Socrates lived between 469 and 399 B.C.E. and he is one of the most famous philosophers
in the entire history of humankind.
He is sometimes considered as the founder of the Western philosophy and his work reflects
the philosophy of Skepticism, which has as its main base that knowledge can be obtained
through systematic doubt and continual testing.
Although Socrates hasn't written anything, he has forever changed philosophy itself.
Most of the things we know today about his philosophy came from Plato, Aristophanes and
Xenophon whose writings are in the form of dialogues between Socrates and other Athenians.
These writings gave birth to a new literary genre called the Socratic dialogue.
Unfortunately, he is also famous for his tragic life.
In 399 BCE, he was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and of failing to acknowledge
the city's official gods.
After a trial that lasted just a single day, he was sentenced to death.
He spent his last day in prison, refusing to escape.
The way his life ended can be considered as the founding myth of philosophy as a discipline.
For one to really practice philosophy, they have to go against societal norms, to question
everything even at the risk of their own peril.
Everything about Socrates was impressive: his appearance, personality, and behaviour,
as well as in his views and methods.
And this made many of the people around him to write about him, including Plato.
It is unfortunate that Socrates did not write at all and all we have is indirect evidence.
Also, it is said that each age produces a Socrates of its own, however there are some
core fundamental teachings of the original Socrates that transcend the centuries and
to help you better understand his teachings and how to implement them into your own life,
in this video we bring you 9 life lessons we can learn from the philosophy of Socrates:
1.
Open yourself to the truth Socrates said: “The only true wisdom is
in knowing you know nothing…”
This quote is one of the most famous quotes of all time.
It is also called the Socratic paradox.
It was called a paradox because such a statement of Socrates seems contrary to common sense.
This quote is a reply of Socrates to the Oracle of Delphi which stated that “Socrates is
the wisest” and Socrates replied to this statement by saying that he is wise because
he knows nothing.
He simply considered that he didn’t know what the truth was.
Truth is that which is in accordance with fact or reality and Socrates was very famous
for developing a mental model for seeking truth, calling it elenchus, also known as
the Socratic method, consisting in analyzing all the elements of an argument, to understand
the hypotheses on which the argument is constructed, to see if these hypotheses are based on facts
and if they are valid.
Thus, according to Socrates, we can pursue the truth by constantly asking questions to
others and digging deeper into problems and thought experiments.
His teachings are extremely valuable even today when we need so much to develop our
critical thinking in how we analyze our life or society in general.
If we just eat, sleep, work and procreate, we are no better than any other animal.
In Socrates’s view, such a life would not be worth living.
It is important to never stop learning new things, asking questions, and developing ourselves
and to never assume that once you know something, it is enough.
You need to always question what you know as a fact, seek evidence, and refresh your
knowledge constantly.
For example, imagine that you are working in an engineering department and you are informed
that you have to follow a certain design methodology, but you don’t understand the reasons why.
Instead of just working by following orders, you should better apply the Socratic method:
ask your boss as many questions as possible to fully understand why this method is as
it is, who proved that it is really the best and what methods that person used.
If you find the explanation unsatisfactory, you might even propose a new designing method
and you can increase the quality of the design overall.
Don’t just follow orders and pretend that you know what you are doing.
Only through acknowledging that you do not know something, are you in a position to ask
others questions to find out more, thereby developing your knowledge and skills, and
by extension, improve your career.
2.
Be courageous According to Socrates: “He is a man of courage
who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.”
Socrates was a contrarian and a polarising figure.
Not only through his looks and behaviour, but also through his way of interrogating
people around him, and because he did not acknowledge the official gods.
Due to this, in 399 BCE he was arrested for corrupting the youth and brought to trial
which lasted just a single day.
In the end, he was sentenced to death.
In spite of being offered the possibility to escape, he decided to remain in prison
before his tragic death.
He died by drinking poison hemlock.
Certainly, Socrates was a man of great courage until the day he died.
During his life, he was never afraid to go against the current of Athenian opinion, he
was seeking the real truths behind the common beliefs, he refused to believe in the gods,
he refused to be part of the political arena.
No matter the cost, we need to stand up for our moral principles.
For example, when your boss at work asks you to betray one of your colleagues, you should
refuse it even at the risk of getting fired; when you are at a family reunion and you catch
an old relative saying something racist or bigoted, you have to speak up and start a
tough conversation with the people involved.
Remaining silent when you have to speak up and obeying unjust orders means partnering
with the abuser or with the criminal and causing harm to innocent people.
Courage is not only a desirable trait we need to have, but it is the mark of any moral human
being.
3.
Be authentic To quote Socrates: “The greatest way to
live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
Socrates never shied away from proclaiming his views, no matter the danger.
He did not take sides in politics, he was far more interested in seeking the truth than
in political and social status.
Ultimately, his stubbornness to be who he really was, led him to trial and premature
death.
But, due to the fact that he had the courage to be authentic, to question everything publicly,
he lived honourably and his fame has lasted to this day.
Socrates was also bold enough to proclaim his ignorance towards many subjects.
He did not hesitate to ask others questions in order to find the truth.
Even in regards to physical appearance, he did not polish himself, to look more than
he was.
Most of us do not have the courage that Socrates had, but we can learn from him to be more
straightforward, more honest, to better align our ideal of ourselves with who we truly are.
This means to stop seeking the approval of other people, to stop dressing and behaving
to impress others in order to be seen as we would like them to see us.
It is much better instead to work more in shaping our character than in lying and deceiving
others in regard to who we truly are.
If you are not happy about how you look, work on building muscles or losing weight instead
of buying clothes to try and fake it.
Stop pretending to be who you are not and use that energy to start the real work on
addressing the main sources of the problems, and only then you can be the authentic version
of yourself.
4.
Be humble Socrates tells us: “Pride divides the men,
humility joins them.”
It is said that Socrates had an unpleasant appearance: he was short, with a big belly,
with rough facial features, bulging eyes, and a snubbed nose.
He was extremely mocked due to his looks, but he didn’t seem to care that much.
He continued to use the same cloak every day, living a poor life, not caring either for
his hygiene or for eating and drinking well.
However, also because of his humble appearance, he was able to speak with people from all
walks of life, whomever he was finding in the marketplace or other public areas, male
or female, young or old, slave or free, rich or poor.
His humility gave him a special freedom and many possibilities to interact with different
types of people.
Although only a few of us would want to look like Socrates and adopt such an austere lifestyle,
we can still adopt some aspects of his humility in order to be more free and to be able to
experience life more fully.
Humility means first of all freedom from pride and arrogance.
The bigger your status in society, the more you need to practice humility.
If, for example, you are a manager in a factory, you need an amount of humility to talk to
employees working under you and listen to their suggestions on how to improve teamwork.
If you adopt an arrogant and demanding attitude, you will deprive yourself of a valuable input
from your subordinates.
If you want your staff to respect you, you have to respect them equally.
They are the creators, the ones actually performing the primary functions of the business, giving
them unique, valuable insight you can’t see from a management or executive-level perspective.
If your staff feel like they are truly valued and respected, they will generally want to
return that respect with delivering to their best abilities.
Only when you have created such a connection, will they open up to you and give valuable
feedback which you can use to improve the working methods in your factory.
The more humble we are, the more approachable we are and, and thus, the better our connection
with others, leading to more, better opportunities.
5.
Beware the busyness of life
In the words of Socrates: “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”
In the late fifth century B.C.E., when Socrates lived, most of the Athenian men preferred
fame, wealth, honors, and political power to a life of labor.
They always seemed to have a busy life, but not a happy one.
By contrast, Socrates neither laboured to earn a living, nor participated voluntarily
in affairs of state.
Rather, in spite of his popularity, he chose to remain in poverty.
He was not even interested in being considered a teacher.
He believed it was more important to teach people to think by themselves than to fill
their memories with new things that they may not even use.
Doing things just for money or for fame was not one of his interests as he understood
that living a life without a real purpose is an empty life.
Following Socrates’ example, we should all be careful not to have a busy and empty life,
but rather a meaningful life.
Nowadays, there are so many activities we can engage in, so many things to choose from.
If we don’t know how to limit our desires for more money, more things, more fame, we
risk the possibility that we completely fill our time with activities, leaving no time
to stop and process, to digest everything going on in our life, to find the meaning
and make better, considered decisions going forward.
Running after money and fame won’t give us real meaning in our lives.
All it does is cost time and energy - both of which can be better spent doing things
that actually fulfil you - things you really enjoy.
You don’t have to try to do everything you are capable of doing in life.
Just start by figuring out what is really meaningful to you and prioritise your activities
accordingly.
Life can only become meaningful when you do meaningful activities.
6.
Be a citizen of the world Socrates stated: “I am not an Athenian or
a Greek, but a citizen of the world."
We should not be defined by artificial borders like the geographical border of our country.
People should not be just citizens of their state, they should be citizens of the world.
Now more than ever there are many more things that unite us than separate us.
Unfortunately, we humans typically think of ourselves in small groups - Our block or street,
our town, our county or state, our country...
If the internet has taught us nothing else, it has taught us that we might have more in
common with someone thousands of miles away than you do your own neighbour.
We are all human beings.
No more, no less.
And making judgements about a fellow human based on differences like nationality, skin
colour, gender or in fact anything other than their behaviour and actions is utterly nonsensical.
Socrates understood this very well, even though at that time, this idea was truly revolutionary.
Greece was divided into many smaller states like Athens and Sparta and there were many
wars between them.
But Socrates was not a fan of politics, he refused to take sides with one party or another,
he was more interested in finding an objective truth than in a subjective one - or in aligning
himself with a certain group of people.
In the same way, we should be interested more in the common moral principles which connect
us than in the apparent differences between us.
If you meet someone from another country, from another culture, do not focus on how
different they dress from you, or how they behave and think, but rather focus on the
physical and psychological needs you have in common: to have enough food to eat, a shelter
over your head, to feel you are part of a community, to feel secure, to take care of
your family and so on.
All humans on this planet have the same basic needs and this is the common ground from which
we should engage with one another.
We are all citizens of this world.
7.
Be happy with less Socrates posits that: “The secret of happiness,
you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”
Happiness is by definition an end goal of our desires.
Happiness is not a given, it requires a certain effort.
And the fewer desires we have, the easier it is to achieve happiness.
Socrates believed that the real secret to happiness is to have a moral life, to be just.
By being so, you can be more peaceful, more content with your current affairs and desire
fewer possessions.
Thus, happiness is not a result of having more, it is more a result of a mindset, of
the ability to enjoy the small things in life.
We need to work more on our inner state of mind, rather than trying to possess as many
things as possible, like money, property, cars and so on.
An easy way to introduce more happiness into our life is through making small changes every
day.
You can start by practicing meditation, taking a short walk after lunch to the nearest park,
taking part in sport, writing a diary, connecting with your friends and relatives, even something
as simple as watching your favourite comedy and so on.
Over time you can introduce more new habits, which cumulatively can increase your level
of happiness.
Do not expect a new apartment, a new car or even winning the lottery to make you happy.
Real happiness requires less effort than you might expect - it usually consists of developing
small habits you can follow and build on every day.
By being a moral person and focusing on practicing healthy habits every day, you can be happy
with surprisingly little effort.
8.
Don’t seek vengeance As we learn from Socrates: “One should never
do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him.”
For Socrates, vengeance is by definition unjust and there is never a good motivation to justify
it.
This philosophy on vengeance is expressed in one of the dialogues of Plato, where Socrates
debates Polemarchus, who believes that if it is just to give each man what is owed,
so to it is just to do good for a good friend and to do harm to an enemy.
Socrates made Polemarchus realize that when harmed, human beings tend to become less virtuous,
not more.
So while it may be cathartic to ‘balance the scales’ by acting on the ancient expression
‘an eye for an eye’, the net result is that you drive your enemies towards further
immorality.
Harming someone makes neither you nor them a better person.
Thus, vengeance is never justified.
No matter how bad someone hurts you, you need to calmly reply and walk away.
It can be your best friend who betrayed you, it can be someone who spread false rumours
about you in public, your partner who cheated on you, or your boss who unfairly criticized
you.
No matter what, you need to calmly evaluate the situation: If appropriate - express your
hurt feelings in a polite way, demand a correction or apology and, if this is not possible, pack
your bags and walk away.
Do not do the same thing to the other person, do not sink down to their level.
Instead, maintain your humanity, defend yourself, claim an apology or walk away.
9.
Have a sense of humour In our final quote from Socrates for this
video, he says: “By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll become happy;
if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.”
Socrates was well known for his sense of humour.
He was often making jokes about his wife Xanthippe, who was 30 years younger than him, explaining
that she had a bad temper and a difficult personality, suggesting that he became a philosopher
due to this issue and that the marriage with her is a great school in dealing with difficult
situations.
They even had an argument when she visited him in prison, before his death.
She was crying, saying that he was condemned unfairly and he joked about it saying: “Would
you think this situation was less regrettable if they had condemned me fairly?”.
Perhaps we can all implement a bit of Socratic humour in our own lives.
No matter the situation, good or bad, making jokes can lighten up other people and us.
Laughter is a powerful tool which can bring people closer, when used carefully, without
malevolence or bad intentions.
Laughter releases stress, and makes us more resilient against the daily difficulties of
life.
Studies have shown a relationship is more likely to last if the partners find the same
things funny.
To make your relationships long-lasting, to quote the comedian Reginald D Hunter, “you
have to find the funnies”, whether that’s finding shows, movies or comedians you both
enjoy or seeing the same humour in life’s situations, a good joke, said without bad
intentions, can light up the spirits and create truly memorable moments.
If you enjoyed this video, please make sure to check out our full philosophies for life
playlist and for more videos to help you find success and happiness using ancient philosophical
wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks so much for watching.