Jessica Martin

PHI101
March 28, 2010

Reflection
The first three weeks of The Quest for Wisdom have been really interesting. Socrates really caught my

attention. When I was in High School I do not have any interest in reading about Socrates. Now that I read

it, I wish I had read more about Socrates in High School. Socrates was a very interesting man, he never

claimed to know a lot and even considered himself ignorant. I admired his ways, never ashamed to ask a

question. Socrates would educate himself by asking many questions. People would give him the answer

and he would continue to question them. He was able to dig deeper and open more doors. Socrates loved

and believed in the truth. He spent this life preparing for death, because he believed the soul was immortal.

By reading about Socrates, I feel like I will approach certain situations differently.

Socrates, who is also credited for being the founder of western philosophy, he is known by the writings of

his students. Plato was one the famous students of Socrates. Plato has over twenty dialogues with

Socrates being the main actor. Socrates came across as being arrogant to some, even thought he claims

not to know a lot about the world. I really admired that Socrates asked so many questions. To me it makes

a lot of sense. Sometimes what we read does not make sense. To be able to question others is just

inspirational. It seems like now days if you question someone who is of higher authority you are

reprimanded for it. It is also easy to see where people would take offense to so many questions. It can

come across as being arrogant, if you do not know ones intentions. By reading this, I think I may be more

willing to challenge others. I am going to dig deeper into why a yes is a yes, or a no a no. Socrates did

have his on views, he asked a lot of questions and never really had a lot of answers.
Socrates explains virtue, you must first have knowledge of goodness and if you do acquire that knowledge,

it is sufficient and produces virtue in the soul. Socrates did not believe that a person knowingly did wrong,

it’s because they do not understand fully what they were doing. He believed that everyone tried there best,

but what we think is best is not always best. I don’t agree with this thought 100% , but I can see the relation

to the statement. Unfortunately, I think people know wrong from right. I think everyone has the intuition that

sends signals. You may not realize at that moment that your intuition is talking to you, but you often look

back and say I should have listened to my gut feelings.

Socrates often asked some rather uncomfortable questions and they were not always welcomed. Socrates

was accused of corrupting the youth and was later poisoned. In Euthyphro, Socrates is trying to learn what

piety is. Euthyphro has to bring charges to his own father, and feels that it is okay because he understands

what religious piety is. Euthyphro tries several times to explain piety; he says Pious acts are loved by all the

Gods. Socrates ask ‘Is what you're doing pious because it is loved by the gods, or do the gods love what

you're doing because what you're doing is pious?’ This question made all the sense to me. How do we

really know what is correct. We all have our own morals and what is acceptable to me may not be

acceptable to you. I really enjoyed this reading and could apply this method in my everyday life. So many

people claim to be pious yet they are the first ones who actions contradict there faith.

The wonder and reflection reading really got my attention. I consider myself to be an open person. I like

hearing other people’s point of views. I think two heads can be better then one and I do a lot of wondering. I

think to wonder is to question, which is what Socrates did well. Socrates also believed that two wrongs

don’t make a right. It is important to understand that when you are upset you will have poor judgment.

Plato’s Apology was probably the most interesting reading thus far. Socrates is on trial for not recognizing
 the Gods that the state recognizes. It is really hard to comprehend such actions, because of the freedom

that we have today. To think that you would be sentence to death because you did not believe in the same

thing as what the state said you had to believe in is mind boggling to me. I am thankful that I live in today’s

world and not back then when you would be sentence to death for expressing your views. Socrates was

accused of corrupting the youth and not worshiping normal gods. Socrates tries to defend himself; by

staying no one would purposely corrupt the youth. Socrates believes that if any of the youth were corrupted

it was because of the slander by others not anything he did. Socrates goes into explaining death. He is not

afraid of death and says he has prepared his entire life for death. Socrates also sad it would not make any

sense for a philosopher to be sad of death when they prepare their life for death. Socrates has a good

point, one thing is for sure is that we will all die. We can spend our life trying to avoid the truth or we can

face it.

I understood the readings and I feel they were very good readings. I enjoy the discussions; it is amazing to

see so many interoperations to a question. It is also helps open the mind to more ideas. Socrates really

helped me understand philosophy. It’s really a never-ending question and there is always something to be

said. I find it very interesting and I cannot wait to learn more. For me the first three weeks have been great,

I feel like the questions were challenging because I am not certain there is a right or wrong answer. I feel

like it has made me think outside the box, which is not a natural feeling. I feel as if I understand what is

going on and what is expected. Some topics may not be as interesting as others but yet I am still finding it

interesting. I feel as if I am asking my self more questions before I ask others questions. Maybe I am

challenging my self to be more aggressive in my thoughts. I liked Socrates so much that I will probably go

hit the local library for some other reading related to him. I look forward to what is to come.