Xenophon’s Socrates on concern for friends

“Memorabilia” II 6

Authors

  • Russell E. Jones
  • Ravi Sharma

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13136/thau.v9i1.163

Keywords:

Xenophon, Socrates, friendship, virtue, moral psychology

Abstract

In Xenophon’s Socratic literature, there is repeated emphasis on the utility the friends provide one another. One extended passage, Memorabilia II 6, shows that Socrates takes a good person to care about a friend both for the benefits to be gained for oneself and for the other’s welfare. Genuine friendship, for Socrates, is not transactional or self-interested but rather rooted in the mutual benefit that only good people can supply.

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Published

2022-03-14