Abstract:

The crucial nexus between erōs and virtue (aretē) provides a common ground for the writings of all the Socratics, with the sole exception of Aristippus. The pervasiveness of this nexus confirms its centrality to Socratic philosophy and education, and a proper understanding of it involves several issues on which Antisthenes, Aeschines, Plato, and Xenophon can be compared and contrasted: (i) the interconnection and mutual delimitation between erōs, virtue, and knowledge; (ii) the object and nature of such virtue, its modes of transmission and the problem of its teachability; (iii) the role and function that erōs assumes in relation to the dialogical practice and particularly within the elenctic procedure. The proposed interpretation aims to shed light – through a comparative reappraisal of key evidence – on the varying degrees of integration of erōs into elenchus, with a chief focus on the epistemological implications of the resulting (and unprecedented) conception of erōs.