Thursday 11 September 2014

Socrates Ideologies


Socrates was a Greek philosopher who was considered the "(Western) Father of Philosophy" and he lived around 469-399 B.C. I admire Socrates greatly, he was ahead of his time and a brilliant philosopher. One of my favourite quotes by Socrates is  "what I do not know I do not think I know". Socrates was saying he was very aware that he did not know many things, and that wrongdoings were committed due to a person's or people's unawareness or ignorance. I am not sure whether or not I agree with Socrates on the latter, I think I agree and disagree to an extent. People can be oblivious to doing wrong, while they may be very aware of their wrongdoing and still continue to be arrogant and sinister. It all depends on the situation where this quote is being applied to.
Most Athenians did not like Socrates, his philosophical ideologies went against everything they believed in. When Socrates was jailed and stood on trial he preached that the most important thing for families' loved ones was their soul/mental/emotional well being and not occupations and titles. That was a very bold and liberal statement, especially during that time period.  I agree with Socrates on this because a high-paying job does not ensure someone's happiness. Happiness comes from within a person. Socrates was a strong advocate for building oneself rather than focus on materialistic things and I know from personal experience that these materialistic things do not ensure one's happiness.

No comments:

Post a Comment