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Chapter 8 - The Socratic Gadfly (Haematopota oxyglotta socratis)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2023

Julia Kindt
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
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Summary

This chapter offers an investigation of what Socrates may have meant when, in his infamous appearance before a jury at Athens in 399 BCE, he referred to himself as a myōps – typically translated as a gadfly. The chapter illustrates that the natural world does not just serve to naturalize (and thus normalize) collective political systems that are already firmly in place. As in the case of Socrates, it can also serve as a potent strategy to seek to naturalize (and thus normalize) the individual political stance outside of the collective. The chapter shows that, by carving out a space for dissent, Socrates defined a form of citizenship that resonates far beyond the ancient world. It, for example, helps to explain the ambivalence surrounding modern dissenting voices (such as those of Julian Assange, Michael Moore, and Edward Snowden). The chapter ultimately traces the buzzing of the Socratic gadfly into Hannah Arendt’s political philosophy and illustrates the important tole that this peculiar ancient creature plays in her critique of the perils of modernity.

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Chapter
Information
The Trojan Horse and Other Stories
Ten Ancient Creatures That Make Us Human
, pp. 187 - 208
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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