S#ren Kierkegaard's first major work, The Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates, develops the radical thesis that Socrates was through and through an ironist, someone who consistently maintained an ironic standpoint towards his fellow citizens and everything that made up Athenian society. In the process of arguing for this view, Kierkegaard takes his readers on a whirlwind tour of the main classical texts about Socrates (by Xenophon, Plato, and Aristophanes), offers up some searching reflections about the nature of irony more generally, and sets himself against Hegel's reading of Socrates while joining Hegel in his criticism of the German romantics and the modern manifestation of irony. To make matters more complicated, a number of recent scholars have argued that Kierkegaard's work about irony is itself thoroughly ironic. Is this a book that defends a serious philosophical thesis or a work designed to reduce the entire philosophical enterprise to rubble? Our aim in this course will be to give this very unusual, arguably profound meditation on Socrates and the nature of irony a thorough and searching examination. Format: Tutorial. Requirements: Students will meet with the instructor in pairs for an hour each week; students will write a 5-7 page paper every other week (6 in all), and comment on a tutorial partner's paper in alternate weeks. Emphasis will be placed on developing skills in reading, interpretation, and oral argument, as well as critical reasoning and writing. Prerequisites: Philosophy 101 or 102 or permission of instructor.
Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 6-8). Preference given to Philosophy majors and those considering majoring in Philosophy.

Hour: MUENCH