{"product_id":"9781438467382","title":"Plato's Laughter: Socrates as Satyr and Comical Hero","description":"\u003ci\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\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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.","brand":"State University of New York Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47128277450992,"sku":"9781438467382","price":85.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781438467382_p0.jpg?v=1763758015","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781438467382","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}