Antike Kritik an der sokratischen Pädagogik am Beispiel der Epikureer

This article reviews the surviving evidence for the Epicurean appraisal of Socrates and assesses how that reception shaped Epicurean views on pedagogy and philosophical identity. After assembling the testimonia—principally Epicurus, Metrodorus, Colotes, Philodemus, Plutarch, and Cicero—the study distinguishes two main strands of argument. 1) A critical strand accuses Socrates of εἰρωνεία (ironic dissimulation) and aligns him with the sophists, presenting his method as incompatible with the Epicurean ideal of open, direct teaching (παρρησία). 2) A conciliatory strand, attested above all in Philodemus, highlights points of convergence, including temperance, therapeutic self-examination, and preparedness for death. By tracing how these strands interact within Epicurean polemics, the article shows that disagreement over Socrates served as an internal catalyst for clarifying Epicurean educational principles and for marking the boundaries between schools. The case illustrates more broadly how polemical engagement in the Hellenistic period could function both as a means of self-definition and as a channel for the selective appropriation of rival doctrines.