Who Was Socrates? – 8-Bit Philosophy — Transcript

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1. 0:07Who was Socrates?
2. 0:10Though known as one of the most influential thinkers of all time, Socrates never wrote
3. 0:15down a single word.
4. 0:16So, in reality, all we know about him is what others tell us.
5. 0:21Most famously, Socrates is a figure in Plato's dialogues, where, among other things, he is
6. 0:27depicted as short, fat, and ugly; wears dirty togas; doesn't have a job to support his wife
7. 0:32and kids; doesn't participate in Athens's political life; and doesn't care about his
8. 0:36social status. But it's also said of him that he could stay up all night without feeling
9. 0:41tired the next day, could drink anyone under the table without getting drunk, and he is
10. 0:45seemingly impervious to heat and cold.
11. 0:47A total dreamboat, indeed. Yes, according to Plato, Socrates is seemingly superhuman
12. 0:54individual who cares only about asking questions about moral knowledge.
13. 1:00It all started when the Oracle at Delphi declared that no one was wiser than Socrates. Puzzled
14. 1:05by this claim, Socrates set about testing the riddle by seeking out knowledge from people
15. 1:10who claimed to have it.
16. 1:11But while the people thought they had good answers, Socrates's cross-examination showed
17. 1:16them they were wrong. This, of course, made them look like fools, which made a lot of
18. 1:21people in Athens hate him. In the end, Socrates decided that he was wise – at least he knew
19. 1:27that he didn't know.
20. 1:29You would think Socrates would have backed off at that point. But he didn't.
21. 1:34Even in the face of a death sentence, he refused to stop philosophizing, for Socrates thought
22. 1:39fearing unknown things, like death, was just another way in which we pretend to know when,
23. 1:45in fact, we don't.
24. 1:47Socrates believed that he had a responsibility to his fellow Athenians to root out arrogance
25. 1:52and ignorance wherever he found it.
26. 1:54After all, false beliefs are bad for your health. Think about it like this: if you have
27. 1:59a belief that you can safely cross the street, but don't know that an 18-wheeler is bearing
28. 2:04down on you, and if you also happen to have an outsized hubris, you're not going to listen
29. 2:09to someone who tries to tell you to get out of the street. Instead, you'll just walk right
30. 2:14into the path of that massive truck, and, well, SPLAT.
31. 2:18False beliefs influence our actions, and degrade our character. And this is what Socrates wanted
32. 2:24to prevent.
33. 2:25So, the next time you think you know something, consider the wisdom of not thinking you know
34. 2:30something that you don't.
35. 2:32Then again, everything we "know" about Socrates is based on other people's words. So, dear
36. 2:38viewer, is it, then, unwise for us to strongly believe that he actually existed?