The Socratic Individual: Philosophy, Faith, and Freedom in a Democratic Age (Hardback)

"This is a brilliant study of how Nietzsche, Hegel, Kierkegaard and others responded to Socrates. As it unfolds multiple Socratic impacts, nineteenth century political thought emerges in new detail. The scholarship is impeccable and the arguments, groundbreaking."--Edward Mooney, Syracuse University
"In the nineteenth century, the collapse of the Hegelian system raised the question of the viability of the rational philosophical life. A number of major thinkers returned to the origins of Western philosophy - in Socrates - to address this question. The Socratic Individual provides an excellent examination of the role of Socrates in Kierkegaard, Mill, and Nietzsche. As Ward ably demonstrates, the rationalist Socrates is displaced by these figures, instead the erotic, the passionate, even the poetic Socrates comes to the fore, revealing other varieties of the philosophical life."--Jeffrey Church, University of Houston
"By examining the different ways that nineteenth-century political philosophers reformulate and celebrate the figure of Socrates, Ann Ward's excellent book provides us with valuable, new insights into the late Enlightenment's deepest concerns and aspirations. Drawing on a broad knowledge of ancient and modern political theory, Ward has given us a very readable, erudite, and instructive reflection on how modernity understands and shapes the life of reason."--Mark Lutz, University of Nevada - Las Vegas