Discovering What I Was Not Seeking: A Brief Narrative

[...]a result is not a final destination: it becomes in turn a point of departure. [...]you often begin writing a book; the one you continue to write seems to have forgotten the opening pages; and the one you finish may be totally alien to what you had originally envisioned. [...]there was a kind of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:SubStance 2003-01, Vol.32 (1), p.16-21
Main Authors: Hénaff, Marcel, Lapidus, Roxanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Gift giving
Gifts
Hypotheses
Literary theory
Payments
Platonism
Researchers
Socratic philosophy
Sophistry
Wisdom
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:[...]a result is not a final destination: it becomes in turn a point of departure. [...]you often begin writing a book; the one you continue to write seems to have forgotten the opening pages; and the one you finish may be totally alien to what you had originally envisioned. [...]there was a kind of paradox between an attitude of quasi-prudery and a tranquil realism that saw no problem in assuming payments due. Usually it is part of the presuppositions of a culture, and can take on a moral or ideological dimension, being identified as "conventional wisdom." Xenophon, that other disciple of Socrates, tells us that the aged master accepted gifts of food or clothing, not to mention accepting numerous invitations from his friends. [...]we discover that Socrates was only conforming to a very ancient tradition—that of the sages of former times, those shamans who were supported by gifts from their disciples.
ISSN:0049-2426
1527-2095
1527-2095
DOI:10.1353/sub.2003.0009