preview

Socrates Impact On Child Development

Decent Essays

In Ancient Greece, the philosopher Socrates was a firm believer that nature was the dominant and sole driving force of man. Fellow philosopher Aristotle, however, believed that goodness could be taught to others through the correct and appropriate usage of nurture. While the age-old argument has yet to be decided upon, modern day sociology dictates that child development relies heavily on the environment and relationships surrounding them; if the two are negative, they will have detrimental effects on the child. If the way children are nurtured (or lack thereof) has such an impact on their development early in life, and subsequently affects who they become as adults, then it is safe to assume that nurture plays a larger part in human development than nature does. Although Socrates believes …show more content…

It becomes apparent that Socrates believes that nature triumphs over nurture when he proclaims to Meno, "...it turns out that being good is not something that can be taught; instead, it seems it arises by gift of god, and without understanding, in the people who have it" (Plato 133). Socrates attests to Meno that while it is certainly possible for men to be good, it is impossible for a man to learn to be good from a fellow peer or so-called "teacher." As Meno is unsatisfied with Socrates' argument, Socrates attempts to aid him in understanding by providing him with an explanation on the distinction between knowledge and opinion. Marthe Chandler, a professor of philosophy at DePauw university, describes this when she remarks, "Right opinion and knowledge are both as useful as the statues are lifelike, but just as the statues fly away if they are not tied down, right opinion leaves us--is forgotten--if it is not "tied down" by the logical reasoning

Get Access