What if Socrates Were Alive Today?

What if Socrates returned to life today?

What would he observe about contemporary life — politics, justice, capitalism, social media and our relationship to truth?

Nigel Tubbs, a professor of philosophy and education, imagines this scenario in his recently published book Socrates on Trial.

The book begins:

The man in sandals and a long coat, looking a little dishevelled, was standing in the marketplace, listening around him intently to what he could hear of people’s everyday conversations. He knew the city, of course, and yet he felt he was again seeing it for the first time. The familiar was strangely unfamiliar, and it had taken some time before his eyes had adjusted to it.

Emma Cohen de Lara comments:

Socrates on Trial makes us look at our world in new ways, urges us to rethink education, and is a much-needed plea for a Socratic uprising in education. Consumerism, screen-addiction, the exploitation of the earth resources, racial injustices – Tubbs argues that we cannot afford to remain in the world of shadows, and calls for an education that is profoundly self-critical and philosophical. In holding up a mirror, the book benefits and inspires all of us.

You can read an excerpt of the first thirty pages of the book at socratesontrial.org.

Image: The Death of Socrates/Jacques-Louis David