[coberst]

How can I walk in the shoes of Socrates?

The following is an attempt to develop a means for us to empathesize with Socrates.

Many decades ago a professor of philosophy told me that “philosophy is about radically critical self-consciousness”. It was thirty years later that this statement began to make sense to me.

To become critically self-conscious is to tread on the path to a philosophical frame of mind. If you treat this imaginary problem that I lay out here as more than thoughtless past time you might begin to comprehend what that philosophy professor thinks philosophy is about.

Imagine that you and a thousand other people live deep in the isolated and frozen interior of Alaska. Imagine further that every one of you had been born colorblind and none had any idea what color was. Imagine further that you are an exercise nut and discovered, quite by accident, that if you performed a certain sequence of exercises you developed color perception.

What would you do?

If you tried to tell the others what would they do? Would you be able to convince any one of them to follow your example? How would you explain to them what you had accomplished?

Would they eventually kill you like the Athenians did Socrates?

[Boerseun]

Well, this made me think of the old story about the one-eyed man in the Land of the Blind.

Turns out he's not King.

Nope, in the Land of the Blind, the one-eyed man is a freak, and should be ousted and stoned and castigated for going on about this "seeing" crap.

[coberst]

Boerseun said:

Well, this made me think of the old story about the one-eyed man in the Land of the Blind.

Turns out he's not King.

Nope, in the Land of the Blind, the one-eyed man is a freak, and should be ousted and stoned and castigated for going on about this "seeing" crap.

Do those who presently inhabit the Land of the Blind have any hope of ever "seeing", i.e. becoming critically self-conscious?

Will they remain blind because they lack the brain power to do it or is it because they lack the character to do the difficult?

[Michaelangelica]

coberst said:

How can I walk in the shoes of Socrates?

sandals?
I am growing some hemlock.

[lawcat]

Depends on how you approach the problem. You can certainly walk in Socrates' shoes, or you can decide not to. I would advise that you do not walk in Socrates shoes.

Socrates, and let's remember that this is all based on Plato's writings, did not appraoch the education of Athenians properly, in my opinion. For that, he was killed. There are two reasons for this. First, based on Plato's writings. Socrates disregarded the power structure and was interested in rebuilding the Athens as a state to his own liking. This is explained in Plato's Republic.

Second, and maybe more important, Socrates was interrogatory in his education. This rubbed many the wrong way. Today, we know that one must pay attention to certain social norms to be successful. One of the basic rules is to appear interested in what others have to say. If questioning is required in conversation, this is done through open-ended questions that allow others to speak and express themselves. Such questions begins with "What is," "when," "where," "how," "please tell me," etc. On the other hand, you are not supposed to ask questions that contain "didn't you," "isn't that right," "would you say," that suggest answers. Socrates did just that. He would pretend that he was interested, when in truth he was patronizing and interrogating people and students.

So, being in Socrates' shoes means being interrogatory and anti-establishment. I do not advise doing that.

[Turtle]

socrates essentially committed suicide, as he had every opportunity, according to plato, to leave the city after his conviction and before his poisoning. to be or not to be, later wrote the bard of avon, and socrates went with the hemlock bodkin pumps. tough choice, bad decision. bring on the slings!

[Pyrotex]

Socrates (as related by Plato) often referred to himself as an annoying biting fly. He didn't just teach in the Academy, he wandered the markets, button-holing total strangers and asking them questions. Very pointed questions. This disturbed many people, as some of the questions addressed the nature of religion and the state.

So, I would ask you in return, WHY do you want to "walk in the shoes of Socrates"?

[coberst]

Pyrotex said:

Socrates (as related by Plato) often referred to himself as an annoying biting fly. He didn't just teach in the Academy, he wandered the markets, button-holing total strangers and asking them questions. Very pointed questions. This disturbed many people, as some of the questions addressed the nature of religion and the state.

So, I would ask you in return, WHY do you want to "walk in the shoes of Socrates"?

Socrates was a Dutch uncle. I try to be a Dutch uncle and Socrates is my role model.

[Pyrotex]

coberst said:

Socrates was a Dutch uncle. I try to be a Dutch uncle and Socrates is my role model.

Socrates was Greek.
What do you mean, "Dutch uncle"?

[coberst]

Pyrotex said:

Socrates was Greek.
What do you mean, "Dutch uncle"?

Dutch uncle—one who admonishes sternly and bluntly

[Turtle]

coberst said:

Socrates was a Dutch uncle. I try to be a Dutch uncle and Socrates is my role model.

who died & made you boss? my answer to gadflyage is a shot to the chops.

[coberst]

Turtle said:

who died & made you boss? my answer to gadflyage is a shot to the chops.

In the land of the blind the one-eyed man must take up the task of "Dutch uncle".

[Turtle]

coberst said:

In the land of the blind the one-eyed man must take up the task of "Dutch uncle".

ahhhh...so now you want me to be the dutch uncle! had to post that as i really do have only one eye. can i get you some herb tea?

[SaxonViolence]

Most folks that I've read, believe that applying the "Socratic Method" is a Sophist's trick--like Cold Reading.

You may have heard the expression "The Second Liar doesn't have a ghost of a chance".

The advantage in Socratic Dialog generally goes to the less scrupulous.

Anyone with a modicum of wit knows that it is very difficult to express any complicated idea concisely, and without a few apparent contradiction.

Socrates repeatedly leads his foils, and he often claims to be completely ignorant.....

When in fact, the alacrity with which he entangles his less devious debaters in a tangled skein of apparent contradictions proves that he has a very well-defined knowledge of the Philosophical questions he raises.

Saxon Violence