Core Philosophy Aspects
The special feature of Socratic philosophy is its conscious departure from cosmology, centered on the cosmos, to anthropocentrism, which is its basic, most important principle. Thus, Socrates concentrates on the human being and on the individual’s life. Two intents, faith and reasoning, determine Socrates’ personal and philosophical destiny. Contrary to slanderers, Socrates not only believes in the Gods but hears a “divine voice” that helped him and imposed prohibitions on certain of his actions (Plato, 2019). Despite his belief in the Gods, Socrates rationalizes theology in his own way. Socrates does not call God by any name; for him, God is the ultimate justice of the world. For Socrates, life itself appears as an investigation; this idea is confirmed by way of life that Socrates leads: from everywhere he enters into conversation with the young, experiencing himself and others. That is why, after his conviction, Socrates refuses to be exiled and accepts the death sentence.
Another feature of Socratic philosophy is the paradox of irony. In the ancient sense, the irony is the psychological attitude according to which one presents oneself as inferior to what is in reality; in this way, one devalues oneself. In his speech, Socrates emphasizes his age, highlighting his ethical responsibility. The decency of age requires one to speak the truth, not make a contrived speech. Decency prevents one from leading matters that demoralize the Athenians (Plato, 2019). Socrates further indicates that the course of life is natural, and at his age, it is no longer ridiculous to complain about having to die. In contrast to age, Socrates associates the youthfulness of the accusers with non-self-sufficiency, irresponsibility, unreasonableness, an extreme degree of imperfection, and an unrestrained soul (Plato, 2019). This activity is the pursuit of wisdom because God himself is genuinely clever. Despite what the slanderers say, Socrates does not recognize the Gods; he serves the gods and discovers that human knowledge is distant from divine wisdom. Even a trial would not have prevented Socrates from ceasing to philosophize.
Another argument for not searching for the possibility of avoiding death, although it is quite possible, is respect for the law, which is a condition of order and therefore cannot be avoided. In this case, it is a question of law as being; the laws of a country are a particular case of the essence of that one. In the Socratic philosophy, everything is united by a single order, the violation of which will result in punishment. The soul of Socrates is preoccupied with philosophy, and even in death, the philosopher considers it possible to converse with otherwise persons who have joined him and finds in it only the good (Plato, 2019). Thus, even death is viewed by Socrates as the path to immortality and happiness. Accordingly, the value of philosophy to Socrates is that it can enable people to know the world and enrich their souls. At the same time, his philosophy is designed to rationalize human beings and enable them to enhance their own virtues.
Other Schools and Philosophies
Socrates’ tragic finale provided his whole life, words, deeds, teachings, and personality with unique integrity, completeness, and unfading attraction. The Sophists raised for the first time the epistemological problem of the reliability of human knowledge and the possibility of objective truths (Sellars, 2018). Socrates opposed the Sophists’ individualism, subjectivism, and relativism with all his vigor, but from positions that differed significantly from those of a wide range of his fellow citizens. On the one hand, the deep divide that separated the sophist and Socrates precluded the existence of elements of common ground in their views. However, this is not entirely true; suffice it to mention that, for the Sophists and Socrates, the fundamental problem of philosophy was not the cosmological one, as their predecessors had, but the anthropological issue. They focused not on the world and the world order but on man and his life (Sellars, 2018). All natural-philosophical, cosmological and ontological difficulties were declared to be secondary and not significant enough. Therefore, it can be argued that Socrates’ views are subject to the philosophy of the Sophists.
The Sophists and Socrates did not share their defenders’ view of the human being as merely part of the cosmos. They proclaimed the individual as determined by the cosmos. It can be stated that Protagoras’ thesis of man as the “measure” of all things is in a sense echoed by Socrates. Ultimately, the Sophists and Socrates had in common that they oriented philosophy toward raising the question of human essence, its place, and representation in the world (Sellars, 2018). In this way, they “humanized” philosophy and set its humanistic goals and objectives.
It is also significant to remark that Plato’s philosophical writing is permeated by the Socratic style, exposing the truthfulness of Socrates’ views. Therefore, Plato was concerned with the search for truth, the manner of Socrates’ thinking, the understanding of the meaning and role of philosophy in human life (Schultz, 2020). The line of Socratic philosophy in the history of ancient Greek thought can be traced not only in the philosophical sphere proper but in the field of political and legal ideas. A series of Socrates’ fundamental judgments find their further development and elaboration in Plato’s political philosophy and Aristotle’s political science. Furthermore, it was in the political-legal doctrines of subsequent generations of ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, particularly Polybius, the Stoics, and Cicero (Schultz, 2020). The Socratic influence, partly directly or through the impact of the ideas and concepts of Plato’s political philosophy, was quite noticeably reflected in the philosophical and political-legal constructions and views of Aristotle.
This is evident in the rationalism of his philosophical studies, in his teachings about the ethical and political virtues, and the different forms of the state. Similarly, Aristotle developed the philosophy of Socrates in his concept of justice as a regulative norm of political communication, in his interpretation of the ratio of natural law and willed law (Schultz, 2020). Accordingly, it can be argued that the argument for the truthfulness and value of Socrates’ views is the used of them by his followers.
Along with the Platonic and then Aristotelian line of developing Socrates’ creative legacy and popularizing his thoughts, many other disciples and founders of various Socratic schools contributed. The Socratic tradition of Socrates’ wisdom became universally recognized, although each of his followers understood and interpreted it. Common to all of them was the advocacy of the principle of the independence of the true “sage” from external circumstances. They emphasized inner peace of mind and freedom from the surrounding social and political life, with its vain intrigues and struggles for seeming benefits. In drawing a portrait of such a “wise man,” they usually appealed to the Socratic ironic manner of relating to life and those around him, admiring his fortitude in court and sacrificing life. Hence, the ironic style of philosophy was appreciated and developed by Socrates’ followers. For Helvetius, Socrates is a single-minded propagandist of reason, educator of the world, and the enemy of superstitions and false dogmas imposed by priests and clergy of all ages and peoples (Sellars, 2018). Thus, Helvetius is exposed to the veracity of Socrates’ beliefs and philosophy. Accordingly, because many philosophers supported various aspects of Socrates’ teachings, it can be asserted that they are relativistic and valuable.
References
Plato, B. (2019). Apology. BookRix.
Schultz, A. M. (2020). Plato’s Socrates on Socrates: Socratic Self-Disclosure and the Public Practice of Philosophy. Lexington Books.
Sellars, J. (2018). Philosophy as a Way of Life. The Philosophers’ Magazine, (83), 60-65.