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My Philosophy teacher has asked some pretty neat questions regarding how Socrates thought.
On this page I am posting his questions along with my answers. His questions are in black following with my responses in red.
In something of an aside, S states
that concern to make the young as good as possible is of the first importance and that anyone who would engage in political
activity should have this at the forefront of his concerns.
[This is true, isn't it? Is this of the first importance to our political or social leaders?]
A good portion of politicians are corrupt. Some people
say that ALL of them are, only because a certain politician does something not in their favor. Raising youth to be honest,
caring individuals is almost entirely impossible since everyone tells a "little white lie" now and then. If by chance there
were an honest politician, he would still be considered corrupt by the people who disagree with what he stands for.
E raises the question how Meletus says S corrupts the young. S answers by saying that "He says I am a maker of gods; he charges me with making new gods, and not believing
in the old ones."
[How
could this corrupt the youth?]
Man can be looked at as superior in this decision or
as irrelevant. First, man can make Gods simply by believing in them, giving them character, spreading the word of 'their'
word, and creating myths about them. Man can decide, "I want this God to be the creator of the world and if all people abide
by his law and do his bidding, which is to treat everyone with respect and never harm a fly, then they will have eternal life
in heaven." (or Hell or the chocolate factory, depending on which God he makes up).
Soon, thousands and thousands of people will believe in this new God.
On the other side, man is irrelevant in this decision
as a 'maker of gods". Some might argue that the gods have always existed since
the beginning of time. One of my History Professors a couple years back made
a statement that really stuck with me. He said, "Look at the oceans, mountains, the sky, the stars, our universe and everything
in it. If God created all of this, then he is infinite, and Man's mind is too
finite to comprehend infinity, therefore one cannot truely know God." I don't know if he was quoting someone else, but it
makes a lot of sense. Man cannot make a star or a sky or a mountain or an ocean.
But then again, is it possible that this 'God', that
a lot of people think created everything, could have done it on his own? What about all the other Gods? The 'old' gods. Could it have been possible that the universe was created by a civilaztion of gods?
One to make the oceans, one to make the stars, one to make the mountains, one to make people, etc. The questions are infinite and there are no answers to infinity.
S inquires concerning the alleged crime, supposing that E must believe that
his father killed a relative, for no one would prosecute his father for killing a non-relative.
[It's
not clear to me S is serious here. If he is, it's worth further inquiry.]
A person can prosecute a family member for any means
they feel necessary if it goes with their moral standards. If they believe their
relative killed someone (even if it was another relative) unfairly, then they could prosecute without so much as a tiny ounce
of regret. Seeing that Socrates was making a supposition, we are led to believe
that family was more precious then non family (which is the same case nowadays). If
your father killed a relative, it would probably be considered unholy because you killed one of your own flesh and blood.
If he had killed this relative for a good reason, it might be dismissable but the uneasy feelings and tension would still
float within family members. If he killed the relative just out of spite, that
would be all the more reason for the family to prosecute their father.
As for the discussion between Socrates and Osama bin
Laden...
O I know things
divine and specifically know the holy and the unholy.
Again, "...man's mind is too finite to comprehend infinity,
therefore one cannot truely know God."
Unless of course Osama Bin Laden is God himself. Scary
thought. :o)
Many answers have been given historically to Socrates' question about knowledge
of what pleases God and what displeases God.
I agree with the answer dealing with Faith. A person is born and raised usually on the faith of their parents.
What their parents teach them throughout life about their chosen religion, sticks with them and is embedded into their
heads. If all you ever heard when growing up was, "If you don't say thank you
after you eat dinner, the boogey man will come to eat you." you would be one
screwed up little kid/adult. But...you would grow up firmly 'believing' that with every ounce of faith in you, especially
when everyone you knew believed in it too and when family and friends and entire congregations emphasize and stress certain
scrpitures from books you are made to read. We are robots when we are born, and
although we are free to make our own decisions, it isn't until we break away from the hum drum of 'normal' society, that we
find and recognize what we really believe in based on our own standards.
O I could
easily do that for you, Socrates, but I've got a meeting with my highest-ranking lieutenants, and the struggle to destroy
the Great Satan and His minions, Israel
and Great Britain, can't wait on your elementary studies.
This is great!
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