Hello friends!
I have already talked in a previous post ( ''All men and women are philosophers'') about my passion in life, that is to philosophize!
For quite some time now, I wanted to start a series of posts examining the life, work and thoughts of those that influenced me. After putting some thought into the subject, I ended up on 4+1 individual persons that have absolutely shaped my worldview. Their works and life have deeply impacted my way of thinking and my understanding. Personally, I consider each and every one of them as great teachers and beacons of reason.
In this presentation I'll try and focus on the impact of their thought and also provide some biographical information and discuss about their life. In my view, there is an underlying theme that concerns all the persons that will be presented on this series of posts and I will discuss this in length perhaps in the end of the presentations. This will not be an easy endeavor for I have to present many of my abstract thoughts into a more concrete form, so I am kindly asking for your patience and understanding. I hope to have some meaningful conversations and I'm eagerly awaiting your comments!
The persons I will discuss here are the Greek ancient philosopher Socrates, the christian Saint Justin the Martyr, the ''father'' of existentialism Søren Kierkegaard and the 20th century philosopher Jacques Ellul. In the end I will discuss about Jesus Christ and how His life and works have great relevance with the thought of the aforementioned philosophers and ultimately how He shaped my understanding.
So... in this post I'll start with the wisest man ever existed, ''The gadfly of Athens''!
Socrates was born in 470BC in a suburb of Athens. His father, Sophroniscus, was a stonemason and his mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife. Young Socrates learned the art of stone masonry from his father and worked together with him in his workshop. Since he was still pretty young to enter the Agora, it was in his father's workshop that young Socrates started to have his first philosophical inquiries. One of the first interlocutors of Socrates in matters of philosophy was Simon the Shoemaker (1).
Socrates served his duty as a hoplite for the Athenian army. He fought in the Peloponnesian War and his valor was praised among his compatriots. It is stated by him that he participated in the battles of Amphipolis, Delium and Potidea.
At some point in his life Socrates also served as a member of the Boule. During his tenure as a representative of the people of Athens in the Boule, there was a notable case that involved Socrates. During the naval battle of Arginusae some of the generals of the Athenian forces, abandoned many survivors from sunken ships and decided instead to chase down the remaining Spartan navy. When the Athenian public learned of this incident, there was immense anger towards the generals and they were all brought into a trial. During this trial, Socrates, was the epistates or general overseer. The public demanded the execution of the generals and they pressed towards that verdict. However, Socrates as an epistate, actually blocked the vote and stated that ''he would do nothing except in accordance with the law'' (2) as he deemed that decision unjust.
His decision enraged the public to the point of making personal death threats to those who blocked the vote. Ultimately, the generals were put to death and afterwards the outcome of the trial was judged as illegal. Socrate's decision was ultimately based on his own logic and understanding and there were no laws that supported his action on blocking the vote apart from his conscience.
Perhaps one of the most known students of Socrates, and by far one of the most controversial figures in ancient Athens, was Alcibiades. Alcibiades was an Athenian aristocrat who served as a general and was also an excellent orator and a statesman of Athens. It is stated by Plutarch and Plato that Alcibiades fought together with Socrates at the battle of Potidaea and that Socrates also saved his life when Alcibiades fell wounded in the battlefield (3). Alcibiades was a very controversial figure, praised by some for his skills but also criticized by many for his unruly behavior and habits.
During the Peloponnesian war, Alcibiades was the the main orchestrator of the Sicilian Expedition. That expedition ended in total disaster for the Athenians and it is considered as a turning point in the war, giving the Spartans military supremacy. Although Athens managed to recover militarily and continue the war for almost 10 more years the blow was hard. Alcibiade's actions during that incident were crucial. He was the driving force behind the expedition but he actually never fought in Sicily. Right at the start of the expedition, Alcibiades sailed to Sicily only to find himself recalled back to Athens with charges of sacrilege. Fearing for his life, he never returned to Athens, instead he sailed to Sparta, the enemy of Athens, requesting asylum there and providing military information about the Athenian campaign. Later on he would be reinstated as an Athenian general ( and then again sent into exile ) but the fact that he was Socrates student had already damaged his teacher's reputation. Later on, at Socrate's trial, Xenophon would defend Socrates holding Alcibiades accountable for his own actions saying that Alcibiades was a corrupted man and that Socrates actually tried turn him from his ill ways (4).
After losing the war to Sparta, a tyrannical regime was set up by Sparta to rule Athens known as the oligarchy of the thirty. With the new rule, Socrate's enemies started to plot against him. In some cases, Socrates may have offered them excuses for doing so. In a noted incident, the 30 oligarchs demanded from some men, together with Socrates, to arrest a man, Leon of Salamis, for their own political reasons, also arranging his execution. Socrates disobeyed the order and chose to stay in his house instead. He would then notably state in his apology (5) in a similar fashion as before:
Then, however, I showed again, not in speech but in deed, that I do not even cared about death in any way at all—if it is not too crude to say so — but that my whole care is to commit no unjust or impious deed.
Socrates would find himself in peril due to his decision. Soon afterwards, his rivals would seize the chance and set a special court accusing Socrates with various charges such as corrupting the youth of the city, introducing new religions to the people of Athens or even atheism which was a very serious charge at that time. It is agreed that the reasons for his trial were mostly political, as Socrates's influence to the Athenian public was deep and his non-conformist attitude with the ruling elite was deemed dangerous (6). As in the case of Leon, Socrates would not follow any order that he perceived as unethical and he would only act in accordance with his conscience. Ultimately the court found Socrates guilty and they sentenced him to death through drinking poison.
His students, Plato and Xenophon, stated that their teacher did have an opportunity to escape his cell as Crito (7), one of Socrates's followers, offered to bribe the prison guards. In their dialogue, Socrates rejected the offer as he deemed that this would be unjust since he was already found guilty by his compatriots and he respected the verdict of the court. Socrates displayed a general disregard about the opinions of his accusers but considered himself liable to the law, even if the ruling was unjust. He also believed that to flee would also mean that he feared death and argued that no true philosopher had such a fear. Apart from these reasons, Socrates decision was wise as later on those who would have helped him escape would probably also find themselves charged with conspiracy against the state of Athens.
Thus, one of the greatest minds died by execution from the city that he loved and offered his services for all his life. Modern sources consider the trial of Socrates as a miscarriage of justice and as stated above attribute the ruling mainly to political reasons.
Socrates is widely considered as the one of the founders of Western philosophy. He left no written records and he believed that to rely on written records would eventually thin the memory of the reader. In Plato's Phaedrus dialogues, Socrates gives an account to Phaedrus as to how the Egyptian god Theuth invented writing and after that he stated (8):
for this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality.
In the same dialogue he also states:
I cannot help feeling, Phaedrus, that writing is unfortunately like painting; for the creations of the painter have the attitude of life, and yet if you ask them a question they preserve a solemn silence. And the same may be said of speeches. You would imagine that they had intelligence, but if you want to know anything and put a question to one of them, the speaker always gives one unvarying answer. And when they have been once written down they are tumbled about anywhere among those who may or may not understand them, and know not to whom they should reply, to whom not: and, if they are maltreated or abused, they have no parent to protect them; and they cannot protect or defend themselves.
Contemporary sources of Socrates are his students, Plato and Xenophon. The great playwright Aristophanes, also included Socrates in one of his plays (9) where he depicted him in a negative way. The Socratic problem is a historical term after the attempt to discover the real person of Socrates, as the accounts of both his students regarding his character and his beliefs seem to be contradictory in some parts, especially those that involve Socrates's political views.
His method of examination was the dialectic method of inquiry also known as ''elenchus'' ( from the Greek, -έλεγχος > to examine ). Simply, when a given subject was examined, Socrates would try and break it into smaller parts, raising questions in the process for each part and then arriving at the conclusion through thorough examination of each question and its answer. This kind of method strongly resembles the modern scientific method of examination.
Whenever Socrates discussed with someone, he would first ask questions to determine the knowledge of his interlocutor on the subject and his personal beliefs. He would then on continue to ask more specific questions on every account given by the other person, helping him understand on his own reason the accounts which are contradictory to what he already claimed, thus eliminating in the process what was deemed false and arriving at the conclusion. Socrates believed that the best role for him was not to present theories himself, but to bring out the theories of others, thus he described himself as a midwife in the sense of helping others giving birth of their accounts and theories. Else in his own words:
"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think"
Above all, Socrates valued Truth and Virtue. His advice to his friends and students was to pursue a virtuous and just life and not focus solely on material wealth. He believed that men should seek and build communities and friendships as this was the virtuous way of living. Socrates proved that even to his death, where he declined to betray his compatriots and stay loyal to the city which he loved and which demanded his execution.
Perhaps the most notable statement attributed to Socrates was the '' I only know one thing, that I know nothing'' (10) . According to his account, This statement is considered as a paradox as the first premise of the statement seems to invalidate the latter. However, this statement was not actually meant to be taken to its logical extreme and it was rather said by Socrates to present his own ignorance. Socrates also believed that whoever conducted a wrongful act done so because he was ignorant of the fact and not for any other reason. Concerning Socrates's religious beliefs there is also a silent assumption throughout his dialogues that he believed in a single God as he has also referred to God in singular and not in plural. Other times he also mentions gods ( in plural ) and by their names (11).
The political views of Socrates is a controversial subject as stated above. Through Plato's works we get a different picture as to what was considered by Socrates as the ideal government or even if that thing existed. In Plato's The Republic, Socrates seems to prefer a kind of oligarchy where philosophers would act as kings and leaders of the state. However, scholars claim that this is probably one of Plato's view that he presented through the mouth of his teacher in his dialogues. In an earlier account, The apology of Socrates, again from Plato, Socrates seems to be disinterested in political matters and considers himself as a man devoted in the search of truth. Socrates also seemed to hold in higher esteem the democratic rule of Athens compared to the tyranny of the 30.
My personal belief is that Socrates valued democracy more than oligarchy as the right government. However, in order for democracy to function properly the people must also be properly educated as to their rights and obligations towards each other and bear their responsibility instead of renouncing it. A very similar view is presented in Plato's, The Republic (12).
Sadly, most people today seem to favor the latter and that explains a lot for the state of our democracies. Personal responsibility is indispensable if we want to have a well functioning democracy with respect to every person, whether that person belongs to a majority or a minority.
To finish with I share a few more of his words.
I am the gadfly of the Athenian people, given to them by God, and they will never have another, if they kill me. And now, Athenians, I am not going to argue for my own sake, as you may think, but for yours, that you may not sin against the God by condemning me, who am his gift to you. For if you kill me you will not easily find a successor to me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God; and the state is a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life. I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long 1and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you. You will not easily find another like me, and therefore I would advise you to spare me.
-Plato, The apology of Socrates
In my next post we will discuss about the christian Saint and philosopher Justin the Martyr and examine his apologetic letter to the emperor Antoninus Pius in defense of the christian faith and his brethren.
Thank you for reading!
References:
1: Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Emiment Philosophers, Book 2, Chapter 13
2: Xenophon, Hellenica, Book 1, Chapter 7
3: Plato, Symposium, 220e
4: Xenophon, Memorabilia, Book 1, Chapter 2, Section 12
5: Plato, Apology, section 32e-32b
6: David Bowles, Wrongfully Accused: The political Motivations behind Socrates' Execution
7: Plato, Crito
8: Plato, Phaedrus
9: Aristophanes, The Clouds
10: Plato, Apology, 21d
11: Plato, Phaedrus, Epilogue
12: Plato, The republic, Book 8
Image taken from http://www.facts-about.org.uk/famous-people-facts-starting-with-s/socrates.htm
