Self-Knowledge in Xenophon's Memorabilia 4.2
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23138149 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christopher Moore (0000-0003-3149-1140, corresponding author), Christopher Moore Christopher Moore |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 110 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 397 |
| Publication date | 2015-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Classical Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0009-8353 • E-ISSN: 2327-5812 |
| Publisher | Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Inc (CAMWS) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5184/classicalj.110.4.0397 |
| OpenAlex | W2510408121 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 4 |
Whereas Plato's Socrates discusses the Delphic maxim “Know Yourself” frequently, Xenophon's Socrates does so only once (Mem. 4.2.24), in his conversation with Euthydemus, a confident young man zealous about leading the city. Previous scholars have read Socrates as equating “knowing yourself” with “knowing your powers.” But knowing your powers is only one condition of self-knowledge, as a closer reading of Mem. 4.2 shows, in particular Socrates' analogy about judging a horse for purchase. Knowing yourself means coming to act on the basis of your knowledge of justice and goodness, and acting on this basis frees you from a self-imposed enslavement. Xenophon's understanding is thus richer and more philosophically sophisticated than is usually assumed.
Analogy · Conversation · Economic Justice · Epistemology · Frame (networking) · Linguistics · Maxim · Political science · Reading (process) · SOCRATES · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Computer Science · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.45 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2020 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |