Book contents
- The Trojan Horse and Other Stories
- Reviews
- The Trojan Horse and Other Stories
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Sphinx (Sphinx aenigmatica)
- Chapter 2 Xanthus, Achilles’ Speaking Horse (Equus eloquens)
- Chapter 3 The Lion of Androclus (Panthera leo philanthropus)
- Chapter 4 The Cyclops (Cyclops inhospitalis)
- Chapter 5 The Trojan Horse (Equus troianus)
- Chapter 6 The ‘Trojan’ Boar (Aper troianus ostentator)
- Chapter 7 The Political Bee (Apis politica)
- Chapter 8 The Socratic Gadfly (Haematopota oxyglotta socratis)
- Chapter 9 The Minotaur (Hybrida minotaurus)
- Chapter 10 The Shearwaters of Diomedea (Calonectris diomedea transformata)
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 8 - The Socratic Gadfly (Haematopota oxyglotta socratis)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 November 2023
- The Trojan Horse and Other Stories
- Reviews
- The Trojan Horse and Other Stories
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Sphinx (Sphinx aenigmatica)
- Chapter 2 Xanthus, Achilles’ Speaking Horse (Equus eloquens)
- Chapter 3 The Lion of Androclus (Panthera leo philanthropus)
- Chapter 4 The Cyclops (Cyclops inhospitalis)
- Chapter 5 The Trojan Horse (Equus troianus)
- Chapter 6 The ‘Trojan’ Boar (Aper troianus ostentator)
- Chapter 7 The Political Bee (Apis politica)
- Chapter 8 The Socratic Gadfly (Haematopota oxyglotta socratis)
- Chapter 9 The Minotaur (Hybrida minotaurus)
- Chapter 10 The Shearwaters of Diomedea (Calonectris diomedea transformata)
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
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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- The Trojan Horse and Other StoriesTen Ancient Creatures That Make Us Human, pp. 187 - 208Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024