Abstract

Carey argues that Socrates’ injunction to follow the logos has two distinct, though related implications. The first is well-known: we should subject what is sub-rational in the soul to the rule of reason. The second implication is less well-known, though it becomes obvious on reflection: we can follow the logos only if the logos is, of its own nature, headed somewhere, or at least pointing somewhere. What human reason is headed toward or pointing to is its natural end. Reason is intrinsically teleological. Carey explores the Socratic conception of reason, which is generally the pre-modern conception, as something more than an instrument to be employed solely for the sake of attaining ends, such as longevity and pleasure, that are not specifically rational.