Socrates and the Search for Inner Self: The Socratic Method

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1. For Socrates, the search for wisdom begins with an attempt to gain clarity as to who we truly are as human beings. Before we can presume to understand the world, we must begin by understanding the reality of our own consciousness. From a Socratic point of view, the world is reduced exclusively to the human world, everything else being inconsequential. Initially, the search for wisdom is understood in terms of my need to understand precisely who I am.

“Jack of all trades, master of none” (Titelman,1). This idiom is what exactly comes to mind when I ponder over Socrates’ apparent need to pursue self above all things. While there are many other things that appear more important, more crucial than giving utmost attention to one’s self, the reality of life is that we cannot function, we cannot give life our best shot until we look inward and find out exactly who we are. Even “the world, with all its elements and stars, steps aside to let the self, the human soul, occupy the only place of prominence worthy of consideration in the adventure of philosophy” (Navia, 39). I believe that self is so important because we have to identify our ‘calling’, the main reason of being on earth, before we can even think about affecting our environment, peers etc. I totally agree with Socrates when he “insists that instead of looking outwards, that is toward the world, we should turn our glance inwards, that is, to the being that we are, each one of us in his own individuality” (Navia, 39). All of us cannot be involved in every single thing at the same time. We must first identify who we are, what interests us and then find our niche in this big, lonely world. Then, and only then, can we achieve any meaningful goal. Navia also notes in his ‘Adventure...

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...olescent psychiatry. Practice of child psychology and child psychiatry. - 49.2000, 7, pp. 489-496. Print. (2000)
Paul Gerard Horrigan. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Man. Philosophical Anthropology. 2008. Web. Retrieved from http://www.phorrigan.fcpages.com/philoanthropology.htm
Piotr Próchniak, Thrill and Adventure Seekers: Affective Organization of Personal Meaning of Extreme Weather. American Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol. 2, No. 6, 2013, pp. 75-79. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20130206.12. Print.
Spirit. “Wednesday Word – Spirit” 2013. Web. Retrieved from http://www.whatgoddoes.com/?p=779
Voiceable. (n.d.). - 30 Adorable Animals Twitter Cover Photos. Web. Retrieved from http://www.voiceable.org/adorable-animals-twitter-cover-photos.html
Yelp.Inc. Talk San Francisco. 2004. Web. Retrieved from http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-do-you-arm-yourself-at-night

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