Hermeneutical paradoxes in the trial of Socrates

Abstract

The logical role of the paradox is not to state a truth whose paradoxical nature lies in the difficulty we feel in maintaining it as true, but rather to state something that will cause fo feel as false something else we previously believed to be true. The Socratic paradox, sometimes called the "moral paradox, " is convincing and true because it implicitly raises the question about the true good. The drama of Socrates' trial and death indeed illustrates a dilemma, in which on the one hand the philosopher cannot accept the way of life prescribed by his tradition but on the other hand cannot offer an unquestionable alternative to it. The best approach to the Socratic problem is an eclectic one, using all the ancient sources instead of championing a single author at the expense of the rest.