the democrats and the oligarchs; he complained to a religious leader that public worship had become little more than “commerce with the gods.” Socrates was persecuted for impiety, as both a heretic and a traitor. Socrates shows how prophetic politics reaches beyond the biblical tradition.

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Chapter
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The Third Sword
On The Political Role of Prophets
, pp. 37 - 56
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Socrates
  • James Bernard Murphy, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
  • Book: The Third Sword
  • Online publication: 23 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009372244.003
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  • Socrates
  • James Bernard Murphy, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
  • Book: The Third Sword
  • Online publication: 23 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009372244.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Socrates
  • James Bernard Murphy, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
  • Book: The Third Sword
  • Online publication: 23 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009372244.003
Available formats
×