Most Important To Socrates example essay topic

Istvan Kurunczi Philosophy 101 Dr. Kasper Socrates "Truth and Good" Philosophers examine truth, virtue, morality, immortality, death, and the difference between the psyche (soul) and the soma (body), which are just a few of the many different topics that can be covered within philosophy. Philosophers are supposed to be experts on all these subjects. They have well thought out opinions, and they are very learned people. Among the most revered philosophers of all time was Socrates, who made some very bold statements relating to truth, right and wrong, and good and evil while on trial for his life. Living around the 5th century B.C., Socrates was one of the first philosophers not considered a sophist, meaning he never felt that he was wise for he was always in the pursuit of knowledge.

One of his best students, Plato, recorded what had occurred just before he was executed for his statements. On that last day of his life, Socrates made a powerful claim. He claimed that philosophy was merely practice for getting used to death and dying. Because of this belief he did not fear death but viewed it as a release from the mortal bondage that prevented him from attaining true enlightenment. At first, the connection between philosophy and death is not clear. However, as we unravel Socrates' argument backing up his claim, the statement makes a lot of sense.

In order for Philosophers to examine their world accurately and learn the truth accurately, they must remove themselves of all distractions. These not only include physical distractions, but they include mental distractions and bodily distractions as well. Philosophers must get used to viewing and examining the world with out any senses. Senses merely hinder and obscure the truth.

Sight for example can be fooled easily with optical illusions that occur normally in nature. Sound can be distracting as well when a philosopher is trying to concentrate. All of these cloud the judgment, and must therefore be detached from the soul. Socrates argues that philosophers must view the world around them with their souls in order to accurately learn about it. This is can also be applied when determining the difference between good and evil. However, by detaching their souls from all bodily functions, philosophers may as well be in an induced state of death.

Socrates also believed that philosophers look upon death with good cheer and hope. This I find hard to believe because if this were true, the philosopher would not be able to love life, and without the love of life, there is no life to examine and learn about. It is understandable why the philosopher would look forward to death with good cheer. Once the philosopher is dead, his soul is free to roam around without hindrances forever, and all the worlds's egrets shall be revealed to him. In fact, Socrates sees his death as liberation from the shackles of life, for his last wish was for Crito to sacrifice a rooster to Asclepius.

This god was normally given sacrifices to free the sickly from the grips of a virus or illness. Perhaps Socrates saw the body as a sickness that fed upon the soul. If this were the case, then indeed Socrates would be happy to leave the bonds of life, for then he could have an eternity to seek out truth, good, and all his answers without the diversions and distractions of a body. Socrates believed that it was this search that was important, even more so than the answers them selves. Socrates believed that the journey toward the answers is where most of the learning takes place, and it is this journey that truly reveals all the good, evil, and truth that a philosopher seeks.

In The Republic, Socrates tests the proper order of human nature that exists between reason, spirit and desire. He did this by questioning others of their beliefs and their thoughts. He would raise doubts in their time-honored teachings in order to prove them wrong and raise contradictions. Socrates taught people in this way as opposed to preaching to the groups that he would attract. The proper order that Socrates held was that reason came first above all, then spirit and lastly, desire. Reason was the most important to Socrates because it was believed that his reason, or wisdom, could overcome his physical desires.

Socrates also tied being just and unjust into reason. However, he does not have a proper definition for justice. Many individuals offered various definitions for justice but none of them satisfied Socrates. When challenged for his views Socrates says that justice is wise and virtuous and he tries to prove that justice is more profitable than injustice. To do this, Socrates explains that you must look at the whole city and not an individual person. When Socrates described the perfect city, it included three classes of people.

The highest class, albeit the smallest, included the philosophers because they held the most wisdom. The philosophers were said to have gold in them and valuable virtues such as self-control and self-discipline. Because this group was the wisest, or had the most reason, that is why they were held in such high regard and were allowed to hold the upper-class position. The second highest class consisted of the soldiers. Soldiers were important because they had the courage to protect the city, so they were said to have silver in them. The lowest class, which was the most abundant, was the businessmen, farmers, and craftspeople.

This class was considered to have bronze or iron in them. Even though the lower class didn't have as high a value as the upper classes, they were still important because the people in the lower classes specialized in a certain skill. Everyone in the state had their job and if they preformed their task and did it well reasoning dictates the state would be successful. In order for each of the people to find their specialized task they needed an education. Therefore, spirit was the next important to Socrates because that dealt with education. Socrates believed that in order for the state to succeed the classes needed to be educated.

Education for the people in the state began at an early age. Anything that was taught had to have the correct moral implications as to teach people the right way to act. Socrates believed in censoring the stories that were told so that no story would portray "badly in words what the gods and heros are" (The Republic, Book II, page 175). By trying to censor all of the stories that are told to the children, Socrates wanted to make sure that only the good things were told to the children, so they don't know of the bad things that went on like the wars between states or quarrels between the gods. As a result of this censorship, it would only show the good in the gods and no harm would be done and no evil would exist.

Without the existence of evil, children would be free to develop along a path of virtue, and be taught to walk the path of right at an early age. Desire was the least important to Socrates because there wasn't much that he desired. Socrates could be ascetic or monastic during his life. He encouraged other people to be ascetic so they wouldn't desire another person's job and only do the job that was suited for them. Desire made people unjust and want more then they should. People who had diseases and had a bad moral character were not healed by the doctors and would in turn get executed.

This would show people not to desire more than they should. In the Myth of Gages, a shepherd finds a ring of invisibility and his desire comes out and he seduces the queen, kills the king, and takes over the power of the state. Because he had the invisibility ring, he became unjust and let his desires take over and he became power hungry. If anyone is given this power no one is sure what he will do with it, but there is a strong possibility that he will choose injustice and let desire overcome him. Socrates' view of human nature and order of reason, spirit, and desire is the correct one because reason, or wisdom should always come first. With reason many things are possible and proven to be beneficial for the possessor.

Reason was viewed as one of the most important things in society. This is evident because the highest class consisted of philosophers who were said to be made of gold. Spirit belongs next because the education that you received determined where you would be in the social classes. Desire is last because you were considered unjust if you would succumb to your desires and praised if you were ascetic.

In conclusion, Socrates who argued many things during his lifetime was trying to get a few simple points across. Humility, morality, truth, virtue, and the difference between right and wrong are all factors of positive human nature that are embedded within each of us. Truth needs to be established before anyone can fully understand themselves, or the world around them. Socrates created good examples for people to follow to better themselves. Work Cited Plato.

The Republic. Cambridge: Penguin Classics, 1968 Vere ss, Frank MD. Personal Interview. 06 October 2003 Potman, Louis P. Introduction to Philosophy "Socrates Wisdom: The Trial of Socrates". Belmont: Wadsworth, 2000.