I believe he existed. His death and the circumstances behind it are large part of what made him a "living" legend. That and the devotion of his student, Plato.
I don't think the author was doubting the existance of Socrates with that line. He most likely wanted to leave us with some thinking to do after the video.
Even though there's really three major writers who mention Socrates as their contemporaries (Plato, Xenophon, Aristophanes), there is still better reason to think why he existed. If Plato simply made him up, then why would he give credit for all his thoughts to a man who didn't even exist, instead of taking it all for himself? Also, if Plato didn't exist, then why would Aristophanes and Xenophon write about him if they knew Plato personally and would probably find out sooner or later that he was a figment of imagination? Besides these three writers, I know there are plenty others who mention Socrates (sometimes not even by his name but by his appearance) wondering around the Agora, pissing people off and feeling up teenage twink boys.
Little known fact, Socrates was also an Athenian Hoplite and fought in the Peloponessian war. During a defeat in battle Socrates got a commendation for running back into dangers way to save a comrade and carried him to safety.
I love all the debate that's occurring about whether Socrates existed. Does it really matter? If he did exist he came up with these ideas and many people keep his philosophies in mind when considering how to live their own lives. If he doesn't exist, it just means someone was afraid to take credit for the philosophies and passed it off, but it doesn't stop anything else from happening. A philosophical view is all that matters in regards to a philosopher. We don't care about his life, we only care about the thoughts that he had.
If he didn't exist, doesn't that make his 'i know nothing' idea just a bit more interesting? And you have to care about his life and the time he lived if you actually care about his philosophy. That is what helped him to create the idea that you want to read about and will help you to have a much more full understanding of any idea he came up with.
You're definitely not wrong, don't misunderstand me. I think he did exist but at the same time I don't understand the debate. It makes no difference either way. And yes it does make it interesting when you consider the context of his life and how it developed his ideas but at the same time it doesn't affect his idea itself. The theory never changes due to context. It just changes how you view the man (or woman.) himself.
Arron Litchfield Some people might argue that partaking in philosophical discussion of any kind doesn't make any sense, why talk about the existence of truth or time? How does that help you pick up groceries or file your taxes? Some people just like stretching an idea and seeing where it will go, fun for the intellect you might call it. And as for the context, it definitely does impact one's understanding of an idea. For example, you might look at how 'mud bloods' are discriminated against in Harry Potter (my memory of the exact plot is rough, but you get the idea I'm going for), and might take away from that the idea that it is wrong to discriminate against those who are different from you, or to exert power over those who are weaker from you. You can get a moral from the story, but if you look at what what the author was dealing with at the time, say discrimination of the jews or of immigrant populations in the UK, you might get a better idea of where that idea came from, and will be able to interact with the text on a deeper level. It's not essential to know the background of an author to read what they've written, but if you know about the world they're coming from, the struggles of the time and what's considered normal, you'll be able to better understand the idea.
But debating over whether somebody was real or not is not a philosophical discussion, it's effectively really low budget, amateur forensics. As again, I have nothing against learning the life of a philosopher, more often than not their lives were really interesting, after all look at Oscar Wilde. My only point was that it doesn't change the idea or theory, it isn't exactly required reading in order to understand a philosopher, (and if you do have to go through their entire life to understand their idea then that is a very bad philosopher.) All extra context allows you to do is to see their perspective. But again, that's not a bad thing.
Anything can be made to be philosophical. A lot of people are driven away from discussing philosophy or speaking with philosophers because of a perceived pretentious or condescending attitude. The idea that some thoughts are 'more worthy' than others. I've always disliked this idea, and those who make people trying to interact with the subject feel that way. Most times, the people trying to stamp down on others ideas are less informed and inquisitive than the people they're telling to pipe down, simply because they don't see the point in being inquisitive. As Socrates himself was to have said, there is a lot we don't know. So why belittle someone for attempting to acknowledge that? Knowledge or enlightenment is a journey, and meditations and conversations are the vehicles people use to travel. You may not be ready to expand your mind, but don't begrudge others the pleasure. Some of the thoughts you've put forward may have been very 'low budget', but I'm still treating them as if they are valid perspectives and worthy of a response. Continuing a conversation with you instead of saying that your ideas are of too low a quality for me to engage with and a waste of time. And no, you don't have to know about someone's life to understand their idea, but as i believe I've already said, it's not essential to know the background of an author to read what they've written, but if you know about the world they're coming from, the struggles of the time and what's considered normal, you'll be able to better understand their idea. You'll have a more full understanding.
Love this I hope you guys never stop creating these very important and inspiring philosophical videos, not only are they interesting but filled with humour also which adds enjoyment to the fact. Thanks to the editors and creative team behind all these insightful videos!
The stories starring Socrates are quite detailed, even the ingredients of the poison he drank have been mentioned. It should be relatively easy to confirm or falsify, the only possible alternative I can think of is Plato telling his own stories and adding some other people's stories to it.
Damian Reloaded I think she meant more along the lines of personality-wise, along with appearance and social behavior. The list of things Plato described Socrates as could largely also be applied to Homer Simpson.
Doommagic Actually no. Homer has a job, can sustain his family, he gets drunk quickly, he's constantly napping, he is stupid, he thinks he knows everything, he is social.
That was a good one. Way to tie together the historical problem of who was the biographical Socrates and the larger general problem of epistemology posed by him (allegedly) Keep it up guys.
I don't think I've said it on any other video but I've got to now, THANK YOU SO MUCH Wisecrack for all of your videos and hard work, your videos present information completely unbiased, just as it is, and I thoroughly appreciate that. Timeless information explained in HILARIOUS WAYS, im actually writing a ancient roman like song like the synaulia albums about Socrates, please keep it up. respect.
I wish the things Socrates says in the illustration weren't so dismissive because I think it paints him as an aggressive figure. If anything, Socrates seemed to have a limitless patience when letting people express and defend their position. Socrates' as represented in Plato's writings didn't simply approach people of knowledge and dismiss what they said at face value. He instead engaged them in dialogue and asked probing questions (via The Socratic Method) long enough until those people expressed mutually-exclusive inconsistencies in their own professed beliefs (cognitive dissonance). In doing so, the authority of the person claiming to have privileged knowledge was brought into question, which is what people found irksome. Although many people, including myself, occasionally stoop to saying things like "You don't know jack!" or "This guy here is stupid too!" when arguing philosophy, I feel representing Socrates that way is misleading. Yes, he was put to death because he was meddling with authority and conventional wisdom, but it wasn't because he spent his days walking around badgering people.
I always interpret Socrate's reaction to the Oracle based on Aristotle's knowledge paradox or "The more you know, the more you know you don't know." Therefore if he said he knows nothing he'd be suggesting he knows it all.
Socrates is the fucking man, lol. He's so pure. He can be extremely ugly and just not care, not let it affect his confidence or his passion in life. Doesn't conform to society, etc, it's such a powerful character. Yet he insists on not having arrogance, not claiming to know things he doesn't, and criticizing those people who act like they do -- which by the way, there are more people like that, even now, than there should be! Indeed the irony is that people thought he was an ass, yet the very people accusing him were the kinds of people arrogant enough to claim they knew things without really reflecting on the grounds for their beliefs. And the icing on the cake is how he could have kissed up to the jury but did not, knowing that the jury would convict him if he didn't. And he could have escaped his sentence with the help from his friends if I remember correctly, but did not because he believed that, while he disagreed with the jury's decision, he felt the decision wasn't up to him, as he is protected by the government and can't simply choose the laws he wishes to follow. That's pretty extreme obviously, but it's still admirable how he can separate what decisions are up to him and which ones are not, even if doing so, well, kills him! I already had learned these things about Socrates, but I don't know, re-exploring it with this concise video, I appreciate it even more now. He has such an unprejudiced sense of self and of society that I find pure and beautiful. I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing... but sometimes Socrates reminds me of me a little bit lol, to a less extreme degree naturally :p I never really thought about it that way until watching this today hehe. I definitely think we should be willing to explore possible challenges to our arguments, and not ignore objections to our position just because it would take "too much work" to resolve them, or because it's more fun to convince ourselves that we are too smart to be wrong. Our beliefs can affect all sorts of things, no less whether we act moral or not, so we must form them with care.
Temet Nosse "When the Matrix was first built, there was a man born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth." -Morpheus, The Matrix
Wasn't So-crates that old dude in a toga from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure? Triumphant! Seriously, though, this was a cool vid to watch. Nice work. Excellent nods to some of the 8-bit classics, too.
Socrates undoubtedly existed, to claim otherwise would fly in the face of tons of historical and philosophical texts which refer to him. The thing which is in doubt is if all of Plato's Socratic dialogues were actual conversations that Socrates had. The Apology is almost undoubtedly an account of the trial (written after the fact), as we also know that Xenophon wrote his own account of this event. Some of the later dialogues could quite possibly simply use Socrates as a "character", based on Plato's understanding of Socrates' beliefs and philosophy.
Great video yet again. Although there is little doubt as to whether Socrates lived or not as he was characterised in numerous satirical plays (The Clouds) at the time, written by Aristophanes.
Harry Potter was characterised in numerous satirical plays (The Movies) at the time, written by JK Rowling. So does that mean there is little doubt that he existed?
Did I write that it was proof, or did I write "there is little doubt he existed"? I think...I think I wrote the latter. If you all would clime off your pseudo-intellectual high-horses and actually read for a minute, you may have understood what I actually wrote without projecting your own needs for accreditation upon my rather innocuous statement. Being anally retentive or intelligent are two entirely different things. Just keep that in mind next time you speak to someone.
+Disco Nouvo no it doesn't. Socrates fits with everything we know about that time period. Harry potter isn't real, because nobody ever thought he was and magiv doesn't exist...
SOCRATES - "Writing! that's for nerds!" PUPIL - "Hey man! It's cool! Let me take some notes! I know that the Pupil could be Plato or Xenophon. But the word "nerd" is perfect to describe what Plato was. hahahahaha
I heard from other sources that he knew real truth. That source was from a book called the sealed portion. Written by a man named Christopher Nemelka. In my understanding Christopher was just like Socrates good or great at explaining things. According to Christopher both he and Socrares are known as true messengers warning of people of things to come.
That's the beauty of it. It doesn't even matter if Socrates or even Plato even existed so long as the ideas in the dialogue can accurately explain our present reality. Why do you think Plato never appeared in his own dialogues?
If you can judge a book by the effect it has on the reader's life just as you can determine the plant by the seeds it produces. Just as you can judge a person by their actions and beliefs.
Socrates almost sounds like a character from a greek myth, as well as a sort of comic book character. Which makes me wonder if the stories that we interpret as religious were really just the ancient greek version of comic books.
Funny that I never hear Christians say "of course everything we know about Jesus is based on other people's words. So should be believe that he actually existed? Or are his ideas that all that it matter."
***** Funny that you randomly say that about Jesus when you could say that about all sorts of characters throughout history. Just to make your comment even more boring, Jesus is probably the one character in history that people question the MOST! I'm not trying to justify any particular position, but please don't be boring.
streetsandlanes I'm not sure what you are getting at? But the existence of Jesus is a core tenant of Christianity. Unlike the Socratic method which needs no evidence of Socrates existing, for it to work.
***** OK, we've both stated what we think. You think refuting Jesus' existence is more justifiable than anyone else in history. I think your point of view is boring at best. Unless I've grossly misrepresented you, then let's just leave it at that.
streetsandlanes Well, the existence of Jesus is significant for approximately 3.8 billion people in the world. That's approximately 54 per cent of the world. I never claimed that you have misrepresented me. Just explain to me why it is boring? Unless, it is a subjective point of view. Then there is no point in discussing it further.
***** It's boring because of the reasons I've already outlined. Further, you singled out Jesus and left out Mohammed and Buddha, which just makes you look selective, which is fine, but, quite dull, because this type of selectivity is just so ho hum. This is a video about SOCRATES. SOCRATES is a profoundly interesting character. Why don't you go to a video on the topic of a/theism and share your views there?
I don't like how this paints Socrates as being a consequentialist. Instead of saying false beliefs would lead to bad consequences like the truck, Plato's Socrates would be more likely to say some narrative about how false beliefs fail to correspond to the Form of the Good or the True or somesuch.
Socrates the superhobo? Also how much did the weather swing in ancient greece? I mean some people are very good at handling the cold & hot (due to "roughing it") or are very good at concealing there weaknesses. (not getting caught or seen, being asleep or being sick, doesn't mean you cant be) heck alchoholism increases your tolerance to alcohol... so maybe Socrates was a Philosophizing drunk.
"You know what? I could eat a thousand chocolate chip cookies right now". If you know where this line is from (hint: it's about Socrates), you're my instant best friend
Spotting the stupidity of others is easy but recognizing the own stupidity is the first true sign of intelligence.
Reminds me of a Gerd De Ley quote :) "self-knowledge is the beginning of all wisdom"
I'd also venture to say that one should take the journey to rid oneself of that stupidity. Even if it's technically impossible... Why not?
Amen
I believe he existed. His death and the circumstances behind it are large part of what made him a "living" legend. That and the devotion of his student, Plato.
I don't think the author was doubting the existance of Socrates with that line. He most likely wanted to leave us with some thinking to do after the video.
***** He just pointed out the possibility. The existence of Socrates is actually a heavily debated idea, historically speaking.
Even though there's really three major writers who mention Socrates as their contemporaries (Plato, Xenophon, Aristophanes), there is still better reason to think why he existed. If Plato simply made him up, then why would he give credit for all his thoughts to a man who didn't even exist, instead of taking it all for himself? Also, if Plato didn't exist, then why would Aristophanes and Xenophon write about him if they knew Plato personally and would probably find out sooner or later that he was a figment of imagination?
Besides these three writers, I know there are plenty others who mention Socrates (sometimes not even by his name but by his appearance) wondering around the Agora, pissing people off and feeling up teenage twink boys.
socrates was also one of the best middle field soccer players of the 80s
one of the best python sketches
Max Johansen actually there was a brazilian middle-fielder that was based for the monty python´s sketch ua-cam.com/video/UI8q02pyChU/v-deo.html
Vinicius você fala português? seu nome é vinicios brasileiro
Vinicius eu também falo um pouco inglês
comparing a football player to the most influential thinker of all time .... tinhas de ser brasileiro , claro ....
Ok, so Socrates, Jesus and Nietzsche went to a bar...
Well it can be inferred or asserted that if they did go to the bar, Two of them went to listen, and the ONE made the wine
I love this series. Thanks for making such great videos!
Alright, a Socrates episode!
Great animation, narration and synopsis!
Keep up the great videos!
This would make an amazing videogame!
Bears&Cookies We're thinking about making a game...think Super Smash Bros. with famous philosophers...
Wisecrack That would be sick. Maybe throw in some classic literature characters as well!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS
Wisecrack
I'd play that. Better throw in Marcus Aurelius though
Johnny Bravo
Love the show!
You guys should do Confucius next.
Diogenes of Sinope should be next, that guy was the shit
+Capt. Scoops yes yes yes
+Pharaoh of Fools Aleks? Damn dude.
+Pharaoh of Fools he's all about respecting your parents and tradition
Little known fact, Socrates was also an Athenian Hoplite and fought in the Peloponessian war. During a defeat in battle Socrates got a commendation for running back into dangers way to save a comrade and carried him to safety.
I love all the debate that's occurring about whether Socrates existed. Does it really matter? If he did exist he came up with these ideas and many people keep his philosophies in mind when considering how to live their own lives. If he doesn't exist, it just means someone was afraid to take credit for the philosophies and passed it off, but it doesn't stop anything else from happening.
A philosophical view is all that matters in regards to a philosopher. We don't care about his life, we only care about the thoughts that he had.
If he didn't exist, doesn't that make his 'i know nothing' idea just a bit more interesting?
And you have to care about his life and the time he lived if you actually care about his philosophy. That is what helped him to create the idea that you want to read about and will help you to have a much more full understanding of any idea he came up with.
You're definitely not wrong, don't misunderstand me. I think he did exist but at the same time I don't understand the debate. It makes no difference either way.
And yes it does make it interesting when you consider the context of his life and how it developed his ideas but at the same time it doesn't affect his idea itself. The theory never changes due to context. It just changes how you view the man (or woman.) himself.
Arron Litchfield Some people might argue that partaking in philosophical discussion of any kind doesn't make any sense, why talk about the existence of truth or time? How does that help you pick up groceries or file your taxes? Some people just like stretching an idea and seeing where it will go, fun for the intellect you might call it.
And as for the context, it definitely does impact one's understanding of an idea. For example, you might look at how 'mud bloods' are discriminated against in Harry Potter (my memory of the exact plot is rough, but you get the idea I'm going for), and might take away from that the idea that it is wrong to discriminate against those who are different from you, or to exert power over those who are weaker from you. You can get a moral from the story, but if you look at what what the author was dealing with at the time, say discrimination of the jews or of immigrant populations in the UK, you might get a better idea of where that idea came from, and will be able to interact with the text on a deeper level. It's not essential to know the background of an author to read what they've written, but if you know about the world they're coming from, the struggles of the time and what's considered normal, you'll be able to better understand the idea.
But debating over whether somebody was real or not is not a philosophical discussion, it's effectively really low budget, amateur forensics.
As again, I have nothing against learning the life of a philosopher, more often than not their lives were really interesting, after all look at Oscar Wilde. My only point was that it doesn't change the idea or theory, it isn't exactly required reading in order to understand a philosopher, (and if you do have to go through their entire life to understand their idea then that is a very bad philosopher.) All extra context allows you to do is to see their perspective. But again, that's not a bad thing.
Anything can be made to be philosophical. A lot of people are driven away from discussing philosophy or speaking with philosophers because of a perceived pretentious or condescending attitude. The idea that some thoughts are 'more worthy' than others. I've always disliked this idea, and those who make people trying to interact with the subject feel that way. Most times, the people trying to stamp down on others ideas are less informed and inquisitive than the people they're telling to pipe down, simply because they don't see the point in being inquisitive. As Socrates himself was to have said, there is a lot we don't know. So why belittle someone for attempting to acknowledge that? Knowledge or enlightenment is a journey, and meditations and conversations are the vehicles people use to travel. You may not be ready to expand your mind, but don't begrudge others the pleasure. Some of the thoughts you've put forward may have been very 'low budget', but I'm still treating them as if they are valid perspectives and worthy of a response. Continuing a conversation with you instead of saying that your ideas are of too low a quality for me to engage with and a waste of time.
And no, you don't have to know about someone's life to understand their idea, but as i believe I've already said, it's not essential to know the background of an author to read what they've written, but if you know about the world they're coming from, the struggles of the time and what's considered normal, you'll be able to better understand their idea. You'll have a more full understanding.
You deserve 300 comments. Love this channel.
Love this I hope you guys never stop creating these very important and inspiring philosophical videos, not only are they interesting but filled with humour also which adds enjoyment to the fact.
Thanks to the editors and creative team behind all these insightful videos!
Well hell, if people think Jesus existed why not Socrates?
Jesus is pretty reliably a historical figure. So is Socrates. There are records of their existence from some pretty neutral or even critical sources.
+madblade Does it really matter if Socrates existed? What matters is his story and arguments.
The stories starring Socrates are quite detailed, even the ingredients of the poison he drank have been mentioned. It should be relatively easy to confirm or falsify, the only possible alternative I can think of is Plato telling his own stories and adding some other people's stories to it.
I home-school my son and today's lesson was on Philosophers from Ancient Greece. This was a GREAT supplement to our lesson today! Thank you for this!
so how is it going after 5 years?
amazing. this is the best youtube channel out there
The most important thing people need to know about Socrates is that his philosophies and hypothesis can't define how I be droppin' these mockeries.
#bars
In the end, it doesn't matter if he really lived or not, the message is what is important.
So Socrates is basically Homer Simpson?
Well then, I can never unthink that now, hahahaha.
Actually Homer Simpson would be the exact opposite. But your comment was funny nonetheless. ^_^
Damian Reloaded
I think she meant more along the lines of personality-wise, along with appearance and social behavior. The list of things Plato described Socrates as could largely also be applied to Homer Simpson.
... i dont get it. How is he like homer Simpson?
Doommagic Actually no. Homer has a job, can sustain his family, he gets drunk quickly, he's constantly napping, he is stupid, he thinks he knows everything, he is social.
That was a good one. Way to tie together the historical problem of who was the biographical Socrates and the larger general problem of epistemology posed by him (allegedly)
Keep it up guys.
I don't think I've said it on any other video but I've got to now, THANK YOU SO MUCH Wisecrack for all of your videos and hard work, your videos present information completely unbiased, just as it is, and I thoroughly appreciate that. Timeless information explained in HILARIOUS WAYS, im actually writing a ancient roman like song like the synaulia albums about Socrates, please keep it up. respect.
I wish the things Socrates says in the illustration weren't so dismissive because I think it paints him as an aggressive figure. If anything, Socrates seemed to have a limitless patience when letting people express and defend their position.
Socrates' as represented in Plato's writings didn't simply approach people of knowledge and dismiss what they said at face value. He instead engaged them in dialogue and asked probing questions (via The Socratic Method) long enough until those people expressed mutually-exclusive inconsistencies in their own professed beliefs (cognitive dissonance). In doing so, the authority of the person claiming to have privileged knowledge was brought into question, which is what people found irksome.
Although many people, including myself, occasionally stoop to saying things like "You don't know jack!" or "This guy here is stupid too!" when arguing philosophy, I feel representing Socrates that way is misleading. Yes, he was put to death because he was meddling with authority and conventional wisdom, but it wasn't because he spent his days walking around badgering people.
I WATCHED THIS THRICE BECAUSE THE SOCRATES ANIMATION IS HILARIOUS
I always interpret Socrate's reaction to the Oracle based on Aristotle's knowledge paradox or "The more you know, the more you know you don't know." Therefore if he said he knows nothing he'd be suggesting he knows it all.
Very disappointed that only 1 person in the comments mentioned the soccer tees animation at the beginning of the video. VERY CLEVER. GREAT VIDEO.
Super thumbs-up for Skateboard Plato. Always.
Socrates is the fucking man, lol. He's so pure. He can be extremely ugly and just not care, not let it affect his confidence or his passion in life. Doesn't conform to society, etc, it's such a powerful character. Yet he insists on not having arrogance, not claiming to know things he doesn't, and criticizing those people who act like they do -- which by the way, there are more people like that, even now, than there should be! Indeed the irony is that people thought he was an ass, yet the very people accusing him were the kinds of people arrogant enough to claim they knew things without really reflecting on the grounds for their beliefs. And the icing on the cake is how he could have kissed up to the jury but did not, knowing that the jury would convict him if he didn't. And he could have escaped his sentence with the help from his friends if I remember correctly, but did not because he believed that, while he disagreed with the jury's decision, he felt the decision wasn't up to him, as he is protected by the government and can't simply choose the laws he wishes to follow. That's pretty extreme obviously, but it's still admirable how he can separate what decisions are up to him and which ones are not, even if doing so, well, kills him!
I already had learned these things about Socrates, but I don't know, re-exploring it with this concise video, I appreciate it even more now. He has such an unprejudiced sense of self and of society that I find pure and beautiful.
I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing... but sometimes Socrates reminds me of me a little bit lol, to a less extreme degree naturally :p I never really thought about it that way until watching this today hehe. I definitely think we should be willing to explore possible challenges to our arguments, and not ignore objections to our position just because it would take "too much work" to resolve them, or because it's more fun to convince ourselves that we are too smart to be wrong. Our beliefs can affect all sorts of things, no less whether we act moral or not, so we must form them with care.
How many times have I watched this video now? Love it!
Best one yet!
This is amazing.
Amazing video as always. Thank you!
I'm really digging the recent style that integrates history with the philosophy. Related: I fucking love this channel.
Great summary
Thanks again Wisecrack
DO ALAN WATTS PLEASE
AND/OR JOSEPH CAMPBELL'S THE HERO'S JOURNEY
This is unbelievably good.
Bravo.
I loved the little gag of the footballs. Grande Doutor Socrates
I really like your videos, please keep doing this :D
I'm picking up a big "Jesus" parallel from that last question. Then again, I could just be projecting, lol.
Temet Nosse
"When the Matrix was first built, there was a man born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth."
-Morpheus, The Matrix
When is the psych show coming? Just wondering
marc jacobs Hoping to get it out this Tuesday or Wednesday...had to make some changes, so hopefully not too much longer
thanks for the heads up. love wisecrack videos
Wasn't So-crates that old dude in a toga from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure? Triumphant!
Seriously, though, this was a cool vid to watch. Nice work. Excellent nods to some of the 8-bit classics, too.
Socrates undoubtedly existed, to claim otherwise would fly in the face of tons of historical and philosophical texts which refer to him. The thing which is in doubt is if all of Plato's Socratic dialogues were actual conversations that Socrates had. The Apology is almost undoubtedly an account of the trial (written after the fact), as we also know that Xenophon wrote his own account of this event. Some of the later dialogues could quite possibly simply use Socrates as a "character", based on Plato's understanding of Socrates' beliefs and philosophy.
0:42-1:03
He looks as if he is waving the trini flag
Great video yet again. Although there is little doubt as to whether Socrates lived or not as he was characterised in numerous satirical plays (The Clouds) at the time, written by Aristophanes.
Harry Potter was characterised in numerous satirical plays (The Movies) at the time, written by JK Rowling. So does that mean there is little doubt that he existed?
Disco Nouvo that's an apples to oranges comparison and you know it.
@Areal Person
That does not prove Socrates actually lived.
Did I write that it was proof, or did I write "there is little doubt he existed"? I think...I think I wrote the latter. If you all would clime off your pseudo-intellectual high-horses and actually read for a minute, you may have understood what I actually wrote without projecting your own needs for accreditation upon my rather innocuous statement.
Being anally retentive or intelligent are two entirely different things. Just keep that in mind next time you speak to someone.
+Disco Nouvo no it doesn't. Socrates fits with everything we know about that time period. Harry potter isn't real, because nobody ever thought he was and magiv doesn't exist...
amazing!
These videos make my life better :)
0:10 Yes, he was definitely one of the most influential fingers of all time.
The next time you think you know something, consider the wisdom of not thinking you know something you don't
SOCRATES - "Writing! that's for nerds!"
PUPIL - "Hey man! It's cool! Let me take some notes!
I know that the Pupil could be Plato or Xenophon.
But the word "nerd" is perfect to describe what Plato was.
hahahahaha
I'm reading Xenophon's Socrates and he is a truly wise man. It's like reading a novel about life lessons.
I heard from other sources that he knew real truth. That source was from a book called the sealed portion. Written by a man named Christopher Nemelka. In my understanding Christopher was just like Socrates good or great at explaining things. According to Christopher both he and Socrares are known as true messengers warning of people of things to come.
That's the beauty of it. It doesn't even matter if Socrates or even Plato even existed so long as the ideas in the dialogue can accurately explain our present reality. Why do you think Plato never appeared in his own dialogues?
If you can judge a book by the effect it has on the reader's life just as you can determine the plant by the seeds it produces. Just as you can judge a person by their actions and beliefs.
I don't think it even matters if he existed or not. Isn't an idea the only thing that can truly exist forever. I wish Philosophy was more respected.
Do Diogenes of Sinope. He's like Socrates but more chill. And he's more likely to have existed
my image for you image, my grin for your monocle. These are things a philosopher might mention
"Never wrote down a single word", probably didn't even exist like we know him.
I must say, the oracle may of been on to something considering what went down afterward. XD
I love these! ^_^
Nice episode soccer tee's was a truly free minded person.
+Wisecrack this video is extremely helpful, thanks soooooooooooooo much
What? Gadfly is evolving!
Gadfly evolved into Internet Troll!
Thank you 😊
This is really cool
This helped my child so much
Fantastic ending.
Who does the animation for your videos? This is awesome! Would they happen to be contracting to animate videos?
Socrates almost sounds like a character from a greek myth, as well as a sort of comic book character. Which makes me wonder if the stories that we interpret as religious were really just the ancient greek version of comic books.
Will this channel ever cover the philosophy of Eastern philosophers? Like say, Confucius or Xun Kuang? Or like Averroes or Alhazen?
Funny that I never hear Christians say "of course everything we know about Jesus is based on other people's words. So should be believe that he actually existed? Or are his ideas that all that it matter."
***** Funny that you randomly say that about Jesus when you could say that about all sorts of characters throughout history. Just to make your comment even more boring, Jesus is probably the one character in history that people question the MOST! I'm not trying to justify any particular position, but please don't be boring.
streetsandlanes I'm not sure what you are getting at? But the existence of Jesus is a core tenant of Christianity. Unlike the Socratic method which needs no evidence of Socrates existing, for it to work.
*****
OK, we've both stated what we think. You think refuting Jesus' existence is more justifiable than anyone else in history. I think your point of view is boring at best. Unless I've grossly misrepresented you, then let's just leave it at that.
streetsandlanes Well, the existence of Jesus is significant for approximately 3.8 billion people in the world. That's approximately 54 per cent of the world.
I never claimed that you have misrepresented me. Just explain to me why it is boring? Unless, it is a subjective point of view. Then there is no point in discussing it further.
*****
It's boring because of the reasons I've already outlined. Further, you singled out Jesus and left out Mohammed and Buddha, which just makes you look selective, which is fine, but, quite dull, because this type of selectivity is just so ho hum. This is a video about SOCRATES. SOCRATES is a profoundly interesting character. Why don't you go to a video on the topic of a/theism and share your views there?
Nicel video!
Haha... I want to learn something about Socrates from the video but I just can't stop laughing, nor can I concentrate...Hahaha....
haha same! I have to use this information for a schoolproject xD
HAH! This was the philosophy behind a short story I wrote for my creative writing course!
Awesome sauce! For once I actually understood the "lesson" lol!
Post scipt: can a video be done by a non-western philosopher?
killer tunes!
Love these videos! Are you guys going to do an episode on Foucault?
i watched bill and ted's excellent adventure and now im watching this, neet
Ooo! Do one for W.V. Quine!
thank you
Great video, however there is one inaccuracy in that Socrates did write down a single work called "to whom do I call educated".
I was sent here by Royal Fireworks Press.
As the radius of the circle of your knowledge grows, faster grows the circumference of ignorance surrounding it.
Interesting question. I'm not sure.
I don't like how this paints Socrates as being a consequentialist. Instead of saying false beliefs would lead to bad consequences like the truck, Plato's Socrates would be more likely to say some narrative about how false beliefs fail to correspond to the Form of the Good or the True or somesuch.
True, he probably would, but try explaining the Forms to people who don't even know who Socrates was.
My teacher is playing this in the classroom right now
casi te pregunto brother
Socrates the superhobo?
Also how much did the weather swing in ancient greece? I mean some people are very good at handling the cold & hot (due to "roughing it") or are very good at concealing there weaknesses. (not getting caught or seen, being asleep or being sick, doesn't mean you cant be) heck alchoholism increases your tolerance to alcohol... so maybe Socrates was a Philosophizing drunk.
Wrong. Drinking philosopher.
Socrates
Nice catch , since Drunk would imply intoxication & imparement. & the developed tolerance would make it much harder to become Drunk.
"You know what? I could eat a thousand chocolate chip cookies right now".
If you know where this line is from (hint: it's about Socrates), you're my instant best friend
There was a Brazilian soccer player called socrates, if that helps identify who he was
my professor had this in the syllabus, required to watch...he's so far one of the coolest profs I've had...even if he is a diehard republican
my prof is always trying to prove Socrates wrong! He is even skeptical of Buddha. how should i feel?
حسن نور where are you from
Augusto Griffi united states
I admire his inquisitiveness; It's important to remain inquisitive. To always ask questions and seek knowledge.
Thanks! Best video ever! ***** - Serious reviewer.
I'm getting jack black vibes from this soccer guy
The ideas are more important then.
What a boss.
Dust, Wind, Dude.
Yeah, well? Profound!
Dunning-Kruger effect, much?
The problem when you make such an accusation is that you expose yourself to it as well.
The man who called himself "the opposite of wise" and claimed he knew nothing. Truly a megalomaniacal arrogant fuck.
holy fuck...all i know is that i don't know nothing.
Pretty good on FIFA too.
By saying he didn't matter but his ideas did is a contradiction, because what are we if not our own beliefs, actions, and ideas
+Cameron Kilgore and I would love some input if you think I'm wrong
+Cameron Kilgore well some people would ditch the soul & body dualism and consider their body to be themselves.
So what made Socrates wise was his absolute insistence that he wasn't?