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Socratic Irony, Plato's Apology, and Kierkegaard's On the Concept of Irony

In this paper I argue that Plato s Apology is the principal text on which Kierkegaard relies in arguing for the idea that Socrates is fundamentally an ironist. After providing an overview of the structure of this argument, I then consider Kierkegaard s more general discussion of irony, unpacking the distinction he draws between irony as a figure of speech and irony as a standpoint. I conclude by examining Kierkegaard s claim that the Apology itself is “splendidly suited for obtaining a clear concept of Socrates ironic activity,” considering in particular Kierkegaard s discussion of Socrates remarks about death and his use of Friedrich Ast s commentary to help his readers to discover the irony that he contends runs throughout Socrates defense speech.