4 Being Seized by an Idea: Socrates’s Daydreams, Theory of the Event, and the Experience of Study

In this article, the author describes studying as an experience of being seized by an idea, of withdrawing from the world only to emerge as a speaking being, and of getting lost in thought. These features of studying are discussed against the backdrop of Socrates’s daydreaming episodes. The author claims that Socrates’s habit of daydreaming is an instance of how the experience of study can manifest itself to the outside world. Along with the three features of study, there is another dimension of study that needs to be acknowledged. While the logic of learning only pivots around the constant accumulation of knowledge, studying is also about loss and undoing. We can forget, ignore, or repress what we have learned, and this castrating effect of studying needs to be acknowledged. The author concludes that even though the knowledge we acquire through studying might be lost, we still accept the experience as educationally valuable.