Protagoras Against Socrates: Courage and Knowledge in Protagoras 349e-351b

https://doi.org/10.25100/pfilosofica.v0i52.10651

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Published: Apr 15, 2021
Updated: 2021-04-15
Issue: No. 52 (2021): Praxis Filosófica No. 50 Suplemento enero-junio 2020
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Authors

  José Edgar González Varela Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
Abstract

Towards the end of Plato’s Protagoras, Socrates and Protagoras argue about whether courage and knowledge (or wisdom) are the same. The first argument that Socrates employs to show this, and Protagoras’ response, have been subject to much discussion and disagreement among scholars (349e1-351b2). I think that no available interpretation of this debate is fully satisfactory, for they tend to favor exclusively either Socrates or Protagoras. In this paper I offer a new, more balanced and complete, interpretation, according to which, both Socrates’ argument and Protagoras’ response are reasonable and valid in the context of the dialogue, and both achieve, to some extent, their own goal.

Keywords
  • Pluralism
  • Wisdom
  • Virtue
  • Courage
  • Knowledge
Author Biography

José Edgar González Varela, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Senior Researcher at the Institute of Philosophical Research of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. His areas of specialization are the history of ancient philosophy, in particular the metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle, and contemporary metaphysics. He has published articles on these topics in specialized journals such as Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Phronesis, Praxis Filosófica, Apeiron, Revista Latinoamericana de Filosofía, Diánoia and Ideas y Valores.

References

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How to Cite
González Varela, J. E. (2021). Protagoras Against Socrates: Courage and Knowledge in Protagoras 349e-351b. Praxis Filosófica, (52), 45–70. https://doi.org/10.25100/pfilosofica.v0i52.10651
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Received 2020-09-28
Accepted 2020-09-28
Published 2021-04-15
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