Head-dibs

"[B]e silent for the most part, or else make only the most necessary remarks, and express these in few words. But rarely, and when occasion requires you to talk, talk, indeed . . . In your conversation avoid making mention at great length and excessively of your own deeds or dangers, because it is not as pleasant for others to hear about your adventures, as it is for you to call to mind your own dangers." (Epictetus, Enchiridion, 33.2,14) Great advice. Story-telling hijacks a conversation; Too many words exhaust the listener; A rambler is boring, annoying; Story-telling is selfish, self-gratifying; The more one talks, opportunity for exaggeration increases; What may have started as "sharing"in conversation becomes a performance. 

While imprisoned and awaiting execution for curiosity, for teaching and for not believing the same gods as other Greeks, Socrates was visited by Crito early one morning and Crito had an offer: bribe the guards and escape! One wonders how long the 70 year-old man had to think it over because in the end, he went on to his execution. This is important because if he took Crito’s offer and escaped, a domino effect would have started and the world as we know it would not exist in the form of the absence of Plato. Socrates had to die and the reasons he gives are worth investigating. Plato's " Crito " is a short read. “TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT” First, Socrates discourages the bribing of the guards on the grounds that two wrongs don’t make a right. “[W]e ought not to retaliate or render evil for evil to anyone, whatever evil we may have suffered from him.” Yes, there are problems in that an innocent man is condemned to death, but what happens to the integrity of a man if...

“Philosophy” literally means, “love of wisdom” (philos = love; sophos = wisdom) and all the true philosopher wants to do is accomplish the mission set before him: to see others love wisdom too. He must speak truth. That “philosophy” has come to mean “the nature of knowledge” (as now defined in our textbooks) indicates an extraordinary shift away from the essence of what true philosophy is. Those who study the nature of knowledge actually practice “philognosis” and are hardly philosophers at all. According to Socrates, the task of the philosopher in speaking the truth is to examine life, questioning the answers (not answer the questions); in other words, test the presuppositions. The differences are staggering. The philosopher wants to see people improved so that society is improved, in turn. This means “philosophy” is much more than a subject to study or a technique of clarification. The philosopher is concerned for mankind and struggles to find meaning. “Apology” can be a com...

Plato’s “Meno” is a fun read. Meno (μένω), whose name means, “abide” or “stay” describes a student who wants to learn, and Socrates seems to enjoy interacting with an open mind. Contrast this against “ Euthyphro ,” were Socrates plays with an arrogant man like a killer whale plays with his food. Meno is not a terribly long read and should be done with pencil in-hand for it helps to make marginal notes (true for all interactive reading). Two major subjects are treated in this work, with perhaps a third as it relates to “forms,” but we will treat only one here presently, that being the subject of virtue. Meno wants to know if virtue (Ἀρετή, “arete”-- also translates as “excellence”) can be taught. What is virtue (excellence)? The beauty of Socrates is that when asked a question, he always assumes ignorance and through dialogue intends to search out an answer (in short, the second subject discussed in “Meno” is the subject of learning, where Socrates holds that since the soul ...

What is “right”? What is “good”? How do you know if what you are doing is right? What is the measure of “good”? Age old problems, age old questions. Nearly four hundred years preceding the birth of Jesus, a Greek priest and a philosopher wrestled with these issues. Specifically, they discussed the matter of piety. What is piety? That’s the beauty of this conversation. Meeting at Magistrate court, the priest wondered what the philosopher was doing there. The philosopher explains he is being indicted for corrupting the younger generations by rejecting the state gods and replacing them with his own. [I can't resist posting a clip from one of most favorite movies of all time, ever, "Fun With Dick and Jane" . . . I could loop this movie and never tire of it.] Back to serious.  What was the priest doing in court? He is prosecuting his father for killing a man who killed another man. How does piety fit into all this? The priest feels he is able to press his case o...

τούτου μὲν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐγὼ σοφώτερός εἰμι· κινδυνεύει μὲν γὰρ ἡμῶν οὐδέτερος οὐδὲν καλὸν κἀγαθὸν εἰδέναι, ἀλλ᾽ οὗτος μὲν οἴεταί τι εἰδέναι οὐκ εἰδώς, ἐγὼ δέ, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐκ οἶδα, οὐδὲ οἴομαι· ἔοικα γοῦν τούτου γε σμικρῷ τινι αὐτῷ τούτῳ σοφώτερος εἶναι, ὅτι ἃ μὴ οἶδα οὐδὲ οἴομαι εἰδέναι. “I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.” (Plato’s, "Apology”) My world is mostly academic. Five years of study has gained both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree and the last 17 years has been filled by my continued employment at a University. We have educated all our children at home and though this is the graduating year for our youngest from High School, this has also been my wife’s freshman year in college....