School of Historical and Philosophical Studies

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Socrates reconsidered: a Levinasian reading

Barton, Michael ( 2017)

I reconsider Socrates’ life from a Levinasian perspective. My specific aim is to take hold of the ethical relation which Levinas has brought into its own in the ‘post-metaphysical’ present, and in returning to Socrates/Plato, see how this relation manifests, albeit in a distorted but hopefully philosophically interesting way. The resulting picture of Socrates as being radically responsible to the otherness of the citizens of Athens does not contradict traditional accounts (the indefatigable search for knowledge, virtue, wisdom etc.), but rather sits beneath, underpinning them.
The affective creation of moral authority

Barton, Michael ( 2006)

This paper will address the issue of the creation of a certain kind of moral authority. By 'creation' here I mean something like affective establishment, rather than creative in a sheer, artistic, or ex nihilo sense, and by 'affective' I mean something that goes beyond dictionary definitions ('concerning the emotions') and potentially moves the whole being, the intellect as well as the emotions.