French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Lévy, L’Alcibiade - Introduction à la lecture de Platon
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Benny Lévy, L’Alcibiade - Introduction à la lecture de Platon
Preface by Gilles Hanus.
Paris: Verdier, 2013.
480 p.
EAN 9782864327325
10.50 EUR
Publisher's overview:
Benny Lévy taught philosophy for some twenty years at Paris VII University. His teaching left a lasting impression on all his listeners through the sheer power of his spoken discourse, which constantly doubled back on itself and, above all, engaged in dialogue with everyone attending the lecture. These lectures typically focused on a work from the philosophical tradition, which he sought to comment on in its entirety whenever possible, or by focusing on its core articulations when it was not.
For Benny Lévy, the goal was thus to offer a reading of texts—a reading put to the test of oral presentation, enriched by confrontations with misinterpretations, resistance, misunderstandings, and confusion. It was a living, active reading of which the audience was a witness. Although his lectures were meticulously prepared, he spoke without notes, pacing the room in rhythm with his unfolding thought. The lectures continuously revisited earlier concepts in order to refine or correct them.
The Alcibiades, which Benny Lévy—following the Neoplatonists—regarded as the ultimate introduction to reading Plato, is the subject of this lecture course delivered in 1996, the year he also moved to Jerusalem.
This volume presents a course of lectures delivered in 1996 by Benny Lévy, who taught philosophy for some twenty years at Paris VII University. Based on oral presentations delivered without notes, the book reflects a teaching method that engaged directly with listeners and confronted misunderstandings and confusion. Following the Neoplatonists, the author examines the Alcibiades as the ultimate introduction to reading Plato. The text captures a living reading of which the audience was a witness, centered on works from the philosophical tradition.
Readers interested in the reception of classical philosophy and pedagogical approaches to Plato may find this lecture course relevant. The volume forms part of a broader tradition of commentary focused on reading foundational texts in their entirety or through their core articulations. The publication preserves the distinctive voice of a thinker whose oral discourse continuously doubled back on itself to refine or correct earlier concepts. Gilles Hanus provides a preface to this edition published by Verdier in 2013.
