The "Real World" of Socrates

How the portrayal of the father of philosophy differs from historical accounts, and why these incongruities are important for students of history and philosophy alike.

It has been said that the study of Western philosophy is little else but a series of footnotes to Plato. If that is true, then it goes without saying that those who understand the world of Athens in the 5th century B.C. must grasp the concepts in his dialogues better than those who do not. Indeed, many of the works in the Platonic corpus require additio…