I guess this explains Stephen Alexander's likening himself to Socrates(or if
you prefer... "Sour Crates" c.B&T)
>From: Julian Lawton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >And I'd love an explanation as to why your position on this list is
>like>that of Socrates.
"There is a popular story that Chaerephon, a friend of Socrates�, asked the
Oracle at Delphi if there was any one wiser than Socrates.
Uncharacteristically, the Oracle gave a very unambiguous answer; "no." When
Socrates was told of this he is reported as saying that he possessed no
special wisdom and went about trying to understand what he thought must have
been a very clever riddle given by the Oracle. To better understand what the
Oracle had said, Socrates began to talk with the citizens of Athens such as
doctors, craftsmen, scholars, sophists, and just about anyone else who would
speak with him. While talking to these individuals he began to see that,
while they were all clearly wise in their own fields, they believed that
made them wise in all things. After learning this, Socrates had to admit
that he did indeed possess a certain kind of wisdom that allowed him to see
that he did not know everything.
Because he felt he had no special wisdom or knowledge of his own, Socrates
did not write any works (all that is written about him was done so later by
Plato and Xenophon) or charge for his services. He held open discussions
with any citizen who was willing to converse with him. Their topics included
love, politics, war, friendship, poetry, religion, science and government
but all centered around a central theme of "how should a man live his life?"
In these discussions Socrates would employ what is now known as the Socratic
Method (in his honor). Instead of lecturing his students, he would invite
them to consider the question with him. The goal was not for Socrates to
teach his students what he thought of the various subjects but rather to
teach them to think critically about the subjects for themselves. Very often
this involved asking one of his followers for the meaning of some concept
such as piety, morality, or something similar. Socrates and the other
students then subjected that definition to analysis and criticism. Sometimes
these exercises were used simply to find an agreed-upon meaning for some
term.
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