The Problem Of Human Error

“Even if I have no power to avoid error in the first way just mentioned, which requires a clear perception of everything I have to deliberate on, I can avoid error in the second way, which depends merely on my remembering to withhold judgement on any occasion when the truth of the matter is not clear. Admittedly, I am aware of a certain weakness in me, in that I am unable to keep my attention fixed on one and the same item of knowledge at all times; but by attentive and repeated meditation I am nevertheless able to make myself remember it as often as the need arises, and thus get into the habit of avoiding error.”

In the Apology, Socrates aimed to do three things: defend his ideas and principles, continue to teach those who will open their mind and state that he knew regardless of what he said he was aware that all five hundred and one jurors knew who he was and disliked him. Socrates was well aware of the fact that he had made multiple enemies, he knew that the politicians, poets, rich and craftsmen all

There is not a single person who has avoided being wrong throughout his or her entire life, or maybe even day. But also, nobody, or at least very few, accept fallibility as tolerable. Throughout history, there have been people who refuse to be wrong, and it often has lead to despondency. Although everyone wants to be right, fallibility is a necessary step to avoiding harm and improving the world.

Whether Socrates is portrayed correctly or not, he certainly was a great man. His contribution to western thought cannot be denied. For even if his teachings were different from what they are known to be at present, his influence on Plato is immense. And so, it is no small matter to describe the tragic passing of such a man as Socrates was and remains for philosophy today. Yet in all the indignation which is expected to arise at the death of Socrates, the panache with which he departs is captured excellently in Plato's “Apology.” Specifically, at the end of the "Apology," Socrates makes a very important statement that has had great impact on philosophy ever since its original proclamation. The

In Apology, Plato 's representation of Socrates states "as I thought and believed, to live the life of a philosopher, to examine myself and others". This statement is a response to the scornful remarks of the accusers asking him if he is not ashamed of where his "human wisdom" has gotten him. Socrates states that a "man who is any good" should only consider "whether he is acting like a good or a bad man". It is evident that Socrates views good character as an important trait of a wise person. He goes on to say that all men should take care

In regards to the first accusation - Socrates states that his primary life’s goal has been to investigate those who claim to have wisdom via rhetorical dialogue and he has come to find the subjects of his investigation lacking in actual wisdom. This, he posits, is why Apollo (or the Delphi Oracle as he refers to the god) has named him the wisest man in Athens. Socrates conjectures that it is because of his questioning of the wise and the powerful that he has come to make enemies of many Athenians who themselves possess power and clout. The result, he claims, is the trial that The Apology concerns.

Socrates was a pompous man who believed that he was wiser than most, if not all, Athenian men of his time. He is also credited as one of the fathers of western philosophy, his own philosophy revolving around the welfare of one’s soul and reflecting on what the good life was. He was told by an oracle that he was the wisest of men and spent a great deal of time trying to prove it false, he decided that he was considered wise for accepting that he knew nothing, and never claimed to know anything that he questioned. In Plato’s text “Apology” Socrates is depicted as a man who was arrogant, hypercritical of others, and fixed on his ways no matter the consequences. He had the qualities of a man who saw no error in what he was doing because he

In the Apology, Socrates is standing before the judges for his trial of corruption of the youth and questioning the gods. Socrates is supposed to employ a defensive speech to persuade the judges of his innocence. However, he appeals for his own defense by protecting his public image. His rhetoric and speech to the men of Athens does not go for their emotions or to aid his situation. Instead, he tells the jury a story about how the Delphic Oracle told him he was the wisest man. Socrates believes that people may have a false connotation of the Delphic Oracle, and claims that by acknowledging his ignorance, he knows that he does not know. This has stark contrast to those who Socrates challenges after speaking to the Delphic Oracle because these people are ignorant to their

One piece of advice offered by Epictetus that Socrates would agree with is that “if you want to make progress, let people think you are a mindless fool about externals, and do not desire a reputation for knowing about them” (#13). Socrates does not try to convince others that he has supreme knowledge or expertise, nor does he have the desire too. However, since the oracle proclaimed that Socrates is the wisest of all men, he repeatedly proves to pompous individuals that they are not wise, even though they think they are. Socrates is considered so wise because he consciously admits what he doesn’t know, rather than lying to himself like most other men (Apology, 22 d-e).

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates goes against everything in order to teach about what being knowledgeable means, he stays true to what he believes in, and is dedicated to his philosophy despite what others think of him. To begin with, Socrates goes against everything he knows in order to teach, what the main theme in this reading, knowledge. In the argument, Socrates was told “that no man was wiser than he” and it confused him because Socrates believed that he knew very little. Socrates

Apology, in Socrates day, stood for defense rather than seeking forgiveness, as it is now commonly used. To Socrates, it did not matter to him whether or not he was persecuted, as long as he did what was correct. Socrates whole philosophy is that to know knowledge is to have wisdom, and to have wisdom is to know oneself. The people of Athens did not like Socrates due to both the early accusers and late accusers; however, Socrates provides an argument to put these fallacies to rest. Plato’s Apology is the story of Socrates defending himself against the charges placed upon him of corrupting the youth, not believing in the gods, and by making the lesser argument the stronger. Socrates argues that he became a Philosopher so that he could find what he was looking for, which is the search for human excellence. To Socrates, questioning is not skepticism, and he searches for the truth by asking questions to those who are known to have knowledge in society in hopes of finding true wisdom. While questioning those who proclaim to have knowledge, Socrates finds that these people are lacking, which provokes the townspeople to find Socrates a threat. Socrates Apology is about lying to rest the accusations of both the earlier and later accusers, while proving that all he was searching for is human excellence and truth, which he does not have, but in Socrates view is the main purpose and greatest achievement of life.

The "Apology" is Plato's version of Socrates' speech to the jury in his own defense. The story The Trail and Death of Socrates portrays the idea that is around Socrates as being a hypothetical human. His "mission" was to expose the ignorance of those who thought themselves wise. "For most of his time he was a well-known character, expounding his philosophy of life in the streets of Athens to anyone who cared to listen." We are able to take this into a deeper meaning when he gives his speech to the Athenians jury. He justifies his position by recapitulating scenarios and how they can be interpreted. Furthermore, he continues to defend himself on his behalf insisting that he is trying to make his civilization unified with people becoming wiser

In The Apology, Socrates’ character is totally different from what Aristophanes described him to be. He seems to be a very ethical man who strongly believes in morality, and is always striving to learn more. By doing so, he uses the Socratic dialogue; a method of constantly asking questions to gain more knowledge. Because of his method of question and answer, Socrates believed that he was not favored by majority of the people of Athens, stating “I am very unpopular with many people.” (The Apology: 28: B) Although Socrates knew that he would be tried guilty, he wanted to obey the law by defending himself. He strongly believed that if a person makes an agreement, then they are obligated to follow that agreement at all times, therefore the people of Athens should always follow the law.

Is human error different than a Black Swan event? Can human error lead to a Black Swan event? To me I feel that human error is dissimilar than a black swan event because even though we can anticipate/expect that something could occur or happen; really not giving attention to or not being stressed out about it, is human error, or is it only that we don’t put a lot of importance to assure that an event does not happen? Both theses questions are common mistakes people make each and every day and should be taken into consideration to prevent such events from ever happening again. Yet, taking risk is in fact just typical/human error. Another example of human error is the atomic emergency that occurred to Fukushima where everyone thought it was

Errors occur most likely during the decision making process called cognitive nearsightedness. Cognitive nearsightedness happens when a person act on the impulse to make a decision by ignoring doubt of their decision that will transpire in the future (Swanson, Territo, Taylor, 2012). This decision based on luck leads people to become overconfident in their decision making process instead of them taking the time out and outweighing the cost verses the benefit. Making a quick decision in the moment could possibly lead to fatal outcomes (Swanson, Territo, Taylor, 2012). Another common error in decision making is the assumption that the future will repeat itself. When making decisions we must consider the outcome. It is easy to look back in history and think it will not change or have any impact in today’s