{"product_id":"platos-laughter-sonja-tanner-9781438467375","title":"Plato's Laughter: Socrates as Satyr and Comical Hero","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCounters the long-standing, solemn interpretation of Plato's dialogues with one centered on the philosophical and pedagogical significance of Socrates as a comic figure.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlato was described as a boor and it was said that he never laughed out loud. Yet his dialogues abound with puns, jokes, and humor. Sonja Madeleine Tanner argues that in Plato's dialogues Socrates plays a comical hero who draws heavily from the tradition of comedy in ancient Greece, but also reforms laughter to be applicable to all persons and truly shaming to none. Socrates introduces a form of self-reflective laughter that encourages, rather than stifles, philosophical inquiry. Laughter in the dialogues-both explicit and implied-suggests a view of human nature as incongruous with ourselves, simultaneously falling short of, and superseding, our own capacities. What emerges is a picture of human nature that bears a striking resemblance to Socrates' own, laughable depiction, one inspired by Dionysus, but one that remains ultimately intractable. The book analyzes specific instances of laughter and the comical from the \u003ci\u003eApology\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLaches\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCharmides\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCratylus\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEuthydemus\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eSymposium\u003c\/i\u003e to support this, and to further elucidate the philosophical consequences of recognizing Plato's laughter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sonja Tanner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1438467370\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781438467375\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e State University of New York Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/01\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 264\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 22.60w x 0.70d","brand":"Sonja Tanner","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48088257528063,"sku":"9781438467375","price":99.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_3079fa18-b3d5-4a3e-b352-822f64ac5935.jpg?v=1769103908","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/platos-laughter-sonja-tanner-9781438467375","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}