John William Waterhouse, Psyche Opening The Golden Box, 1903

2,055 words

Part 5 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here)

The final part of the Alcibiades I deals with the self and self-knowledge. Most ancient commentators held that this discussion is the core of the dialogue.

From Self-Cultivation to Self-Knowledge

Socrates has finally gotten Alcibiades to admit that he needs to pursue self-cultivation. But what is self-cultivation? We must answer that question lest we mistakenly cultivate something other than ourselves.