{"product_id":"platos-laughter-socrates-as-satyr-and-comical-hero-1","title":"Plato's Laughter","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","brand":"State University of New York Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54011805368664,"sku":null,"price":34.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781438467368.jpg?v=1777895158","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/platos-laughter-socrates-as-satyr-and-comical-hero-1","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}