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Essay on socrates and wisdom
Socrates And The Search For Wisdom
Socrates and the pursuit of wisdom
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The Search for Wisdom
Wisdom, as defined in the dictionary, is "the sum of learning through the ages; knowledge". Plato's Socrates indicates that wisdom is the acknowledgement of ignorance. This statement may be hard to prove as true. If a deaf and dumb man came to realize that he knew nothing, because he is not able to learn it, does this make him wise? I do not believe so. Then, if a prominent professor who has studied for years and has learned many things, comes to believe that he is ignorant to the true ways of the world, does that make him wise? Possibly so. So, what is the difference here? The difference is knowledge. I believe, and the dictionary points to the fact that, one must contain a great deal of knowledge to be wise.
In Apology, Socrates says that "What is probable, gentlemen, is the fact that the god is wise and that his oracular response meant that human wisdom is worth little or nothing..." This statement comes from Socrates after he has searched Athens for a person that was wise. It may be true that his god was wise, as gods are usually all-knowing beings. But what makes a god wise? It must be his knowledge of all earthly things. Then, why is human wisdom worth little or nothing? It may seem like human wisdom is worth little or nothing in comparison with the wisdom of the gods, though in comparison to other humans, why should human wisdom be worth little or nothing? I believe...
As Socrates state “visible realm should be likened to the prison dwelling, and the light inside it to the power of the sun, if you interpret the upward journey and the study of things above as the upward journey of the soul to the intelligible realm” (Grube, p. 189), anyone who accepts rationalized ideas from the external world live in the visible realm and those who question their own ideas rationalized from the external world live in the knowledge realm. this is referenced in the Apology when Socrates said “I am wiser than this man; it is likely that neither of us knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know; so I am likely to be wiser than he to this small extent, that I do not think I know what I do not know” (Hackett, p. 26 d). Socrates is wiser for he has questioned his rationalized ideas, whereas, the man has accepted his ideas without contemplation. This is true in my life as I have known extremist Muslims, their perception is limited only to the Koran for they make the assumption that the Koran is true without evidence or
Wisdom is the synthesis of knowledge and experiences into insights that deepen one’s understanding of relationships and the meaning of life. In other words, knowledge is a tool, and wisdom is the craft in which the tool is used. (Knowledge vs. Wisdom)
While Solomon and Socrates had the same perspective on what wisdom was, they had contrasting understandings on where it came from. Solomon’s definition of wisdom was the knowledge of making wise choices. Proverbs 1:2-3 says,
Throughout history different segments of society have struggled for such liberties as personal freedom and eternal happiness. For centuries man has attempted to "find" himself, posing the questions "Who am I?" and "Who do I want to be?" People tend to express themselves physically, spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally in order to promote their image, their sense of identity and individualism. During the late 1820's and 1830's, Transcendentalism emerged as the defining American philosophy. A movement which intertwined the study of truth, religion, and literature, stressing the value of intellectual reason as the path to divine wisdom. Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature and Henry David Thoreau's Walden both express insights into the divinity of the human person transcending material possessions and conformist ways of thinking.
Webster’s dictionary defines wisdom as, “the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.” (p. 724) To gain such knowledge, one may consider many years of school. Perhaps a Bachelor’s degree or even a Master’s degree will help one to achieve great wisdom. Or maybe just a life time of experience is what one needs to gain this kind of wisdom. Wright (1989) defines wisdom as “The practical translation and application of the Word of God to everyday life.” (p. 69) Wright (1989) does not speak of the kind of wisdom gained through scholarly books. He speaks of Biblical wisdom. He speaks of the wisdom that comes from great scriptures such as Proverbs 2:10-11, “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you.” (The Holy Bible NKJV, 1986) According to Wright, (1989) there are 4 important components to achieving the kind of wisdom he speaks about.
In addition, the knowledgeable are more likely to be more sound and more likely to lead you to a life worth living. For example, in the dialogue, Socrates states, “one should greatly value some opinions, but not others. Does that seem sound (Socrates, The Crito pg. 5)?” Yes, because if I was sick and the majority were going to a waitress because he or she was cheaper, I would still choose to go to a doctor. I would rather listen to someone wise than go to someone with lesser knowledge for a cheaper amount. Also, Socrates’s claim is justified because of one of his arguments he presents in the dialogue. He states that taking part in an unacceptable action can ruin your soul and life is not worth living if it means having a ruined soul. Therefore; Socrates is saying he would rather die than live a dull life. Socrates believed that feeling pure inside was far more important than lying, cheating, and guilting his way out. He would much rather have a pure soul than an evil soul like the unintelligent guards (Socrates, The Crito pg. 8). Even though this argument seems solid, there is still objections to Socrates’s claim.
People, who by their nature, have the ability to gain knowledge and understand the consequences of decisions made about the state. With this knowledge, these people possess the virtue of wisdom. Plato as Socrates makes an argument about the difference between knowledge and wisdom. He says, “There is knowledge of the carpenter; but is that the sort of knowledge which gives a city the title of wise and good in counsel?” He then says “Then a city is not to be called wise because possessing a knowledge which counsels for the best about wooden implements”.
If one keeps himself open to learning, he will always have room to become wiser. Whereas I man that considers himself to be wise leaves no room for additional learning and therefore cannot expand his wisdom. This rational can be identified when Socrates summarizes his experience up that point: “those who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, while those who were thought to be inferior were more knowledgeable” (Plato, 25). It is understandable by his statement that humbleness – not entitlement – is a sign of
If one asks the majority of people what the word wisdom means, most will answer vaguely that it is the knowledge gained during a lifetime. However, wisdom is much more than just knowledge gained; it signifies the accumulation of knowledge, the application of learning, and the personification of God's will in the creation of the universe (according to the American Heritage Dictionary, 6th ed.).
It would make sense to say someone who knows nothing is not wise. Following that same reasoning, the wisest man alive should surely know something, and that is in fact the case with Socrates. Socrates plans on kicking the tires of this theory with a testable and repeatable process. “I went to one of those who had the character of being wise, think that there, if anywhere, I should confute to the oracle, and show in answer to the response that This man is wiser than I,” and that is exactly what he does. Socrates then went to all men who thought themselves wise, and upon speaking with each of these wise men he discovered an issue with their claim. The mistake Socrates makes here has nothing to with his theory or with the practice he used in testing his hypothesis. Socrates makes a blunder in his defense - the problem is that the men before him are entirely aware what he did, because they are the type of men, and possible they very same men Socrates fought with and told them they know nothing.These men fancy to know what they do not according to Socrates: Lawyers, Politicians, Poets, Artisans – essentially every type of person who might have the afternoon off to see this trail, or maybe even serve as judges. An action any attorney would advise against, shortly after finishing his opening argument Socrates ridicules everyone in Athens who claims to know something. Socrates is on trial
Socrates had come across many people who thought that they may have been the wisest. To one of the public men, whom many thought was wise, Socrates simply showed him that he was not as wise as he thought he was. Socrates then thought to himself “I am wiser than this man; it is likely that neither of us knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know” (Plato’s Apology. 21d). Here Socrates shows that simply a sense of humility and admittance can make one seem wiser than others. Socrates already knows he is wise because the oracle at Delphi prophesizes to Chaerephon in The Apology “that no one was wiser.” Throughout The Apology Socrates felt that he needed to prove that the oracle was “irrefutable”. Socrates once again proved that he was wiser than
For us all human kind, Wisdom is an approach of life, another way of looking at the world. While Wisdom goes back to the very early days of Israelite history, it all began to grow in the later Old Testament, and then it all flourished in the New Testament.
Socrates was a philosopher who set out to prove, to the gods, that he wasn't the wisest man. Since he could not afford a "good" Sophist teacher, surely a student of one had to be smarter than he. He decides to converse with the youth of Athens, but concludes that he actually is wiser than everyone he speaks with. He then realizes that their lack of intelligence is the fault of their teachers. Socrates understands that the practice of "sophism" leads to a lack of self-knowledge and moral values. Socrates was later accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and put on trial. In The Apology of Socrates he sta...
What makes someone wise? I believe wisdom goes hand in hand with the self-awareness of ignorance. One of the best examples of this is Socrates. Socrates was thought by many to have been a very wise man simply because he acknowledged his own ignorance. I contend that when a person recognizes their lack of absolute intelligence, that person becomes more adept and open to learning. In The Apology, Plato recounts the words of Socrates while on trial in Athens and the following points support my assumption:
Throughout this mission, Socrates talked with politicians, artisans, poets and other “experts," and soon realized they all lacked true wisdom. When Socrates tried to explain this lack of real wisdom on the part of the “experts," he noted the consequence was their hatred of him for doing so. Socrates discovered then, that ultimately, they knew nothing more than he did. The difference resides in the fact that Socrates did not pretend to know what he didn’t. While reflecting on his findings, he defined wisdom as human humility, which meant that true wisdom stems from the acknowledgment of one’s own ignorance. After Socrates arrived at this definition of wisdom, he resolved to share his newfound knowledge on what wisdom truly consists of. He likened himself to a gadfly, as he intended to “sting” the citizens of Athens. He would expose their ignorance though a method of questioning that resulted in the exposure of faulty logic. Taking this idea a step farther, the philosopher would claim that “the unexamined life is not worth living”. Through this statement, Socrates acknowledges the distinct difference between living and merely existing. He states that an individual should carefully analyze themselves if they wish to live a life that is worth living. If they do not, they are just existing with no greater purpose. A lack of knowledge, wisdom, or the