Open Socrates - Agnes Callard, at Heffers Bookshop

Socrates has been hiding in plain sight. We call him the father of Western philosophy, but what exactly are his philosophical views? He is famous for his humility, but readers often find him arrogant and condescending. We parrot his claim that 'the unexamined life is not worth living,' yet take no steps to live examined ones. We know that he was tried, convicted, and executed for 'corrupting the youth,' but freely assign Socratic dialogues to today’s youths, to introduce them to philosophy. We’ve lost sight of what made him so dangerous. In Open Socrates, acclaimed philosopher Agnes Callard recovers the radical energy at the centre of Socrates’ thought and shows why it is still the way to a good life.

Agnes Callard is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago. A public philosopher, specialising in ancient philosophy and ethics, she has written for The New York Times, New Yorker, Atlantic, Harper’s, Boston Review and the Point.

Agnes will be joined in conversation by Dr Jessie Munton, Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge.