Socrates the Philosophy of Socrates

Socrates

The Philosophy of Socrates

It would not be an overstatement to say that the whole course of Western philosophy was influenced by the Greek philosopher known as Socrates. Although he did not leave any writings of his own or, at least, none of these were preserved, his philosophy and his personality are conserved in many of the works of his associates or disciples. Socrates' most famous appearances as a character are definitely those in Plato's dialogues, where he is portrayed as 'the greatest man who ever lived.' However, it has been argued that Plato might have used Socrates' figure rather as a display for his own philosophy. Therefore, it is very difficult to ascertain the exact difference between Socrates as a historical figure and Socrates as a fictional character in Plato's dialogues. However, besides Plato's dialogues, little is known about the actual historical figure of Socrates. Born in the year 470 B.C. In Athens, he committed suicide in 399 B.C. after being convicted to imprisonment and then to death by the state. The extent of his influence and the virtual fanaticism Socrates elicited in his country is apparent thus in the simple fact of his being considered dangerous and consequently condemned to death for his ideas. Furthermore, it is known that he offered philosophy courses to his disciples, refusing though to receive any fee in exchange for his time. An outstanding personality, he distinguished himself as a rational thinker who practically revolutionized the Greek philosophy of his time and continued to influence Western philosophy throughout the ages.

Besides what can be derived directly from Plato's works, what can be plainly asserted of Socrates' philosophy is that he was notably the first thinker to change the focus of philosophy from the general theories related to the physical world, to theories of the human world: "Socrates was a central figure in the revolution in fifth century Greek thought that turned attention away from the physical world (of stars and eclipses) and toward the human world (of the self, the community, the law). It has been said that Socrates brought philosophy down to earth." Thus, it can be argued that Socrates was the first to promote a humanistic view of the universe. This is reflected in the importance of the spirit in Plato's world: the physical universe becomes a mere shadow of the spiritual, abstract values. Moreover, it can be stated that the focus of all of the Socratic philosophy was "virtue," in the sense in which the term was understood at that time. Thus, for Socrates, virtue was the supreme value which could only be translated as knowledge of good: "Socrates and other Greeks asked "What is virtue?" The Greek word that is generally translated as "virtue" is arete. Another translation for this term is "excellence." Virtue is a poor translation if it suggests ideas such as Christian charity, humility, and the like, since Socrates lived prior to Christianity and the Greeks themselves did not greatly admire charity and humility. It was Socrates' belief, then, that human excellence consists in knowledge." It wasn't thus the moral good as it is now conceived by Christianity, but rather the excellence of being able to know what is good and what is wrong. The importance of self-knowledge in this theory is also a famous Socratic contribution. Thus, the landmarks of the Socratic philosophy can be established only by investigating the most important arguments in Plato's dialogue and the central points of his philosophy.

The influence exerted by Plato not only on philosophy as such but on the whole of the Western culture is tremendous, to the extent that scholars even stated that everything after Plato is but a series of commentaries to his work. Plato's philosophical method is that of question-and-answer also known as "elenchus" or the "Socratic method." Thus, his dialogues are formed around the pivotal figure of Socrates, who entertains profound philosophical enquires with other characters. Although it is hard to sum up all of Plato's philosophy, there is one undeniably essential idea at the core of his speculations: the theory of Forms or Ideas. Although Socrates' own philosophy cannot be easily delimited from that of Plato himself, it is arguable that he must have been the main inspiration for Plato's dialogues. As such, Plato makes Socrates the voice behind all his main philosophical arguments. Thus, Plato assumed that the shape of everything that exists in the world is but a shadow or a reflection of an essential Idea or Form. Naturally, the philosopher considered that these forms were exemplary items: for instance, the Form of Beauty represented ideal or perfect beauty, whereas the Form of Justice represented perfect justice. It is obvious than that, according to Plato, the essential qualities of things or the archetypes are primordial elements, preceding the material or the abstract things in the universe. According to the same model, our souls precede our bodies in existence. This theory triggered Plato's despise for the purely sensuous knowledge that can be derived from the mere use of our senses. To him, the senses can only offer biased and tainted perceptions that stray from the actual truth.

Plato's epistemological theory thus consists of the idea that knowledge can only be attained through the exercise of the pure intellect, unalloyed by the misleading sensuous perception. Needless to say, philosophy stands out as the true method of enquiry into the mysteries of the world since it offers the purest use of the intellect above bodily experience. These ideas permeate most of Plato's dialogues, but here only the most famous works will be investigated. Thus, Phaedo relates the last moments and actions of Socrates before his death. As such, the dialogue is concerned primarily with death and the usual reaction of fear and concern displayed by men in front of it. Interestingly, Socrates prescribes a fearless attitude in front of death and not as a wise response to its inevitability but as celebration of the separation between the soul and the body: "Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the right way to philosophy are directly and of their own accord preparing themselves for dying and death."("Phaedo," 64 d) Thus, the philosopher is the only one who is truly prepared for death precisely because he applies himself to the purely intellectual mode of perception in the world.

Moreover, another essential point in Plato's epistemological philosophy is the famous metaphor or comparison between Socrates as a philosopher and a midwife. Apparently, this comparison might have indeed belonged to Socrates himself. Thus, in Theaetetus, Socrates makes a comparison between his role as a philosopher who is responsible for delivering the truth into the world, and that of a midwife who helps to bring life into the world: "You are forgetting, my friend, that I neither know nor claim as my own anything of the sort. None of them are my offspring. It is you I am delivering, and that is why I chant incantations and offer you tastes from each of the wise, until I bring your opinion into the light of the world -- when it has been brought forth, then will be the time to examine whether it is a wind-egg or quick with life. Until then, take heart and persevere with your answers, telling me bravely, whatever I ask about, exactly what appears to you." (Plato, 157) Miles F. Burnyeat argued in his essay, Socratic Midwifery, Platonic Inspiration, that Socrates's role as a philosopher is analogical to that of the midwife in the fact that it helps the truth to be born in the mind, at the same time easing the pains of perplexity: "The equivalent in Socrates' art of spiritual midwifery is his arousing and allaying the pains of perplexity (151ab), thereby stimulating the further creative thought needed to bring to birth the opinion Theaetetus has conceived."(Benson, 59) a very important metaphor in Plato's philosophy, this analogy between Socrates and a midwife points to the essential role of the philosopher in the world. The emphasis on the effort to attain knowledge is also important, as it summarizes a great part of the Socratic philosophy.

To a certain extent however, Socrates was notably a paradoxical thinker who emphasized knowledge as well as doubt with relation to knowledge. His skepticism may seem a contradiction only at first sight however, as it makes perfect sense on a closer analysis. Thus, Socrates advocates that it is not knowledge itself that should be doubted but rather the reliability of the person that claims it. In Plato's Early Theory of Knowledge Paul Woodruff observes that Socrates did not disbelieve in knowledge but rather in the ability of many people to gain it. This is obvious in the method of enquiry that he generally applies to his interlocutors in Plato's dialogues, where he times his questions so that he might verify whether what a certain person claims is valid in all possible circumstances: "When Socrates disclaims knowledge or undermines the claim of another, he does not do so by attacking the truth, the certainty, or even the source of the particular item of knowledge that is in question. Instead, he challenges the reliability of the person who claims knowledge, by asking him for a definition that would hold for all circumstances. The point is not to ascertain whether he is right in this case, but to see whether his claim could hold for every case. This is close to the skeptical issue, but deceptively so."(Benson, 87) in the Socratic view therefore, knowledge is perceived as the greatest possible virtue of the soul. Thus, it is through knowledge that a person may distinguish between right and wrong and thus act virtuously. The process of attaining knowledge is nevertheless an arduous one, not being easily available to its seekers. The role of philosophy is thus central to the proper functioning of the human society since it is comparable to the practice midwifery in that it helps to deliver man from perplexity and allow truth to be born in the mind.

In terms of ethics, Socrate advocates therefore that all wrongdoing is the result of a cognitive error rather than a willful performance of evil. Otherwise, men strive only towards the attainment of good, but are at times liable to mistake wrong for good. A central principle in the Socratic ethics is certainly that of Love. Love is easily portrayed as the highest good, an ideal form of harmony and communion that determines people to excel in virtue and goodness: "Thus we find that the antiquity Love is universally admitted, and in very truth he is the ancient source of all our highest good."("Symposium, 178 c) in one of his most famous dialogues, the Symposium, Plato gives a very eloquent example of what is usually termed 'Platonic love' or simply his idea of love. Naturally, bodily desire and the mere bodily union between two lovers is inveighed in an impassioned manner, as an imperfect realization of love. One of the examples offered is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice ("Symposium," 179 e). According to Socrates, Orpheus is naturally punished for chasing only a shadow (Eurydice's form in the Inferno) rather than the essence of love. Love is actually seen not only as the attraction between two human souls but as the regulating principle of love brings together the opposites in nature, such as between hot and cold, rhythm and discord and so on: "Medicine seems to me to prove that, besides attracting the souls of men to human beauty, Love has many other objects and many other subjects, and that his influence may be traced both in the brute and the vegetable creations, and I think I may say in every form of existence..."("Symposium," 186 b) Love is seen thus as a principle in nature, which is essential in attenuating the contrasts between things and creating an all-reigning harmony. Music itself, as the tendency towards harmony recalls the science of love: "And so we may describe music, too, as a science of love, or of desire -- in this case in relation to harmony and rhythm."("Symposium," 187 c) Another interesting idea in the Symposium is the fact that Plato assumes the primordial existence of a third sex besides the two main male and female sexes: the hermaphrodite. Obviously, the hermaphrodite represents the idea of a unifying sexual principle: "The three sexes, I may say, arose as follows. The males were descended from the Sun, the females from the Earth, and the hermaphrodites from the Moon, which partakes of either sex, and they were round and they went round..."("Symposium," 180 b) Thus, Platonic love is a universal, governing principle whose role is to unify the different aspects of existence.