How can I walk in the shoes of Socrates?

coberst · Post by **coberst** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:18 am

How can I walk in the shoes of Socrates?

The following is an attempt to develop a means for us to empathesize with Socrates.

Many decades ago a professor of philosophy told me that â€œphilosophy is about radically critical self-consciousnessâ€. It was thirty years later that this statement began to make sense to me.

To become critically self-conscious is to tread on the path to a philosophical frame of mind. If you treat this imaginary problem that I lay out here as more than thoughtless past time you might begin to comprehend what that philosophy professor thinks philosophy is about.

Imagine that you and a thousand other people live deep in the isolated and frozen interior of Alaska. Imagine further that every one of you had been born colorblind and none had any idea what color was. Imagine further that you are an exercise nut and discovered, quite by accident, that if you performed a certain sequence of exercises you developed color perception.

What would you do?

If you tried to tell the others what would they do? Would you be able to convince any one of them to follow your example? How would you explain to them what you had accomplished?

Would they eventually kill you like the Athenians did Socrates?

luciferjohn · Post by **luciferjohn** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 10:22 am

coberst;1238964 wrote: How can I walk in the shoes of Socrates?

The following is an attempt to develop a means for us to empathesize with Socrates.

Many decades ago a professor of philosophy told me that â€œphilosophy is about radically critical self-consciousnessâ€. It was thirty years later that this statement began to make sense to me.

To become critically self-conscious is to tread on the path to a philosophical frame of mind. If you treat this imaginary problem that I lay out here as more than thoughtless past time you might begin to comprehend what that philosophy professor thinks philosophy is about.

Imagine that you and a thousand other people live deep in the isolated and frozen interior of Alaska. Imagine further that every one of you had been born colorblind and none had any idea what color was. Imagine further that you are an exercise nut and discovered, quite by accident, that if you performed a certain sequence of exercises you developed color perception.

What would you do?

If you tried to tell the others what would they do? Would you be able to convince any one of them to follow your example? How would you explain to them what you had accomplished?

Would they eventually kill you like the Athenians did Socrates?

i remember an exorcise similar to this one, good one, it all would depend on the code of the time, and type of leadership in the group,im positive youd be able to sway a few to your way of thinking,thats the difficult part if they have no concept of color then its going to be difficult to explain, because all you would know is you see different you wouldnt be able to explain it, to yourself let alone the rest of your group, you couldnt even do the hot for red thing, because you wouldnt know it,and eventually if you pushed hard enough they probly would kill you , sorry its human nature.

did i pass teach??:D:wah:

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 10:54 am

If you tried to tell the others what would they do? Would you be able to convince any one of them to follow your example? How would you explain to them what you had accomplished?

I wouldn't tell. I'd go to a friend and say, "I just had the most AMAZING experience. I can't explain it - you've got to experience it. This is how you do it..." (describe exercise routine).

Then I'd go to another friend and do the same. Then I'd wait.

luciferjohn · Post by **luciferjohn** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 10:58 am

Clodhopper;1239187 wrote: I wouldn't tell. I'd go to a friend and say, "I just had the most AMAZING experience. I can't explain it - you've got to experience it. This is how you do it..." (describe exercise routine).

Then I'd go to another friend and do the same. Then I'd wait.

thats what i ment by swaying a few people your friends of course would tell their friends, up till someone got it wrong then the group would quit growing.

these kinds of talks are fun huh??:D

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:28 am

thats what i ment by swaying a few people your friends of course would tell their friends, up till someone got it wrong then the group would quit growing.

Ah, I see. Same principle: Show, don't Tell.

Anyway, I always thought Socrates wore sandals, not shoes...:-2

luciferjohn · Post by **luciferjohn** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:33 am

Clodhopper;1239208 wrote: Ah, I see. Same principle: Show, don't Tell.

Anyway, I always thought Socrates wore sandals, not shoes...:-2

:yh_rotfl

luciferjohn · Post by **luciferjohn** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:51 pm

Ian;1239404 wrote: Don't think of it in language terms, One man see it then they all will see it, a "100th Monkey" a new evolution in consciousness, the language would not explain it only the representation would.

within time, you could speed that up by introducing more members of said society to the process, otherwise you would only have one colorsighted line the original line would still continue, the whole society would not evolve just that line creating a different species.

if i understood correctly:D