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History and Evolution:
By William E. Steinman:
Part 20, Socrates the Man:
August 4, 2003:
"Know thyself," said Socrates.
Perhaps this phrase, more than any other describes the thrust
of Socrates' philosophy. A participant in the Peloponnesian War
(between Athens and Sparta) he witnessed the destruction of the
Athenian empire. In that, he noticed a decline of morality in
his countrymen and elected to take the moral highroad. To a large
extent his philosophy was about the human soul and moral values.
We think mainly of Socrates as a philosopher, but he was not just a philosopher. He was a complete and active person. He was definitely a patriot. Of course, to a large extent, with rare exceptions, to be Athenian meant to be a patriot. However, Socrates went beyond the words. In the Peloponnesian War he served with distinction as a self equipped foot soldier.
For the main he eschewed politics rather than compromise his ethics, though he did serve on the council of 500. That got him in some serious trouble when he stood alone against the council in dissent when they wanted to violate the Athenian constitutional law. Eight generals of the recent war were to be impeached for neglect. The law required that they have separate trials, but the council wanted a quick collective verdict. Socrates made few friends when he refused to go along.
Later, he resisted the terrible thirty when they enlisted his help to railroad some prominent citizens so they could confiscate their property. Again he made few friends, but he was temporarily saved by the democratic revolution. We must remember the fact that Socrates defied the powers on principle, not just contrariness. He did believe in law.
If I had to describe Socrates, I would have to call him a complete superior dominant. When I first outlined and defined my notion of a superior dominant person, I saw it as a behavioral ideal to approach. I never expected to find one. Now, I am surprised and delighted to discover that Socrates seems to fit the description perfectly. Knowing that it is possible gives me great hope for man's future. If one man can achieve it, perhaps, in time, all men can.
I believe, if Socrates' goal had been power, he could easily have come to power in Athens. There is no doubt of his courage. He demonstrated it in war and in peace. He could not be intimidated, he could not be conned, and he could not be bribed. In short he was a real pain to the people in power. Just by being who he was, he made them look like what they were. Their pretenses became transparent beside him.
We noticed that the sophists were to some extent contemporaries of Socrates. Sophism questioned everything. It was a philosophy of cynicism. Rhetoric (argument) was its most powerful tool. The biggest problem with sophism was not that it raised questions about ethics, government, morality, and theology, but that it offered no answers. On the one extreme, some sophists took the position that everything is true. On the other hand were those who held that nothing is true. In any case, everything is relative.
In his philosophy, Socrates discarded the dead-end sophist's notions of relativism. He rightly saw that as a bankrupt philosophy. However, he did not discard the techniques of argumentation developed by the sophists. He honed his own versions of inductive reasoning and dialectic to a fine edge. He used these techniques in his dialogs with others. There is no evidence to support the notion that his intent was malicious in those dialogs. His intent, as he put it, was to arrive at universal truths. He needed universal definitions on which to base his ethics.
We must never overlook Socrates' strong ethical nature. His power was in his ethic. He could not be corrupted. He was a true superior person, the kind the world desperately needs. He was what I would consider to be the first true complete philosopher as opposed to the theoretical scientists who preceded him. He sought truth, he was interested in the human condition, and in human ethics.
In a large sense, his ethic was his philosophy. He stood as a brilliant example to his countrymen against the degenerate morality of his time, all with an ironic sense of humor. In religion, he seemed to be something of a mystic. He did believe in a God, but not in the mythology of the popular gods. He considered those to be inventions.
He concluded that he was wiser than others only because he was aware of his own ignorance. He felt it his mission to make his countrymen aware of their own ignorance. He wanted them to increase their knowledge and discover what was good for their souls. Often, his criticisms did not sit well with those who were exposed thereby.
Socrates was a man of honor and integrity. He could not be intimidated or used. That ultimately cost him his life. In 399 BC, he was indited and convicted under the new democracy by the 500. Socrates, the ironic philosopher suffered the final irony himself. He escaped the wrath of the terrible thirty only to be murdered by a democracy of the rabble. The main charge seems to have been impiety. Of course, that is nonsense. It is most likely that Socrates was murdered because he was personally impeccable and a bit of an elitist. He was a constant and consistent critic of the new democracy.
He saw no reason why the leaders of the state should not be professional, superior practitioners. Instead they were members of the rabble with no more qualifications to lead than any of the rabble. The real unspoken charge was criticizing the representative of the rabble. Regardless of who was in power he could not be induced to go against his principles. He would not join the thugs, bandits, and thieves.
He could easily have saved his life by going along. Instead,
he chose to treat the charade with the contempt it deserved. After
conviction, he could have avoided the death sentence and escaped
with the help of friends. Again he chose to obey the law. Although
he agreed it was wrong, he drank the hemlock. In that, he became,
in reality, a martyr to truth, reason, and the rule of law.
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