Roots of the Socratic Ethical Tradition: Xenophon’s Memorabilia

The Socratic Life: Wisdom in Action

Join us beginning in April for a 24-week journey through Xenophon’s compelling portrait of Socrates—a unique eyewitness account that reveals how philosophy manifests in the daily life and conversations of history’s most influential thinker.

Why Memorabilia Speaks to Our Time

When Xenophon, a soldier and historian, records the conversations and actions of his teacher Socrates, he creates a vivid picture of philosophy not as abstract theory but as a lived practice—resonating powerfully with our modern search for practical wisdom and authentic living.

Through Socrates’ dialogues, we witness:

• The integration of philosophical principles into everyday decisions and relationships
• The art of questioning that leads to self-knowledge and ethical clarity
• The courage to examine conventional wisdom and stand against popular opinion
• The development of character as the foundation for a good life

In Socrates’ famous conversations with craftsmen, politicians, and young Athenians, we encounter a thinker who challenges us to examine our own lives and to consider what it truly means to live wisely and well in a complex world.

Why Read Memorabilia Slowly?

This profound text rewards careful attention. Through slow reading, we:

• Discover Xenophon’s practical approach to Socratic teaching that complements Plato’s more theoretical dialogues
• Explore the rich interplay between philosophical questioning and everyday virtue
• Understand how Socrates’ method of inquiry can transform our own approach to ethical challenges
• Examine the foundations of Western philosophical thought at their source

From discussions of leadership and friendship to reflections on piety and self-control, the Memorabilia offers an incomparable exploration of how philosophical wisdom manifests in action and conversation.

Join our community of readers as we explore this foundational text, discovering why it provides an essential window into Socratic philosophy and why its questions about virtue, knowledge, and human excellence remain so urgently relevant today.

“The most important knowledge is knowing what you don’t know.”

The Design of the Pathway, “Roots of the Socratic Ethical Tradition”

Many scholars focus on Plato’s portrayal of Socrates, but Xenophon’s account—grounded in his personal experience as Socrates’ student—offers a complementary perspective that emphasizes the practical dimensions of the philosophical life.

Xenophon’s Memorabilia, alongside his Apology, Symposium, and Oeconomicus, provides a portrait of Socrates as a teacher primarily concerned with ethical development and practical wisdom. While Plato’s Socrates often leads his interlocutors to aporia (philosophical puzzlement), Xenophon’s Socrates typically offers positive guidance on how to live well.

In this reading pathway, we will engage with this alternative Socratic tradition, examining how philosophy emerges not just in theoretical discourse but in the practical affairs of life. We’ll discover why these conversations continue to influence our understanding of ethics, education, and human flourishing.

The Wisdom of Sunday Morning

This reading pathway offers two options for meeting Wednesday evenings or Sunday mornings. Members will choose which one works best for them. Why meet on Sunday mornings?

Finding Clarity Before the World Awakens

There’s a special quality to Sunday mornings that the ancient philosophers would have recognized immediately. While the rest of the world sleeps, a select few rise with purpose—embracing the quiet hours when the mind is freshest and distractions are few.

As Benjamin Franklin wisely noted, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” This isn’t just colonial wisdom—it’s a truth that Socrates himself might have appreciated as he walked the quiet streets of Athens, engaging with the day’s first thinkers.

Our 9 AM EST Sunday seminar on Xenophon’s Memorabilia isn’t just scheduled early—it’s deliberately positioned at the day’s most contemplative hour, when:

• Thoughts flow with morning clarity before the day’s demands intrude
• The discipline of early rising mirrors the self-mastery Socrates taught
• A community of committed learners gathers while others slumber
• The conversation becomes a meaningful ritual that frames your week

There’s something profoundly countercultural about reserving your Sunday morning not for sleep but for intellectual engagement. While many hit the snooze button, you’ll join a tradition of thinkers who found wisdom in those first golden hours of possibility.

Socrates himself would approve of this small sacrifice. After all, he taught that the unexamined life is not worth living—and what better time to examine life’s great questions than when your mind is clear and the world is still?

Join us in this deliberate choice to begin your Sunday with purpose and conversation. As you sip your morning coffee and engage with timeless wisdom, you’ll discover what many great thinkers have known: some treasures are reserved exclusively for those willing to greet the dawn.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

24-Week Pathway Details:

Pathway Duration: April-September 

Meeting Days:   Sundays 9am Eastern | 8am Central | 7am Mountain | 6am Pacific  

First seminars: April 6th (Sunday am), 2025 OR April 8th (Wednesday pm) 

Meeting duration: one hour and thirty minutes  

Meeting frequency: weekly  

Tutor: Jason Happel  

**Limited to 15 participants** to ensure quality conversation  

**No prior experience** with Xenophon or ancient philosophy is required—just a willingness to read carefully and think deeply 

Cost:

Subscribe to the Symposium Slow Reading Program  

**$250 Quarterly/$750 Annual**

Your subscription unlocks the full Symposium experience:

• Complete access to all slow reading pathways, from Homer to Kant
• Monthly one-on-one liberal arts consultations to guide your learning
• Join any seminar, anytime—explore multiple texts simultaneously
• Connect with a community of thoughtful readers and dedicated learners
• Recordings available for missed sessions

Reclaim the lost art of careful reading in a world of endless distractions. Join us in creating space for wisdom to develop naturally through sustained engagement with humanity’s greatest works.

Free Seminar Opportunity:  See below for to learn more and to registe8