Consolation For Unpopularity By Alain De Botton

Socrates was a Western Ancient Athenian Greek philosopher who lived from 469 BCE until his death in 399 BCE. He was a student to another philosopher, Sophists, Socrates was different from most Greek philosophers he wanted to get at the truth and find out how one can truly be ‘good’ and moral in life. “To Socrates the soul is identified with the mind; it is the seat of reason and capable of finding the ethical truths, which will restore meaning and value of life” (ADD IN-TEXT CITATION SEMINAR). We continue to use many of Socrates teachings today, such as, ‘The Socratic method’, which is known as asking a question and within these questions you lead it to the answer you wanted to hear, many uses this as a teaching technique and is shown to be highly effective. A great number of Athenians looked up to Socrates and considered him the wise man of Athens, he had many followers whom would ask questions and seek answers. As popularity and following of Socrates grew so did accusations. The charges laid on Socrates by the Athenians were unjust and therefore his death was highly wrong in the eyes of true democracy that Athens was apparently known for. In this paper, I will discuss how Socrates was wrongfully convicted for the corruption of the youth despite having many young followers, introducing new Gods while still being considered an Atheist, and the main reason he was seen as a threat to Athens was that he brought change to the city.

Common sense is the knowledge of opinions and belief that people have in everyday life. However, it is something with no evidence to back it up. Common sense ideas are found through the struggles that people have lived through and so directly impact their opinions on certain subjects. Common sense ideas can be personal as everyone has a different outlook and opinion depending on background and experience. Taking the example of someone who is homeless. A common sensical thinker would think that they had become homeless due to not having a job or money. Common sense thinkers may also think that the reason for their homelessness comes from lifestyle, blaming alcohol and drug misuse or family for their predicament.

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness. (Critical thinking community, n.d.)

Through several dialogues Plato gives readers accounts of Socrates’ interactions with other Athenians. While some may think of him as a teacher of sorts, Socrates is adamant in rejecting any such claim (Plato, Apology 33a-b). He insists that he is not a teacher because he is not transferring any knowledge from himself to others, but rather assisting those he interacts with in reaching the truth. This assistance is the reason Socrates walks around Athens, engaging in conversation with anyone that he can convince to converse with him. An assertion he makes at his trial in Plato’s Apology is at the center of what drives Socrates in his abnormal ways, “the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being” (38a). Socrates, through aporia, looks to lead an examined life to perfect his soul and live as the best person he can be. This paper looks to examine the ‘unexamined life’ and the implications rooted in living a life like Socrates’.

Socrates was a revolutionary thinker. He brought new ideas and processes of thought to Athenian society and his work still has its place in the world today. However during his time, his ideas were not always thought of as a good thing. Many viewed him as a corrupting influence on other people and accused him of forcing his ideas upon others. Perhaps most frequently the center of controversy was his thoughts on theocracy and piety as seen in the Plato’s Euthyphro. Socrates also appears at the butt end of Aristophanes’ comedy Clouds, where he is satirically ridiculed and seemingly corrupting the youth of Athens in his school, the Thinkery. Although virtually completely seen as a positive influence now, in ancient times, Socrates may have

Socrates was a great philosopher of the Greek world. He was quite an atypical and distinctive person. Being different from all the other philosophers of the land, Socrates was teaching his students ideas totally out of the ordinary from what the society believed was right. As a result, he displeased many people so much that they decided to get rid of him. Socrates was put to trial, accused of spoiling the youth of Athens, tried and sentenced to death. His personal defense is described in works two of his students: Xenophon and Plato. Both of them wrote papers called Apology, which is the Greek word for “defense”. In this essay I used Apology by Plato as the main resource, since it contents a more full account of the trial of Socrates and

In Aristophanes' Clouds and in Plato's Apology we see extensive fictional representations of the historical figure, Socrates, who left us no literary works under his own name. When comparing these two representations, readers often assume, as a result of the nature of the comedic genre, that Aristophanes' portrayal of Socrates is exaggerated and fallacious. On the other hand, Plato's account is often taken more seriously as a result of the philosophical genre and the respected reputation Plato has as wildly influential thinker in Western culture. Nevertheless, there are more congruencies between the two representations than one would initially think. I'll discuss some similarities between the two works that

His disapproval of Socrates’ teachings also reemphasizes the theme of the obvious disconnect between intellectualism and practicality, as well as philosophical knowledge and reality. Aristophanes provides his readers with an example of Unjust Argument, which is is full of spectacle and understanding which one finds impressive until you realize that his arguments are mere spouts of seemingly significant nonsense that have no actual, authentic importance. Aristophanes is unquestionably taking aim at specific philosophies and teachings of Socrates’ that he believes are potentially harmful to adolescents. The play personifies Socrates's fictional school and its instruction as morally harmful due to the fact that the knowledge it is teaching is ignorance within itself. As on can tell from the text, Socrates is portrayed as supporting the Unjust Argument. Aristophanes explains the Unjust Argument is essentially made up of using purely rhetorical arguments to manipulate people into supporting one’s ideas no matter how moral or truthful one’s beliefs are. The play shows us the potentially devastating consequences of learning perceived knowledge and buying into false intellectualism. Although, it is undeniable that Socrates concerned himself with the practice of logic

Common sense also consists of making decisions consistent with your morals, no matter the circumstances or the consequences. People must make difficult and complex decisions on a daily basis. Each choice, no matter how unimportant, has an everlasting effect on yourself and those around you. Referencing back to the Revolutionary War, the leaders of the revolution knew that a war must be waged in the name of liberty despite the great disadvantage to the powerful British

Socrates contrasted Athenians with a bewildered slow steed that could conceivably be stirred by diligent gnawing of an (irritating) fly. This could of Socrates as a transformative ‘philosophical gadfly’ enlivened numerous who have pursued about Socrates’ life and death.

Alcibiades reveals the workings of his relationship with Socrates, layering his dialogue with a mix of praise and blame. Utterly entranced by the power over others that Socrates enjoys through the use of his philosophical method, Alcibiades exclaims that “let anyone--man, woman or child--listen to you or even to a poor account of what you say--and we are all transported, completely possessed.”(215D). This ability resonates on a deep level with Alcibiades’ affinity towards personal distinction. The enchanting element of Socrates’ nature deceives Alcibiades into thinking of Socrates as his lover. Alcibiades supposes that by providing Socrates with sexual favors he might “teach me everything he knew”(217A). That is, Alcibiades had hoped to gain insight from Socrates’ hidden wisdom for personal

In which Aristophanes introduces an overly exaggerated mad man called Socrates, who makes ridiculous claims and speaks a great deal of non sense (Plato 21). It’s very possible that Aristophanes comedy was successful in influencing the only public opinion of Socrates at the time. 5. What is the precise meaning of the word asebeia? How can you explain the fact that in a society as open and democratic as that of Athens, Socrates could have been indicted on a charge of asebeia?

Many dislike his skepticism of some of the most prominent figures within Athens. Along with this, a satirical play called Clouds was created in 423 B.C. that was solely dedicated to making fun of Socrates. These two factors have contributed to widespread disapproval of Socrates. Consequently, the very audience that Socrates is addressing in his speech is completely biased against him. Socrates says that if he were to ask his critics “…what he does and what he teaches to corrupt them, they are silent, as they do not know, but, so as not to appear at a loss, they mention those accusations that are available against all philosophers” (28).

Aristophanes’ Clouds, if read hastily, can be interpreted as a mindless satyr play written in 419 BCE. Yet the chorus warns the reader not to expect the play to have farcical ploys like “a hanging phallus stitched on” the actors to evoke a laugh, but has underlying seriousness as “she [the play] comes in trusting only her words” (Clouds 538-44). Even if the play does use some low devices, the play’s message is sophisticated and can be read as a warning to Socrates. Aristophanes is a “friendly critic” of Socrates and warns Socrates to change his ways for Athens and for the good of himself (Whidden). Plato’s Symposium and especially his Apology of Socrates justify the claims made in Clouds about the dangers of philosophy and Socrates to

In ancient Greece, being a philosopher carried various implications, several of which were unfavorable. In a time when natural philosophers were accused for being non-believers in the traditional deities and sophists were defamed for selling their intellectual services for money, Socrates fit in neither category. Nonetheless, the moment Socrates decided to become an enquirer, or a philosopher of human nature, he was chastised. His enemies, men he had either insulted or embarrassed, sought vengeance and in their process to do so, tried to define him. Accused of being an atheist and a corruptor of the youth, Socrates was viewed harshly by the society he lived in, but, despite this, his true nature revealed itself through his words and Plato’s dialogues. His prosecutors aimed to vilify his name and profession, and ultimately sentence him to death, a goal they eventually completed, but the accusations were not definitive of who he was. Socrates was a philosopher, first and foremost, attempting to find the reasons for various phenomenon, but he was also a self-professed prophet, indirectly given a prophecy from the gods, determined to use dialectic to bring about self-awareness in his fellow citizens. His ideologies, thus, became the building blocks for the philosophers of the generations succeeding him.