In “Open Socrates,” Agnes Callard argues for a way of being that sounds a lot like her own.

In the complex and often violent political arena of ancient Greece, ideals of civic engagement and self-determination mingled ...

405 pp. $35. Many know that Socrates declared that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” And that he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for “corrupting the youth” of Athens.

OPEN SOCRATES: The Case for a Philosophical Life, by Agnes Callard Maybe this ... politicians in Athens and before being sentenced to death. Callard was so enthralled by Socratic philosophy ...

But in “Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life,” Agnes Callard illustrates ... discussion on topics such as love, politics and death. Callard's book is intellectually challenging ...