“Il vento del pensiero“. Il Socrate(s) di Hannah Arendt

The multiple facets of Socrates in Hannah Arendt’s interpretation of him are more than clear – hence we should speak of Socrates(es), in the plural. There is the Socrates who differs so much from Plato and his great betrayal – that of having ushered in philosophy as metaphysics –; there is the Socrates who remains the master of philosophical practice among the citizens in the agorà; but, perhaps most fascinating of all, there is also the Socrates described as “the wind of thought”, the inventor of “two-in-one”, of critical thinking and moral conscience – in short, the Socrates who laid the foundations for moral and political judgement. Arendt discusses her various images of Socrates(es) and projects her own questions onto him, especially her need to rethink humanity, the human condition, morality and politics, in particular in face of the backdrop of the totalitarian catastrophe and the great shadow it cast.