Questions to Live By: Agnes Callard in Conversation with Alexander Nehamas

In her latest publication “Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life,” philosopher Agnes Callard (University of Chicago) recovers the radical move at the center of Socrates’ thought: his startling discovery that we don’t know how to ask ourselves how we should live. Before a person even has a chance to reflect, her bodily desires or the forces of social conformity have already answered on her behalf. To ask the most important questions, we need help. Callard argues that the true ambition of the famous “Socratic method” is to reveal what one human being can be to another.

In this special event, presented by the Humanities Council’s Program in Humanistic Studies, Callard will be joined by Alexander Nehamas (Philosophy and Comparative Literature, emeritus) to discuss “Open Socrates” and together, they will examine a series of questions to live by. This event is open to the public.