2068- SOCRATES
Socrates was born around
469-470 BCE.
He is famous for introducing
a way of learning that engaged the students in a dialogue- the question would be
put on the table- and thru rigorous debate- you would come to an understanding
thru the process of questioning.
This is referred to as the
Socratic Method.
Socrates came on the scene
during the famous Spartan wars.
The other day I watched
the movie 300- which depicts the battle between the city state of Athens against
the city/state of Sparta.
As you know- the Athenians
suffered a great defeat at the hands of the Spartans.
The Spartans were
outmanned by the Athenians- but their motto was ‘come back with your shields-
or on them’.
They were a true warrior
nation- trained to fight from their youth- and this defeat sent the people of
Athens into a time of disillusionment.
They questioned the power
of their gods- and a sort of malaise fell over Athens after the defeat.
This was when Socrates
entered the fray- when the people had many questions about life.
He was called the Gadfly
of Athens- a title that would also be given to the 19th century
Danish father of existentialism- Soren Kierkegaard.
They were called Gadfly’s-
because they were like flies that would pester you- and elicit a response.
The leadership of Athens
saw Socrates as one that was stirring up the youth of his day- and creating discontent
among the populace.
He rejected the many god’s
of the day- but did have a belief in a single deity- he- like the Christians 4
centuries later- would be accused of atheism- because of his rejection of
multiple god’s.
He was sentenced to death
in 399 BCE- and his form of execution was drinking Hemlock.
His most famous student-
Plato- spoke with him before his death.
Many were surprised at how
willingly Socrates faced his demise- and this willingness had a great impact on
those who witnessed it.
Socrates never wrote anything-
but most of what we do know about him comes from the writing of others- most
notably from Plato’s Dialogues.
Plato wrote down what Socrates
taught- In his writings we see Socrates engaging in this method with various
people- thus the name of Plato’s works- Dialogues.
There is a debate about
how much of what was written about him was actually true- Plato did add his own
ideas into these debates- and the controversy about this is so strong that we
actually have a name for it- the ‘Socratic Problem’.
During the time of the disillusionment
of the Athenians- there were a group of philosophers known as the Sophists.
The word comes from Sophia-
meaning wisdom.
Philosophy itself means
The Love of Wisdom.
In our day the words Sophomore-
Sophistry and Sophisticated are derived from this root word.
The Sophists were the
original Pragmatists.
Pragmatism is a form of
belief that says ‘do what works- regardless of the ethical implications’.
We will get to Pragmatism
at the end of this whole series on Philosophy.
But for now- we see the division
between what Socrates taught- and the Sophists.
Socrates did indeed teach
a form of Ethics- which contrasted with the Sophists.
He said that the pursuit
of virtue was better than the pursuit of wealth- much like the words of Jesus ‘what
does it profit a man if he gain the world- and lose his soul’.
His most famous saying is
‘The unexamined life is not worth living’.
He emphasized the importance
of mind over body- which inspired Plato’s philosophy of dividing reality into 2
separate realms- the world of senses and the world of ideas.
Socrates actually
challenged the Democratic process- he believed it better for the wise men- the
Philosopher Kings- to run the show.
Athens did have a form of Democracy
at the time- and because of the rise of the Sophists- and the itinerant
teachers- you had sort of an election process- much like in our day- where
those who would attain office were those who spoke the best- and made the best
public argument.
We elect judges and stuff in
our day- and even presidents- not because they are the most capable- but because
they ran the best campaign.
So- in a way I agree with Socrates-
at times I think we need a better process of electing those to higher office-
then the one we have now.
It’s important to note that
even though we started this study with Thales- and in the study of Western
philosophy it’s commonly understood to have started with Thales.
Yet- Socrates seems to be
the Father of philosophy in many ways.
He probably has had the
most influence in the field philosophy- and the 2 great philosophers that we’ll
get to next come right out from the heels of Socrates [Plato and Aristotle].
Why is this important to
note?
As we progress in this
study- and get closer to the 19th/20th century philosophers-
we will see a trend- away from the idea that there are actually any ethical
values- moral virtues- or ‘right or wrong’.
These philosophers dabbled
with the idea that values themselves are the cause of man’s problems [Freud].
So- keep in mind- one of
the main streams of thought in the early stages of philosophy was that values
were indeed the main thing- Socrates challenged the Sophists of his day- he
said that moral virtue was very important- that to live life with the values of
courage- honesty- self-denial- these were the things that made men good- noble.
The bible says ‘the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ ‘those that seek the Lord understand
all things’.
Christian tradition would agree
with Socrates in many ways- Jesus showed us that the virtue of service to
others- to love your fellow man- to honor God- that these were indeed the heart
of the matter.
Socrates feared the loss
of virtue in society- that if we simply lived for the present time- with no
higher values [a form of hedonism] then the foundations of society will erode.
He also believed that it
was good to question things- not to simply believe a thing for the sake of
believing.
Over time- thru debate and
the discourse of other people- he believed you would get to the truth.
The bible says ‘in the
multitude of counselors there is safety’.
Yeah- as people have a
conversation- as they dialogue- often times they themselves come up with the
answer to the question.
The apostle Paul penned
the letter to young Timothy- he said ‘preach the word- in doing this you will
save yourself- and those that hear you’.
Yeah- when you engage- and
even try and teach others- this will have an effect on you too- the actual act
of engaging- of teaching- often brings more insight to the one doing the communicating-
then the ones who hear.
Yeah- I like Socrates- he believed
in what he taught- he drank the Hemlock- knowing full well that his life would
pass- but he had belief- faith- that after death man would pass over into another
realm- a much better one.
No- he was not ‘Christian’
in the traditional sense of the word- but he was about as close as you could
get- for his time.
Note- Do me a favor, those who
read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read
them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [FaceBook#]
- I have posted lots.
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