The Wisdom of Socrates - Essay Example

?The Wisdom of Socrates Introduction Ancient wisdom is often associated with philosophers who ventured out into the world sharing their thoughts and ideas to anyone who would care to listen. One of the most influential philosophers in history is Socrates, who has mentored the likes of Plato. This paper will discuss Socrates’ views and the timeless wisdom he exhibited during his time. Body Socrates is most revered by people although he does not have the beauty of other thinkers. He uses this to his advantage as he comes up with humour to poke fun at his external appearance while enticing people to think deeply about his ideas1. Socrates uses himself as an example when he teaches that beauty does not guarantee happiness. True beauty is inner beauty, the beauty of one’s spirit and character. In conjunction with happiness, which was also a construct that Socrates discussed, he denotes that one cannot tell if a person is happy or not based on his external appearance, but happiness, like kindness, is a matter of inner qualities. His famous motto: “An unexamined life is not worth living” is a testimony to how much he values thinking and philosophy and the perennial introspection of why we exist. Constantly reflecting about one’s life and impact on others creates meaning for a person and Socrates encourages that we indulge in deep, critical thinking ourselves at all times. Socrates’ legacy is not volumes of his philosophical writings, but how he impacted the thinking of other philosophers. Plato described him as an “unambivalent” individual who stood clearly for some values and firm against others. For him, there were no gray areas2. As a sophist, or wizened people who taught valuable skills for a price, Socrates went against their practice and did not charge for his instruction3. He is considered a paradigmic individual who is known to provoke intense reactions among people – love and acceptance or rejection and exclusion of his ideas. Being so, he is very “influential as a teacher, adviser, social reformer or a significant religious figure”4. His words are powerful enough to strike one’s emotions and conscience especially with moral dilemmas that can compromise one’s integrity. He has been known for his discourses using questioning or the Socratic dialectic wherein he draws out the truth from people by asking them questions. He believes that each person possesses an inherent truth and it only takes deep questioning to let it out. In doing so, the person comes up with a clearer definition of a key concept from his own thinking. Socrates believes this as a more effective method of learning rather than filling up an empty vessel with knowledge, or spoonfeeding information. The Socratic method involves a series of questions until a contradicting view surfaces to oppose the initial assumption.5 His controversial style is unparalleled and can be considered too heavy for some people because he communicates on more than one level. With his Socratic irony, he maintains two levels of meaning – the literal or obvious level and the hidden or real level. People with deep wisdom can easily understand his thinking and realize that things are not always as they first appear. Sometimes, there is a deeper meaning that should be unearthed6. The inquisitor begins with a position of not knowing anything but leads the questioning.7 At times, though, he uses ambiguous, but well-chosen examples in his discourses. They may even be counterintuitive or poorly supported claims, but he uses them with discernment, knowing that it would bring about more thinking from his students and could be a better strategy in achieving protreptic and pedagogical goals.8 In this way, Socrates may be considered a unique kind of teacher who successfully keeps his audience at awe of his teachings, ever alert and vigilant for bits of knowledge they can gain from such a wise man. From his earlier interest in scientific theories, he moved on to thinking about the development of the moral character of a person.9 Having served as a soldier in the Poloponnesian War, he was immersed in the political turmoil that took place in Athens, thereafter, he retired to live a simple life as a family man to his wife Xanthippe and their children. They lived on his inheritance from his father, the sculptor, Sophroniscus. Socrates was content living humbly, devoting his time and effort drawing out the wisdom of aristocratic young scholars of Athens without payment.10 He was held in the highest respect by esteemed students who also turned out to be great thinkers. Kierkegaard, a well-known philosopher is one such admirer who considers Socrates as a true martyr.11 He believed that although Socrates was impoverished, ridiculed and condemned, he continued his mission to deliver wisdom. His martyrdom was not due to public execution but involved public derision and rejection, a martyrdom of laughter.12 Socrates’ strength laid in his beliefs. He preaches that if a man has wisdom, then he would not need good fortune on top of it because a wise person will succeed in overcoming the external circumstances that may affect his efforts. His success depends on his own wise choices .13 He cannot deny the fact that material goods are necessary to man’s survival but living well does not stop on the acquisition of material wealth. He believes that in order to achieve happiness, a person must use his assets and possessions beneficially, as they are no good if they are left unused. Still, to be able to use his goods correctly would require wisdom. Therefore, one should seek wisdom as it is the only that is truly good, as ignorance is the only thing that is truly bad.14 Indeed, Socrates has made a captive audience out of his students, turning them fanatically loyal to him. The parents of these young students, though, were wary of his influence on their children and his earlier association with other free-thinkers and enemies of the democratic regime, making him a controversial political figure.15 The controversy over virtue was addressed by Socrates. He believes that virtue cannot be taught but believes that it is already inherent in people, so when the need for virtue to manifest itself, it naturally comes out. Socrates calls this the doctrine of recollection and argues that knowledge and virtue are closely related. This means that deep inside, people know what is the right thing to do and can be virtuous if they choose to be.16 Socrates contends that no human ever does evil things knowingly and instead, do what is believed to be best. Bad behavior is attributed to one’s ignorance rather than human weakness. 17 Socrates seems to have no concern about what others may think of him. He would walk barefoot in Athens, unwashed with only one coat to cover him. For him, it is temperance he is practicing, which is the indifference to both the presence and absence of material pleasures.18 He also talked about the opposite of temperance which is incontinence, or the lack of self-control for appetites and passions. He claims that it is self-control that brings about pleasure and not self-indulgence. He explains that if one does not have self-control to delay the gratification of urges, then he ends up settling for quick food, cheap drink sleeping all day and crude sexual encounters. It makes him just a little more than animals.19 Whereas if he knows how to control himself and moderate his needs and wants, he gets to delight in things worth waiting for, usually, the ones with the best quality that would bring utmost pleasure. Because Socrates stood by his own principles and beliefs, no one could force him into believing otherwise. The Council of 500, in power during the time of Pericles, condemned him to death out of frustration for his alleged corruption of the minds of the youth with his teachings and his disbelief in their gods . Socrates was given a choice: his own death or just paying a fine. Socrates refused the fine and fulfilled his death sentence by drinking poison hemlock in the company of his friends.20 Socrates has left an indelible mark in the history of Philosophy. His kind of teaching was not one-directional, from the teacher to the student, but his ways may not be applicable to all educators if they do not have the same skill and knowledge as Socrates. His positive influence on the youth of Athens was delivered in a way that shocked them into understanding. He knew he needed to get their attention from all the distractions present around them, so he came up with strategies which may be considered eccentric to other educators. He found it necessary to intrigue and perplex them in order to jolt them from their complacency and get them to really think. He planted the desire in them to discuss some more and actually do philosophy. 21 Conclusion It was evident that Socrates, from the distant past, was a special individual whose thoughts and actions still impact the social science of Philosophy to this day. His monumental influence on great thinkers may not have been documented with his writings like most scholars would have wanted, but it was his distinct kind of philosophy and strategies that immortalized him. As a paradigmic individual, it was easy to be enamoured by his intellect and wit. He had the power to get people thinking deeply about life and how they should live it. It is good that he uses this gift to influence people towards good and not evil. Socrates may have had his eccentricities such as walking barefoot, being unwashed, not charging for his teaching, which he could, to support his family better, but despite his strange habits, a lot of good came out of it that benefitted his students and the whole world in general. It may not have been felt strongly by non-philosophers, but it is likely that authors of books they read may have been influenced by Socratic thinking, whether they know it or not. Bibliography Burgess, A.J. (2013) Kierkegaard's Socrates, The Corsair Affair, And The Martyrdom Of Laughter, Filozofia, 68(1): 38 Gill, N.S. (2013) Socrates. Retrieved on April 15, 2013 from http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/socratesbio/p/Socrates.htm Philosophypages.com (2011) Socrates. Retrieved on April 15, 2013 from http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/socr.htm Rider, Benjamin A. (2012) Socrates’ Philosophical Protreptic in Euthydemus 278c-282d, Archiv f. Gesch. d. Philosophie Vol. 94, pp. 208–228 Soccio, Douglas J. (2012) Archetypes of Wisdom, Wadsworth Publishing Company. Read More