# The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders - Hardcover

by **Massimo Pigliucci** (Author)

**What Socrates's greatest failure reveals about an ancient question: Can we teach our leaders to be better people?**

Is good character something that can be taught? In 430 BCE, Socrates set out to teach the vain, power-seeking Athenian statesman Alcibiades how to be a good person--and failed spectacularly. Alcibiades went on to beguile his city into a hopeless war with Syracuse, and all of Athens paid the price.

In _The Quest for Character_, philosophy professor Massimo Pigliucci tells this famous story and asks what we can learn from it. He blends ancient sources with modern interpretations to give a full picture of the philosophy and cultivation of character, virtue, and personal excellence--what the Greeks called _arete_. At heart, _The Quest for Character_ isn't simply about what makes a good leader. Drawing on Socrates as well as his followers among the Stoics, this book gives us lessons perhaps even more crucial: how we can each lead an excellent life.

### Author Biography

**Massimo Pigliucci** is the K. D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. The author or editor of sixteen books, he has been published in the _New York Times_, the _Wall Street Journal_, the _Washington Post_, and _Salon_, among others. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

**Number of Pages:** 272

**Dimensions:** 1 x 8.5 x 5.83 IN

**Publication Date:** September 27, 2022

## Details

- **Price:** 28.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 28.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders - Hardcover

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