Socratic Moral Psychology (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521198431)

Socrates' moral psychology is widely thought to be 'intellectualist' in the sense that, for Socrates, every ethical failure to do what is best is exclusively the result of some cognitive failure to apprehend what is best. Until publication of this book, the view that, for Socrates, emotions and desires have no role to play in causing such failure went unchallenged. This book argues against the orthodox view of Socratic intellectualism and offers in its place a comprehensive alternative account that explains why Socrates believed that emotions, desires and appetites can influence human motivation and lead to error. Thomas C. Brickhouse and Nicholas D. Smith defend the study of Socrates' philosophy and offer an alternative interpretation of Socratic moral psychology. Their novel account of Socrates' conception of virtue and how it is acquired shows that Socratic moral psychology is considerably more sophisticated than scholars have supposed.

Author: Thomas C. Brickhouse,Nicholas D. Smith
ISBN-10: 0521198437
ISBN-13: 9780521198431
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 05/06/2010
Pages: 286
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.20w x 0.80d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 01/01/2011