1. Self-knowledge is a persons’ ability to have knowledge of what they know and what they do not know. If a person is not aware they actually do not know something, then they often times contradict themselves. Socrates asked Alcibiades a question in a conversation about self-knowledge, “Look at it in common with me. When you don’t understand something, but recognize that you don’t understand it, are you confused about that sort of thing? Like the preparation of gourmet food – you know, surely, that you do not know about this?” (Alcibiades I, 117c). Socrates argues that a person needs to know that they do not know something so they avoid mistakes and avoid contradicting themselves. An example of this is when people talk about media. Media is …show more content…
There are many benefits for a person who increases in self-knowledge and dangers for those who do not. Some benefits for the person who increases their self-knowledge are avoiding mistakes, becoming an expert of themselves and seeking out the deeper truth. An example would be if there was someone who were attempting to cook dinner and a guest wanted steak but they did not know how to cook it. A person who knows themselves would either ask them if they wanted anything else, ask them how to cook it or even for them to cook it themselves if the guest knew how to cook it. During Socrates conversation with Alcibiades, Socrates asked Alcibiades “What if you were sailing in a ship? Would you have an opinion about whether tiller should be moved in or out, and, since you don’t know, would you be confused, or would you turn this over to the helmsman and keep your peace?” (Alcibiades I, 25d). Alcibiades said that he would have turned it over to the helmsman because he knows that he does not know how to sail a ship. Some dangers for a person who does not have self-knowledge are that you cannot improve yourself because you do not know yourself and understand yourself which can lead to carelessness and mistakes. Socrates explained to Alcibiades “Come on, in what way could the self itself be discovered? For in this way we could perhaps discover just what we are ourselves, but if we remain in ignorance of it we’ll be unable to do so, I suppose,” (45b). People have to ask basic questions …show more content…
After a person is aware of their ignorance, they can seek knowledge by learning from others and discovering for themselves. Living a life where someone is constantly examining themselves is important because if they do not examine themselves, then they will not have knowledge about the things they do not know about themselves. Learning from others is a passive way of getting to know something because you are not trying to go out and experience it yourself and learn through experiences. Learning from others is crucial early on in a humans’ life. As humans grow up, they should start seeking more knowledge for themselves as opposed to learning from others because seeking knowledge for ourselves can help to get to the deeper truth about themselves or something else. In school, students often are learning from others instead of gaining knowledge themselves. When students start to discover knowledge themselves, they are trying to get to the truth and are interested in gaining knowledge about the
Socrates once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” He questioned the very nature of why things were the way they were, while never settling for simple, mundane answers. Socrates would rather die searching for the truth than live accepting what he considered a blatant lie. I like to think of myself the same way. I too would rather examine the wonders of life rather than accept what I am just told. The truth is some can’t handle the truth. I on the other hand welcome it with earnest anticipation and fervent enthusiasm.
Each and every one of us learns throughout our daily lives. We learn from others and through our experiences. As we grow older and become more mature, we develop a deeper understanding of ourselves as we slowly move away from following others to constructing our own perspectives on the world around us. Self-discovery is what gives us a self-realization of what we value, care and love, and thus allowing us to affirm our values in society.
We as humans tend to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. We look for knowledge about everybody and everything that surrounds us in our day-to-day life. Sadly though, we must accept that in the grand scheme of life we (as a society) tend to put pleasure above our quest for knowledge. The pursuit of knowledge tends to take time and energy, two things we call invaluable, and it also shows us things that might depress us. Contrastingly, ignorance takes no time and energy.
Learning is important for countless reasons, the most important reason being that it molds a person into who he or she is. What people choose to learn, and also what they choose not to, create the core of their opinions as individuals. Though people do not admit it or openly declare it, it is fair to say almost everyone is self centered. Because of this, and the fact that learning dramatically affects a person, learning is not only thrilling, but also expressive. Furthermore, since learning is expressive, its meaning varies from person to person, therefore making each person’s experiences with learning unique and life changing.
Self-awareness is an esseential part of life; it is the conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires. Throughout the play, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, it is said that Oedipus' biggest flaw is the sin of Hubris, but in reality not knowing who he is also plays a part in his seelfishness, arrogance, and rashness. He is also very self-orientated and he can't see past his success long enough to realize his mistakes. Oedipus is the classic example of a man whose central problem is that he does not know himself because he is completely oblivious to the truth that surrounds him and subconsciously ignores his true identity for most of the play.
According to dictionary.com, self-knowledge means “knowledge or understanding of oneself, one 's character, abilities, motives” (Dictionary.com).
Our knowledge is a key to our success and happiness in our life to give us personal satisfaction. Knowledge is power but not always. Sometimes our self-awareness and growth as an individual gives us negative thoughts that make us want to go back to undo it. Everyone wants to unlearn a part in our life that brought us pain and problems. Good or bad experiences brought by true wisdom can be used for our self-acceptance, self-fulfillment and these experiences would make us stronger as we walk to the road of our so called “life”, but Douglas’s and my experience about knowledge confirmed his belief that “Knowledge is a curse”. Both of us felt frustrated and sad from learning knowledge.
Aside from school or Universities, our world is a huge classroom. All of us learned things that are not taught in school, but there are some methods that we follow in order to simplify and to understand more regarding the task of different fields of knowledge. In our society today, most people learn by mimicking others and their actions that are influenced by past experiences. There is knowledge that is handed down from mouth to mouth generation that never committed in writing. When I think about knowledge, the first thing that comes up with my mind is education. Education requires self-determination, dedication, and experience. According to John Henry Newman’s philosophy of
Look into the eyes of the bust of Socrates and you can almost see what he saw in the universe. It looks as though his wisdom is unsurmountable, as he did believe himself to be the most brilliant man in the universe, while also knowing for sure: the only thing he knows is that he doesn’t know anything. Unlike the famous Kouros statues that were all alike and used for a certain purpose of a grave maker, or shrine to the gods, the portrait of Socrates shows depth and importance. During the classical period it became increasingly common for Greek sculptures to depict more realistic forms. The portrait of Socrates details a man who was not afraid to ask hard questions, it also puts across the point that he may have been revered and feared as well by the Greeks. His statue was created twenty years after his death. For a man who was accused of corrupting the youth, and executed for it, one might question why then did someone find this man to be deserving of a statue? Did the Greeks begin to side with his ideas and theories after a low point in their victories? Perhaps the views of the sophists were beginning to surpass the previous views of Greek culture. This sculpture may have been the Apotheosis of Socrates’ career, a way to elevate him to a trailblazer status during a period when the gods were being pushed from explanation of cause in the lives of the Greeks.
"To be self aware is to be conscious of one's character, including beliefs, values, qualities, strengths and limitation. It is about knowing oneself" (Burnard 1992).
1B. As Socrates takes the stand to defend himself against the Athenian government he began to explain why he should not be there and how he ended up at the stand in the first place. He cites an encounter with the oracle Delphi. He explains that he asked the oracle who was wisest of all men. The oracle replied that no man was wiser then Socrates (note this will be important later in describing his philosophy). Socrates knowing that he himself knew nothing and that there must be somebody out there with more knowledge than him set out on a journey. He went to many different kinds of people, poets, craftsmen, even politicians. All seemed to have much knowledge about many things. But Socrates found that even with all their knowledge of poetry, politics, and crafts none of it was true wisdom. When he would tell these people that they were in fact not wise, they wouldn’t take to kindly to Socrates.
In the last days of Socrates’ life while he awaits his death sentence, he examines and evaluates the facets of life and the morals that come as a part of human nature. He analyzes the concept of being, and what it means to be either living or deceased and through this analysis, Socrates particularly goes in depth with his examination of the human soul. In Phaedo, Plato meets with a follower who had been with Socrates on his last day, on which he talked much about the innermost qualities of being; life and death and how the soul constitutes those two entities. According to Socrates, there are four arguments that prove the existence of the soul: the Argument from Opposites, the Theory of Recollection, the Affinity Argument, and the Theory of Forms.
Self-esteem is about self-worth against what others think. For instance, assuming your value for yourself
In the beginning of the Republic, Socrates pursues knowledge in a similar way to his other dialogues; approaching the self-proclaimed masters to gain the knowledge. In doing so he asks them for their definition of certain topics then begins a conversation with the other, in an attempt to understand the definition fully. During Book 1, Socrates is pursuing the definition of Justice and receives differing answers: “It gives benefit to friends and harm to enemies” (332d-e), “justice is useless when [other crafts] are in use, but useful when they are not […] It can only be useful for useless things” (333d), and lastly, the one he spends the most time discussing; “justice is really the good of another, what is advantageous for the stronger” (343c). As these definitions are presented, Socrates begins to ask questions, primarily where he sees holes in their argument, or where there exists ambiguity. In this sense, Socrates takes something that is presented, then breaks down the argument in such a way that individuals concede to his persistence. The goal of Socrates,
Philosophy can be defined as the pursuit of wisdom or the love of knowledge. Socrates, as one of the most well-known of the early philosophers, epitomizes the idea of a pursuer of wisdom as he travels about Athens searching for the true meaning of the word. Throughout Plato’s early writings, he and Socrates search for meanings of previously undefined concepts, such as truth, wisdom, and beauty. As Socrates is often used as a mouthpiece for Plato’s ideas about the world, one cannot be sure that they had the same agenda, but it seems as though they would both agree that dialogue was the best way to go about obtaining the definitions they sought. If two people begin on common ground in a conversation, as Socrates often tries to do, they are far more likely to be able to civilly come to a conclusion about a particular topic, or at least further their original concept.