Date: Fri, 23 Jan 1998 10:52:41 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199801231552.KAA04349@locke.ccil.org> Reply-To: mark.vines@wholefoods.com Sender: Lojban list From: Mark Vines Subject: Re: knowledge and belief X-To: Rob Zook , LOJBAN@CUVMB.COLUMBIA.EDU To: John Cowan In-Reply-To: Rob Zook "Re: knowledge and belief" (Jan 23, 8:43am) X-UIDL: 632d852509da78d5f9f5a15ffcc35567 X-Mozilla-Status: 0011 Content-Length: 604 X-From-Space-Date: Fri Jan 23 12:25:54 1998 X-From-Space-Address: - coi doi rab. > Do we know for sure Socrates meant to sound ironic? The Socratic dialogues have been much discussed by classical scholars in both the Western & the Islamic traditions. Most agree that Socrates meant to be ironic when he described himself as ignorant, & that he did so purely as a rhetorical tactic. In fact, Western classicists even use the phrase "Socratic irony" as a technical term for what happens when a knowledgeable person makes a purely rhetorical claim of ignorance. The scholarly consensus could be wrong, but I guess I'm "presupposing" that it is correct. co'omi'e markl.