The scene: inside the Perry-Castañeda Library, as I doze off over a paperback of Plato’s Republic. Socrates materializes before me in a sudden, puzzling flash of light.
Me. Socrates, why am I here?
Socrates. Your parents willed it so. I am afraid I do not follow the intent of your question.
Me. I mean, at this university, that is. What am I doing here? Is there any ethical or moral justification for my attainment of a college education? What is the purpose of my education?
Socrates. I do not believe I can produce an adequate answer. You are the college student, whereas I am just an ancient philosopher, so it seems that you would be in a better position to answer your own question. Why do you conjecture you are here at college?
Me. Well, I must be here to prepare myself for a future job, for a career.
Socrates. Yes, that is one way of perceiving the situation, I suppose. However, your definition is quite narrow and limited, is it not?
Me. Isn’t that what people do at college, though? They choose their majors, they take the right classes to prepare them for their future careers, and they eventually graduate with degrees that will help them find work. At least, that’s what our state legislators keep telling me. Through my attainment of a useful career, I can provide for both my family and society as a whole. Therefore, I must argue that the justification for a college education lies in its ability to provide a fruitful career.
Socrates. Yes, that much is true. Nevertheless, the pursuit of a career is not the only reason you are at this university, I would hope. You do not plan to become a linguist, I presume?
Me. Of course not! Not that there’s anything wrong with linguists.
Socrates. Why have you registered for the course...
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Socrates. However, does such a mathematical proof truly require a human imagination, or can it be successfully constructed by an automaton? Does the student truly synthesize any novel ideas in his new proof of a long-known fact?
Me. I would think so, although your questions give me reservations. Wouldn’t the mathematical proof generated by an automaton simply be a reflection on the imagination of its creator?
Socrates. It is futile to argue back and forth on the semantics of the word “imagination.” I am afraid that we still have not been able to conclude a concrete purpose for a college education.
Me. Ah, I was afraid you might say that.
I suddenly awaken over the loud crashing of books upon the floor. I blink a few times, attempting to recompose myself, but Socrates has disappeared from the ether of my dreams and returned to the pages of Plato’s Republic.
Socrates put one’s quest for wisdom and the instruction of others above everything else in life. A simple man both in the way he talked and the wealth he owned, he believed that simplicity in whatever one did was the best way of acquiring knowledge and passing it unto others. He is famous for saying that “the unexplained life is not worth living.” He endeavored therefore to break down the arguments of those who talked with a flowery language and boasted of being experts in given subjects (Rhees 30). His aim was to show that the person making a claim on wisdom and knowledge was in fact a confused one whose clarity about a given subject was far from what they claimed. Socrates, in all his simplicity never advanced any theories of his own but rather aimed at bringing out the worst in his interlocutors.
Nails, Debra. “Socrates”. Stanford University. Jan 29, 2014. Web. Feb 16, 2014. Retrieved from: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/#SocStr
The pursuit of truth, just as Socrates, has always been a distinguishing part of who I am and what I regard as a noble and worthwhile approach to life. My mother told me that when I was a child I always had another question for every answer she ever gave me. I remember it as if it was yesterday. My mother and I had brought back some flowers from the nursery to plant in her garden. As she went about her business laying down the mulch and arranging the flowers the way she wanted them, I began to take notice of the many bugs embedded in the so...
Socrates was wise men, who question everything, he was found to be the wise man in Athens by the oracle. Although he was consider of being the wises man alive in those days, Socrates never consider himself wise, therefore he question everything in order to learned more. Socrates lived a poor life, he used to go to the markets and preach in Athens he never harm anyone, or disobey any of the laws in Athens, yet he was found guilty of all charges and sentence to die.
Works Cited Plato. The. The "Crito". Annotated text. The Last Days of Socrates.
Plato’s “Defense of Socrates” follows the trial of Socrates for charges of corruption of the youth. His accuser, Meletus, claims he is doing so by teaching the youth of Athens of a separate spirituality from that which was widely accepted.
West, Grace S., Thomas West. Texts on Socrates: Plato and Aristophanes. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998.
Socrates says that it is also impossible for everyone to know that is right for the youth. He goes on to give an example of a horse. Socrates explains that only one person would be able to train horses correctly, a horse trainer. A horse trainer has been instructed in how to raise horses. A person walking on the road would not be able to train horses properly, because the would have no previous knowledge or experience ...
The debate on whether or not students should attend college after achieving a high school degree is one that many would like to consider two-sided; Debra Humphreys says that “going to college is clearly better than not going,” but Claire Potter mentions the opposite side, quoting an unnamed professor who says that “the vast majority of people who end up in our community college system don’t belong in college at all.” I would argue that the issue is not two-sided, and that there are more complexities to the issue than are always printed in media; to say that all college students should go to college or that all should not attempt to place a variety of different cases into a single group. Perhaps a better option is to say that college (in the traditional sense, with boarding and special liberal arts programs) should be recognized as an option for students immediately after their high school graduation, but other options, including the choice to go to vocational school or entrance straight into the workforce, should be considered.
"Plato." Literature of the Western World, Volume 1. 5th edition by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001. 1197-1219.
Socrates focuses his philosophy on life entirely on the discovery of knowledge and wisdom, ethics, and the soul. He was obsessed with seeking of knowledge and wisdom: he believed that they are the key to a good life. He went on to state that, “an unexamined life, is a life not worth living.” According to him, knowledge and wisdom correlate to ethical actions, ultimately resulting in a life of happiness, by
philosopher that he was, he had quite a different take on the issue. Socrates strove
Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived from 469-399 B.C.E. Socrates believed that Philosophy was primarily a social activity, which in fact he made use of quite often. He would find himself roaming the streets of Athens questioning the youth or just anyone who would give him the chance to talk to them. Furthermore, Socrates questions drove people absolutely insane, until the point of absolute consternation if you will. He tried proving a point which is quoted “Look, here we are, two ignorant men, yet two, men who desire to know. I am willing to pursue the question seriously if you are” (Palmer, 31).Ultimately, this meant that the person Socrates was questioning actually didn’t know anything at all, just as well as Socrates himself, so which for the both of them would remain in search of the truth.
Socrates was among the first philosophers who wasn't a sophist, meaning that he never felt that he was
When Socrates was brought to trial for the corruption of the city’s youth he knew he had done nothing wrong. He had lived his life as it should be lead, and did what he ne...