James Joiner
PHI150
21 March 2017
Socrates
This paper will examine, in two parts, the worldviews of the philosopher Socrates. The first part will examine four of his worldviews using evidence from The Apology, The Crito, and The Phaedo, all written by Plato and depicting dialogues from Socrates. The first section of the paper will also use supplementary analysis from Socrates by George Rudebusch. The second section of this paper will be a critique of Socrate’s worldviews.
Part 1: Socrates’ Worldview
Knowledge
In the Apology, Socrates states “…that real wisdom is the property of the god, and this oracle is his way of telling us that human wisdom has little or no value” (Apology 23a). Upon hearing that the god at Delphi had pronounced
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Socrates believed wisdom to be of the utmost importance, essentially saying that without it, the soul is incomplete.
Condition
“No one knows with regards to death whether it is not really the greatest blessing that can happen to a man; but people dread it as though they were certain that it is the greatest evil” (Apology 29a). In his explanation of wisdom and knowledge, Socrates also reveals his worldview of the human condition. Socrates states that those who fear death are foolish because there is no possible way to know what it really holds. He believed that there were things far worse than death. Included among these were ignorance and foolishness. This ties in with his worldview of knowledge as he went to great lengths to seek out a person with more knowledge than himself, an act that defies ignorance according to his definition. Socrates believed that an ignorant life was not a life worth living. When he revealed the ignorance of the politicians, poets, and craftsmen, they were upset, further showing their ignorance in that they were offended in Socrates attempting to impart some wisdom on them. He further states, “I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; that would mean that they had an unlimited power for doing good, which would be a splendid thing. In fact they have neither. They cannot make a man wise or foolish” (Crito 44d). This further imparts Socrates belief that the human
In this paper, I will argue that the fear of the unknown is a form of ignorance from Socrates’ point of view. Socrates talks about how the people fear the unknown. Before the jury, Socrates’ wisdom comes from him acknowledging that he does not know what he does not do, his acknowledgment that he does not know what awaits him in the afterlife leads him not to fear it. A fear of death, is just another kind of false wisdom, of knowing the unknowable. On the other hand, he knows for confident that it would be wrong to disobey the will if Apollo and stop philosophizing, so he would be foolish to do what he knows is wrong to fear of an unknown magnitude. Socrates goes further to advise that if the court were to exonerate him only on the circumstances that he give up philosophizing, he would decline their offer, choosing to die rather than to disregard his duty to Apollo.
Blanchard, is a professor political science professor at Northern State University. He is also the author of many author book and articles. In his article, “The Enemies of Socrates: Piety and Sophism in the Socratic Drama,” he portrays the collision between the philosopher and his fellow citizens is the central dramatic event. These collisions between the philosophers’, tie the paper to the ideas of Socrates. In the article he mentions that Socrates dies because he arouses pious indignation. He makes his journal stronger by
Socrates is believed to be one of the greatest philosophers of all time and he is credited as being the founder of western philosophy. This paper will explain some of his views to the most fundamental questions of today’s age. These questions will include topics about morality, the human condition, solution, and death. After Socrates’ views on these topics are explained, a critique will be done on his answers. I will start out by explaining exactly who Socrates is, and the time that he lived in. To start out, we will first examine Socrates’ view on morality.
The portrayal of Socrates, through the book “the trial and death of Socrates” is one that has created a fairly controversial character in Western history. In many ways, Socrates changed the idea of common philosophy in ancient Greece; he transformed their view on philosophy from a study of why the way things are, into a consideration man. Specifically, he analyzed the virtue and health of the human soul. Along side commending Socrates for his strong beliefs, and having the courage to stand by those convictions, Socrates can be commended for many other desirable characteristics. Some of those can include being the first martyr to die for his philosophical beliefs and having the courage to challenge indoctrinated cultural norms is part of
Socrates put one’s quest for wisdom and the instruction of others above everything else in life. A simple man both in the way he talked and the wealth he owned, he believed that simplicity in whatever one did was the best way of acquiring knowledge and passing it unto others. He is famous for saying that “the unexplained life is not worth living.” He endeavored therefore to break down the arguments of those who talked with a flowery language and boasted of being experts in given subjects (Rhees 30). His aim was to show that the person making a claim on wisdom and knowledge was in fact a confused one whose clarity about a given subject was far from what they claimed. Socrates, in all his simplicity never advanced any theories of his own
As the wisest man in all of ancient Greece, Socrates believed that the purpose of life was both personal and spiritual growth. He establishes this conviction in what is arguably his most renowned statement: "The unexamined life is not worth living."
The problem with Socrates concerns the problem with the role of value and reason. Nietzsche believes that the bulk of philosophers claim that life is a corrupt grievance for mankind. Nietzsche reasoned that these life deniers were decadents of Hellenism, as a symptom of some underlying melancholy. For someone to paint life in such a negative light they must have suffered a great deal through the course of their own life. Furthermore, these no-sayers agreed in various physiological ways and thus adopted the same pessimistic attitudes towards life. Socrates was ugly, alike decadent criminals and by ways of these similarities was decadent as well. Nietzsche also claims ugliness as a physiological symptom of life in its decline supported by studies in phenology.
Socrates was a very simple man who did not have many material possessions and spoke in a plain, conversational manner. Acknowledging his own ignorance, he engaged in conversations with people claiming to be experts, usually in ethical matters. By asking simple questions, Socrates gradually revealed that these people were in fact very confused and did not actually know anything about the matters about which they claimed to be an expert. Socrates felt that the quest for wisdom and the instruction of others through dialogue and inquiry were the highest aims in life. He felt that "The unexamined life is not worth living." Plato's Apology is the speech Socrates made at his trial. Socrates was charged with not recognizing the
A philosophical attitude toward life should play a major part in our lives. It is crucial for us as humans to learn and accept lessons learned through the experience of life. If you do not “examine your life” then what do you learn and what do you gain? Socrates’ in “The Trial and Death of Socrates” he details this in many ways. We can pull all the evidence and ideas we need from this text written by Plato. In the 3 parts Euthyphro, Apology and Crito many conclusions are made and there is much to learn from this text. Some of the most important parts allude to this idea of living life with a philosophical attitude. The book begins with the search for the definition of piety. In the apology Socrates’ details his side of the argument showing everyone the power of his own ideas and that is proved by his execution and finally in the Crito his commitment to his way of life is the last point that Socrates’ made. This text is chalked full of life lessons but the most important is the one that urges people to live their lives while never stopping to learn and think.
Plato was an Ancient Greek philosopher who lived between 428-432 B.C. He wrote mainly in dialogues, to stay true to how Socrates communicated philosophy. Plato displayed what is considered Socrates’ philosophy throughout the dialogue The Apology. In The Republic, Socrates is mainly used as a mouthpiece to communicate Plato’s philosophy. Socrates follows a philosophy best explained as “I do not know”, whereas Plato tries to find the ultimate solution to philosophical problems. In this essay, I will argue how Socrates has the best philosophical approach compared to that of Plato.
Socrates is eventually found guilty and is to fight no longer for his innocence, but against a penalty of death. As Socrates speaks to the jury he begins to speak more of the meanings of life opposed to the need for life. He claims, “it is the greatest good for a man to discuss virtue every day and those other things about which you hear me conversing and testing myself and others, for the unexamined life is not worth living for men.. (Cahn pg. Apology39 38a1-4).” Although Socrates never explicitly states why he feels this way, but upon reading this statement and analyzing its context one can grasp a sense of this argument. Socrates is arguing that life is unlived if it is not questioned and our thoughts are not examined. He understands that his wisdom is far greater than that of the jury, and he feels that all other punishments would leave him unhappy and dissatisfied. He would rather suffer death than to go against the laws of the state, although he is being wrongly convicted. He feels he has lived a good life and a true life because he was able to examine himself and others true
Socrates found his purpose through oracles and dreams by a divine power, “…since I was trying to find out the meaning of the oracle, I was bound to interview everyone who had a reputation for knowledge.” (Apology 22a), from the oracle of Apollo, Socrates believed that his purpose was to philosophize. Socrates would question reputable wise men and try to prove the oracle that he (Socrates) was not the wisest man. After interviewing men with a high reputation, Socrates began to expose them for their ignorance and their deficiency. He also determined that his wisdom was of no value, yet he was the wisest mortal. He also established that there are three levels of wisdom; “real wisdom” (the highest), being “wisest among men” (the middle), “not being wise, but seeming wise, especially to oneself” (the lowest). Even after establishing his purpose and proving the oracle, he felt as if he should still philosophize (Mission from God, pg. 20). Along with morality, Socrates had the belief that our purpose in life was to examine how to live, he thought that we must come
This, I believe, is what Socrates viewed wisdom as in Plato’s Apology. While it can be inferred that Socrates viewed wisdom as humility, knowledge, and self-knowledge through his examinations of the politicians, poets, and craftsmen, this is not Socrates’ complete view of wisdom. The more comprehensive view Socrates held of wisdom lies in his belief
Socrates, in skepticism, began a search for those with a reputation of wisdom. After studying men and their knowledge, he reasoned that the only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing. Although one may have extensive understanding in one area, there is way too much knowledge in the world to be contained by one man. Socrates stated, “I found that the men most in repute were all but the most foolish, and that some inferior men were really wiser and better” (Plato, 23). Those who believed that they knew it all could not be more ignorant, and those who admitted ignorance achieved the highest wisdom attainable on earth. Socrates accepted the idea that he, just like all men, contained very little or no wisdom at all. He was content with knowing this, and upon meeting others that lacked this philosophy, felt he was superior to them. He was unsure of the limitations the afterlife had on wisdom, but he was aware of it’s constraints on earth. This self awareness is what gifted him with the highest sense of enlightenment.
Socrates knew that he would be convicted and sentenced to death, so his speech on death was not foolish. He was just addressing the inevitable. He says that a man of any worth does not think of life and death or of anything except whether he is acting as a good or bad man. Socrates does not fear death, "for no one knows whether death may not be the greatest good that can happen to man. But men fear it as if they knew quite well that it was the greatest of evils."(24) Socrates was borderline foolish when he discussed his political career and how he was ill suited for it because was just and made his decisions accordingly. This was a thinly veiled allusion to the