The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-28-2010
Abstract
Mark McPherran and Gregory Vlastos argue that Socrates’ theology threatened Athenian sacrificial practices because it rejected the do ut des principle (aka the principle of reciprocity). I argue that their arguments are flawed because they assume that the Athenians understood sacrifice as something like a commercial transaction. Drawing upon scholarship in anthropology and religious studies, I argue that we need to revise that understanding of sacrifice and that, once we do, McPherran’s and Vlastos’ arguments no longer show that Socrates would have been a significant threat to the practice of sacrifice. Finally, I argue that McPherran’s Socrates does undermine sacrifice, but not for the reasons that McPherran suggests. Rather, he undermines sacrifice by making external actions irrelevant to piety.
Recommended Citation
Lannstrom, Anna, "A Religious Revolution? How Socrates' Theology Undermined the Practice of Sacrifice" (2010). The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter. 460.
https://orb.binghamton.edu/sagp/460
Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, History of Philosophy Commons
Notes
Anna Lannstrom presented “A Religious Revolution? How Socrates’ Theology Undermined the Practice of Sacrifice” to the Society at its meeting with the Eastern Division in Boston in 2010. A longer version was published in Ancient Philosophy 31.2 (2011) 261-274.
For information about the author see: http://www.stonehill.edu/directory/anna-lannstrom/