The Bloomsbury Companion to Socrates

Socrates, the largely enigmatic Greek thinker, has had a remarkably enduring influence on virtually every area of philosophical enterprise. The Bloomsbury Companion to Socratesintroduces readers to the main issues in the philosophy of Socrates.

With 13 different sections, this Companion presents an overview of current research in the various features, themes and topics apparent in Socrates’ thought, including Socratic irony, metaphysics, epistemology, happiness, virtue, moral psychology, philosophy of love, political philosophy, and religious belief. With additional chapters on the historical Socrates and his prosecution by the democracy of Athens, this is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to Socrates’ life and death, character and philosophical concerns.

Written by a team of leading experts in the field of ancient philosophy and concluding with a thoroughly comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources, The Bloomsbury Companion to Socratesis an essential introduction to this founder of Western philosophy.

John Bussanich is Professor of Philosophy at the University of New Mexico, USA. He is the author of The One and its Relation to Intellect in Plotinus (Brill, 1988) and co-editor of the journal Ancient Philosophy.

Nicholas D. Smith is Professor of Philosophy at Lewis and Clark College, USA. His many publications include Ancient Philosophy: Essential Readings with Commentary (with F. Allhof and A. Vaidya, Blackwell, 2008), Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Plato and the Trial of Socrates (with T. Brickhouse, Routledge, 2004), The Trial and Execution of Socrates (edited and translated with T. Brickhouse, OUP, 2002) and Reason and Religion in Socratic Philosophy (with P. Woodruff, OUP, 2000).