Every person has heard about Socrates at least once in his life. This ancient Greek philosopher left a bright mark not only in the history of Hellas, but throughout philosophy. Especially interesting for studying the dialectic of Socrates as the art of creative dialogue. This method became the basis of the entire teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher. Our article is devoted to Socrates and his teaching, which became the basis for the further development of philosophy as a science.
Socrates: Genius and Unrestrained
Quite a lot has been said about the great philosopher; his personality has been mentioned more than once in the process of developing philosophy and psychology. The phenomenon of Socrates was examined from different angles, and the history of his life was overgrown with incredible details. To realize what Socrates understood by the term “dialectics” and why he considered it the only possible way to know the truth and come to virtue, you need to learn a little about the life of the ancient Greek philosopher.
Socrates was born in the fifth century BC in the family of a sculptor and midwife. Since the legacy of the father, according to the law, was to be received by the elder brother of the philosopher, from an early age he did not have a tendency to accumulate material wealth and spent all his free time on self-education. Socrates had excellent oratorical abilities, was able to read and write. In addition, he studied art and listened to lectures by sophist philosophers promoting the supremacy of the human self over all rules and norms.
Despite the eccentric lifestyle of the urban beggar, Socrates was married, had several children, and was known as the bravest warrior who took part in the Peloponnesian War. Throughout his life, the philosopher did not leave Attica and did not even think of his life outside its borders.
Socrates despised material wealth and always walked barefoot in already worn clothing. He did not leave a single scientific work or essay, because the philosopher believed that knowledge should not be taught and imposed on a person. The soul must be encouraged to search for truth, and for this, disputes and constructive dialogues are the best suited. Socrates was often accused of the inconsistency of his teachings, but he was always ready to enter into a discussion and listen to the opinion of his opponent. Oddly enough, this turned out to be the best method of persuasion. Almost everyone who had heard about Socrates at least once called him a sage.
The death of the great philosopher is also surprisingly symbolic, it became a natural continuation of his life and teachings. After accusing Socrates of corrupting the minds of youth with new deities who are not gods of Athens, the philosopher was put on trial. But he did not wait for the verdict and sentencing, and he himself proposed the execution through the adoption of poison. In this case, the death was considered by the accused as a deliverance from the earthly bustle. Despite the fact that friends offered to rescue the philosopher from prison, he refused and stubbornly met his death after the portion of poison received. According to some sources, the goblet had a tsikuta.
A few touches to the historical portrait of Socrates
The fact that the Greek philosopher was an outstanding person can be concluded after only one description of his life. But some touches characterize Socrates especially vividly:
- he always maintained himself in good physical shape, engaged in various exercises and believed that this was the best way to healthy mind;
- the philosopher adhered to a certain food system, which excluded excesses, but at the same time gave the body everything it needed (historians believe that this was what saved him from an epidemic during the Peloponnesian war);
- he spoke poorly of written sources — they, according to Socrates, weakened the mind;
- the Athenian was always ready for discussion, and many kilometers could go in search of knowledge, asking the recognized sages.
Since the mid-nineteenth century, at the time of the highest development of psychology, many tried to characterize Socrates and his activities in terms of temperament and dispositions. But the psychotherapists did not come to a consensus, and they attributed their failure to the minimum amount of reliable information about the "patient."
How did the teachings of Socrates come to us
The philosophy of Socrates - dialectics - became the basis of many philosophical currents and trends. She managed to become the basis for modern scientists and speakers, after the death of Socrates, his followers continued the work of the teacher, forming new schools and transforming the already known methods. The difficulty in perceiving the teachings of Socrates is the lack of his writings. We know about the ancient Greek philosopher thanks to Plato, Aristotle and Xenophon. Each of them considered it a matter of honor to write several essays about Socrates himself and his teachings. Despite the fact that it has come down to our times in the most detailed description, we should not forget that each author brought his own attitude and a touch of subjectivity to the original interpretation. This is easy to notice by comparing the texts of Plato and Xenophon. They describe Socrates himself and his activities in completely different ways. In many key points, the authors radically disagree, which significantly reduces the reliability of the information presented in their works.
The Philosophy of Socrates: The Beginning
The ancient dialectics of Socrates became a completely new and fresh trend in the established philosophical traditions of ancient Greece. Some historians consider the appearance of such a character as Socrates to be quite natural and expected. According to certain laws of the development of the universe, each hero appears exactly when it is most needed. After all, not a single religious movement has arisen from scratch and has not gone nowhere. It, like a grain, fell on fertile soil, in which it sprouted and bore fruit. Similar analogies can be drawn with all scientific achievements and inventions, because they appear at the moment most necessary for humanity, in some cases radically changing the further history of civilization as a whole.
The same can be said of Socrates. In the fifth century BC, art and science developed rapidly. Constantly new philosophical movements arose, instantly gaining followers. In Athens, it was quite popular to gather and hold oratory contests or dialogues on a hot topic of interest to the entire policy. Therefore, it is not surprising that the dialectic of Socrates arose on this wave. Historians argue that, according to the texts of Plato, Socrates created his doctrine as a confrontation with the popular philosophy of the Sophists, who abhorred the consciousness and understanding of the native of Athens.
The origin of the dialectic of Socrates
The subjective dialectics of Socrates completely and completely contradicted the teachings of the sophists about the predominance of the human "I" over the entire social. This theory was very popular in Attica and was developed in every way by Greek philosophers. They argued that the personality is not limited to any norms, all its actions come from desires and abilities. In addition, the philosophy of that time was completely aimed at searching for the secrets of the universe and divine essence. Scientists competed in eloquence, discussing the creation of the world, and sought as much as possible to be inspired by the idea of the equality of man and the gods. The Sophists believed that penetration into higher secrets would give mankind tremendous strength and make it part of something extraordinary. Indeed, even in its current state, a person is free and can rely in actions only on his hidden needs.
Socrates, for the first time, turned his eyes to philosophers on man. He managed to transfer the sphere of interests from the divine to the personal and the simple. Cognition of man becomes the surest way to achieve knowledge and virtue, which Socrates put on one level. He believed that the secrets of the universe should remain in the sphere of divine interests, but a person should first of all learn the world through himself. And this should have made him a benevolent member of society, for only knowledge will help distinguish good from evil and falsehood from truth.
Ethics and dialectics of Socrates: briefly on the main
The basic ideas of Socrates were based on simple universal values. He believed that he should slightly push his students to search for truth. After all, these searches are the main task of philosophy. This statement and the presentation of science in the form of an endless path has become an absolutely fresh trend among the sages of ancient Greece. The philosopher himself considered himself a kind of "midwife", which through simple manipulations allows you to be born into the light of a completely new judgment and thinking. Socrates did not deny that the human person has enormous potential, but argued that great knowledge and concepts about himself should lead to the emergence of certain rules of behavior and a framework that turns into a set of ethical standards.
That is, the philosophy of Socrates led a person to the path of research, when each new discovery and knowledge should again lead to questions. But only this path could ensure the receipt of virtue, expressed in knowledge. The philosopher said that having ideas about good, man would not do evil. Thus, he will put himself in a framework that will help him to exist in society and bring him benefits. Ethical standards are inseparable from self-knowledge, they, according to Socrates, flow from each other.
But the knowledge of the truth and its birth are possible only thanks to a multifaceted examination of the subject. Socrates's dialogues on a particular topic served as a tool for clarifying the truth, because only in a dispute where each opponent argues his point of view, you can see the birth of knowledge. Dialectics presupposes a discussion until the truth is fully clarified, each argument receives a counterargument, and so on until the achievement of the ultimate goal - obtaining knowledge.
Principles of Dialectics
The constituent elements of the dialectic of Socrates are quite simple. He used them throughout his life and through them conveyed the truth to his students and followers. They can be represented as follows:
1. "Know thyself"
This phrase became the basis of the philosophy of Socrates. He believed that it was necessary to start all the research with it, because the knowledge of the world is available only to God, and a different fate is destined for a person - he must look for himself and learn his abilities. The philosopher believed that the culture and ethics of an entire nation depend on the level of self-knowledge of each member of society.
2. "I know that I know nothing"
This principle significantly distinguished Socrates from other philosophers and sages. Each of them claimed to have the highest body of knowledge and therefore could call himself a sage. Socrates, on the other hand, followed the path of search, which cannot be completed a priori. The boundaries of personality consciousness can be extended to infinity, so insight and new knowledge become just a step on the path to new questions and searches.
Surprisingly, even the Delphic oracle considered Socrates the wisest. There is a legend that says that, having learned about this, the philosopher was very surprised and decided to find out the reason for such a flattering characteristic. As a result, he interviewed the masses of Attica recognized as the most intelligent people and came to an amazing conclusion: he was recognized as wise, because he does not boast of his knowledge. “I know that I know nothing” - this is the highest wisdom, because absolute knowledge is available only to God and cannot be given to man.
3. "Virtue is knowledge"
This idea was very difficult to accept in public circles, but Socrates could always argue his philosophical principles. He argued that every person strives to do only what his heart desires. And she wants only beautiful and beautiful, therefore, understanding of virtue, which is the most beautiful, leads to the constant implementation of this idea.
We can say that each of the above statements of Socrates can be reduced to three pillars:
- self-knowledge;
- philosophical modesty;
- the triumph of knowledge and virtue.
Dialectics of Socrates seems to be a movement of consciousness towards understanding and achieving an idea. In many situations, the ultimate goal remains unattainable, and the question remains open.
Socrates Method
The dialectic, created by the Greek philosopher, embodies a method that allows you to embark on the path of self-knowledge and truth. It has several basic tools that are still successfully used by philosophers of various movements:
1. The irony
Without the ability to laugh at oneself, it is impossible to come to an understanding of the idea. Indeed, according to Socrates, dogmatic self-confidence in its correctness inhibits the development of thought and leaves no room for doubt. Based on the method of Socrates, Plato argued that real philosophy originates from surprise. It can make a person doubt, and therefore significantly advance on the path of self-knowledge. The dialectic of Socrates, used in ordinary conversations with the inhabitants of Athens, often led to the fact that even the most confident in their knowledge of the Hellenes began to experience disappointment in the former. We can say that this side of Socrates’s method is identical to the second principle of dialectics.
2. Mayevtika
Mayevtics can be called the last stage of irony, in which a person gives birth to truth and comes closer to understanding the subject. In practice, it looks like this:
- man gets rid of his self-confidence;
- feels surprise and disappointment in his ignorance and stupidity;
- approaches the understanding of the need for the search for truth;
- goes the way of answering the questions posed by Socrates;
- each new answer raises the next question;
- after a series of questions (and many of them can be asked in dialogue with oneself), the individual independently gives rise to truth.
Socrates argued that philosophy is an ongoing process that simply cannot turn into a static quantity. In this case, one can predict the "death" of a philosopher who becomes a dogma.
Mayevtika is inseparable from dialogue. It is in them that one can come to knowledge, and Socrates taught his interlocutors and followers to search for truth in different ways. For this, questions to other people and to oneself are equally good and important. In some cases, it is the question posed to oneself that becomes decisive and leads to knowledge.
3. Induction
A distinctive feature of Socrates's dialogues is that truth is unattainable. It is the goal, but philosophy itself is hidden in the movement towards this goal. The urge to search is dialectics in its most direct manifestation. Understanding, according to Socrates, is not the assimilation of truth as food, but only the determination of the necessary subject and the path to it. In the future, a person expects only a forward movement, which should not stop.
Dialectics: stages of development
Dialectics of Socrates became the first and, one might say, spontaneous stage in the development of new philosophical thought. It arose in the fifth century BC and later continued to actively develop. Some philosophers limit the historical stages of Socrates' dialectics to three major milestones, but in reality they are represented by a more complex list:
- ancient philosophy;
- medieval philosophy;
- Renaissance philosophy;
- philosophy of modern times;
- German classical philosophy;
- Marxist philosophy;
- Russian philosophy;
- modern western philosophy.
This list eloquently proves that this direction developed throughout all the historical stages that humanity went through. Of course, not in each of them the dialectic of Socrates received a serious impetus to development, but modern philosophy connects with it many concepts and terms that appeared much later than the death of the ancient Greek philosopher.
