Download Trial of Socrates PPT

Archetypes of Wisdom
Douglas J. Soccio
Chapter 4
The Wise Man: Socrates
Learning Objectives
On completion of this chapter, you should be able to
answer the following questions:
What is the “Socratic problem”?
Why did some Athenians think that Socrates was a Sophist?
The Socratic Problem
According to W. K.C. Guthrie, any account of Socrates
(c.470-399 B.C.E.) must begin by acknowledging the
“Socratic problem.,” the fact that we have no first hand
accounts of his thought.
Socrates wrote no philosophy
Almost everything we know about him comes from his student,
Plato, and from Xenophon
Socrates’ philosophy is inseparable from the way he lived his life
Guthrie says that in the end, “we must all have to some
extent our own Socrates” – meaning that each of us has to
decide for ourselves just what Socrates actually thought.
The General Character of
Socrates
Plato presents Socrates as an integrated individual who
stood clearly for some values, such as goodness and
beauty, and clearly against others, such as money and
prestige.
He taught that beauty and goodness should be determined
by usefulness and fitness of function, rather than by mere
appearance or personal feelings of delight.
Socrates was reputed to be “less than attractive.”
Perhaps for this reason, Socrates taught that the true self is not the
body but the psyche – a combination of what we think of as the
mind and the soul.
Barefoot in Athens
Socrates was usually barefoot and apparently had only one
tattered coat, about which his friends joked.
His enemies accused him of being “unwashed.”
One of Socrates’ most noted characteristics was his
hardiness, reflected in remarkable self-control, or
temperance.
Temperance is indifference to the presence and absence of material
pleasures (not total abstinence or extreme asceticism).
Socrates’ Self-Control
In his Memorabilia , Xenophon emphasizes Socrates’ selfcontrol. Indeed, Socrates claimed that “to have no wants is
divine.”
Xenophon’s Socrates uses the term incontinence to talk about the
lack of self-control and self-discipline.
Paradoxically, a life of self-control – rather than the selfindulgence of satisfying all desire – leads to more pleasure.
That’s because someone with self-control can manage his own life
and be useful to his friends and society
Socrates as Father and Husband
We know little about Socrates’ personal life,
except that:
He was married to Xanthippe, with whom he had three
sons.
Although he was probably apprenticed as a stonecutter or
sculptor by his father, Socrates worked only now and then.
He lived off a modest inheritance.
He never took money for teaching (as the Sophists did), he
occasionally accepted gift s from his wealthy friends and
admirers.
An Archetypal (or
Paradigmatic) Individual
Socrates is a genuine archetypal (or paradigmatic)
individual.
The philosopher and psychologist Karl Jaspers coined the
term paradigmatic individual to refer to a special class of
teachers, philosophers, and religious figures whose nature
becomes a standard by which a culture judges the “ideal”
human being.
Socrates was one of those rare human beings whose very
nature represents something elemental about the human
condition.
An Archetypal Individual
Although different cultures and eras produce
different archetypes (Jaspers used as his examples
Socrates, Confucius, Buddha, and Jesus), the
archetypal individual’s very nature demands a
response: What is it to be a human being? What is
most important? What is good? How should I
live?
Because their very natures “demand response,”
paradigmatic individuals shock and provoke extreme
community reactions.
The Teacher and His Teachings
Socrates’ “electric shock” effect on Athens
resulted in his indictment, conviction, and
execution as a traitorous blasphemer. Speaking for
the last time as a public figure, on trial for his life,
the seventy-year-old philosopher repeated what he
had always insisted: “I neither know nor think that
I know.”
In Plato’s dialogues, we often find Socrates engaged in
conversations with others. One outstanding feature of
such conversations is Socratic irony; another is
Socratic method, also known as Socratic dialectic.
Socratic Irony
Socrates often made use of irony.
An ironic utterance communicates on two levels of
meaning: a literal, or obvious, level and the hidden, or real,
level.
In his conversations with others, Socrates used irony to
suggest that there was something they could teach him,
when he was actually showing them that they did not
clearly understand themselves the things they claimed to
have knowledge about.
One example is in the Apology, where Socrates uses irony to refer
to the persuasive abilities of his accusers – when really they had
not persuaded him of anything.
Socrates’ Method
The Socratic method begins with the assumption
that the function of education is to draw the truth
out of the student.
So rather than “filling the empty vessel” of the
student’s mind, Socrates sought instead o draw
wisdom and clarity out of a disordered and
confused soul.
Socrates functions as a kind of midwife, aiding others
in giving birth to their own insights by drawing out
what was already there.
Dialectic
Socrates’ “widwifery” amounts to a questioning
process known as the dialectical method of
inquiry.
In the early Platonic dialogues, dialectical inquiry
usually begins with Socrates’ interlocuters defending a
muddled definition.
Socrates then uses skillful questions to guide his
“opponent” closer to the truth by allowing the opponent
to experience the logical inconsistencies in his own
stated position.
Clarity and Confusion
Even if Socrates and his interlocuter did not
succeed in arriving at a single answer to
questions like “What is justice?” they were
at least a bit clearer than before.
This was Socrates’ experience, but others often
seemed to be angered and frustrated, if not
humiliated, as their confusion and ignorance
were exposed.
Socrates at Work
In a passage from The Republic, Plato provides a
good example of Socratic dialectic when Socrates
enters into a dialogue with the Sophist
Thrasymachus (c.450 B.C.E.).
The exchange begins when Thrasymachus bursts
into a discussion Socrates is having about the
nature of justice.
Thrasymachus defends the Sophist contention that
“might makes right,” and that justice is determined by
“the interest of the strong.”
He claims that the unjust man always profits more than
the just man.
Socrates at Work
Socrates replies by exposing a contradiction in
Thrasmymachus’ position when he agrees that
rulers can mistakenly give orders that will harm
them and yet (so you say) it is right for their
subjects to obey.
In those circumstances it follows that it is ‘right’ to do
the opposite of what you say is right, in that the weaker
are ordered to do what is against the interest of the
stronger.”
The Unexamined Life
From the perspective of Socrates, Thrasymachus’ real
mistake arises from his lack philosophical self-reflection.
In the Apology, the Platonic dialogue about his trial,
Socrates makes the famous claim “the unexamined life is
not worth living.”
Socrates believed that the human psyche , the soul or mind and
capacity for reflective thinking is what is most definitive about
human nature.
An unexamined life takes the psyche for granted, and is
objectively incomplete and deficient in value.
The Story of the Oracle
Socrates obviously tried himself to live an examined life.
But how did he come to his vocation as a gadfly? Why did
he embark on his mission to help others examine their
lives?
It all began when Socrates’ friend Chaerephon went to the Oracle
of Delphi and asked, “Is anyone wiser than Socrates?” The
Oracle’s answer was “No,” that is, “No man is wiser than
Socrates.”
To find out what the Oracle meant, and if what it had said was
true, Socrates spent his life talking to others – hoping to find
someone wiser.
He engaged in conversation with politicians, poets and artisans.
Socratic Ignorance
What Socrates learned was that nobody he
questioned was wise, although they believed they
were wise.
Many had special skills in their field of expertise, but
professed to know things beyond that field.
In light of this, Socrates interpreted the Oracle’s
pronouncement as meaning not that Socrates is the
wisest man in Athens, as in having a more-than-human
wisdom, but rather that anyone is wise who like
Socrates knows he is not wise – thus demonstrating a
human wisdom.
Physician of the Soul
Even after coming to understand the meaning of the
Oracle, Socrates continued his mission of engaging others
in conversation about what matters most.
In the Apology, he describes himself as a kind of physician
of the soul.
He believed that the “real person” is not the body, but the soul or
psyche.
So, seeking one’s welfare is a matter of seeking the welfare of
one’s soul.
Thus, Socrates was convinced that the god Apollo had
commanded him to help others benefit and improve their
souls through philosophical reflection.
No One Willingly Does Evil
The imperative “Know thyself” takes on special
significance in light of Socrates’ view that human
beings always seek what they believe to be their
own welfare and cannot deliberately do otherwise.
In the Platonic dialogue Gorgias, Socrates points out
that when people do what appear to be bad or
distasteful things, it is always with some ultimate good
in mind.
For Socrates, the good or harm in question is always
determined by what benefits or harms the soul. In order to seek
my soul’s welfare I have to “know myself.” And in order to
“know myself,” I have to know what kind of thing I am.
Arete and Techne
In his mission as a kind of physician of the soul, Socrates
sought to help people achieve virtue (arete) or excellence
in functioning as a human.
He believed that virtue is a special kind of knowledge that
combines technical understanding with the skill and
character to apply that knowledge.
For this, he used the Greek term techne, meaning the
practical knowledge of how to do things.
The techne of baking a cake, for example, is not a merely cognitive
knowledge of a cake recipe; it involves the skills needed to
actually bake a good cake.
The Lack of Techne
In matters concerning how to live, techne is
knowledge of what to do and how to do it. It is
knowledge of both means and ultimate ends.
According to Socrates, the Sophists’ lack of techne was
evident because their teachings made people worse.
Plato accused the Sophists of developing persuasive
skills (rhetoric) without acquiring a corresponding
knowledge of what ought to be done or avoided—that
is without knowledge of ultimate ends.
Socratic Intellectualism
Socrates is often labeled as an intellectualist
because he believed both that actions arise from
beliefs, whether true or false, and that wisdom or
knowledge of how to live well was a matter of
having the right beliefs.
Socrates’ intellectualism helps explain his unusual
claim that no one knowingly does wrong. For
example, even if a suicide bomber may do evil, he
believes what he doing is good.
One implication of this is that there is no weakness of
the will (i.e., knowing what is good but not doing it).
Virtue is Wisdom
In Plato’s dialogue the Meno, Socrates makes the
following argument that virtue is wisdom:
1. Virtue is profitable or beneficial
2. Things of the soul are not profitable or hurtful in
themselves, but they are all made profitable or
hurtful by the addition of wisdom or folly.
3. Therefore, virtue must be a sort of wisdom.
The Trial of Socrates
Socrates’ intellectualism, and conviction that his mission
was a divine one, led to his questioning many important
Athenian values, and occasionally annoying important and
powerful people in the process. He acquired a mixed
reputation, being viewed on the one hand as a harmless
eccentric and on the other as a dangerous social critic and
“free-thinker”—in short, a Sophist.
Finally, resentment, distrust, and hostility against Socrates
grew to such proportions that he was brought to trial for
“not worshiping the gods of the state” and “corrupting the
young.”
The Trial of Socrates
Athenian trials consisted of two parts.
First, the jury (consisting in 501 members) determined
whether or not the accused was guilty as charged.
Second, if found guilty, the second stage of the trial
determined the most appropriate punishment.
Socrates defended himself and was judged guilty by a rather
close vote.
His prosecutors then argued that he should be put to death.
A Death Sentence
Although the custom for those convicted was to
show some contrition, and offer a serious proposal
for an alternative sentence, Socrates chose to act
unconventionally, and not to grovel at the jury’s
feet.
He argued that since he had given up opportunities to
make money because he was trying to help others, he
should perhaps be given free meals for the rest of his
life!
The jury was not convinced, so the end result was that
the jury voted for him to be put to death.
The Death of Socrates
Socrates waited a month for his execution, during which he
continued to pursue his philosophical inquiries.
A number of Socrates’ friends visited him in prison on the
last day of his life. He discussed the nature of the soul with
them and told a mythical story about the souls immortality.
When his friend Crito asked how they should bury him,
Socrates jokingly replied, “In any way you like; but you
must get hold of me, and take care that I do not run away
from you.”
He instructed his friend Crito to do with his body whatever
he thought best, bid everyone farewell, drank the hemlock
he was given, and died.
Socrates the Optimist
In his conviction that knowledge would make us
good, Socrates was an optimist.
Although Socrates was probably correct in his belief
that no normally reasonable person willingly does
himself harm, he was surely wrong in his rejection of
the possibility of weakness of will.
On the other hand, the common counterexamples used
to show that we often know what is good but choose
what we know is bad (smoking, acts of malice,
dishonesty) are only counterexamples when we
separate knowledge from wisdom.
Know Thyself
Socrates’ concern to be a good person is admirable. But
continuing to philosophize even in the face of death makes
sense if we recall that psyche means both soul and mind.
Because Socrates thought of himself as his psyche, gaining
knowledge became the same thing as getting better at
being a person, or becoming a better person.
His motto “Know Thyself” amounts to the claim that
gaining knowledge or understanding – knowing oneself –
is an integral part of becoming a better person.
His concern for the welfare of his soul is then inextricably
linked to his desire for knowledge and his love of wisdom.
Post-Reading Reflections
What do you see as the philosophical relevance of
Socrates’ life to his teachings? Do you think it is possible
to separate a philosopher’s life and character from his or
her philosophy? That is, does the value of a philosophy of
life suffer when its advocate fails to live up to it? Explain.
Socrates claims that an unexamined life is not worth living.
What do you think it means to live an examined life? Do
you agree that a life without self-examination is not worth
living?
Chapter Review:
Some Key Concepts
Archetypal individual/paradigmatic individual
Socratic dialectic/Socratic method
Socratic Ignorance
Socratic Irony
Psyche
Virtue and techne
Intellectualism