Of the Original Dudes

18th January, 2010
3:24 am
The Matchbox

"Knowledge is knowing that tomato may be a fruit. Wisdom is knowing that it is not to be put in the fruit salad."

My second class at Introducing Philosophy started with this famous old quote by Anonymous. The class of the eclectic ten started with Mister Jovial Olive Ball rolling in sharp at 7. We were told a bit about the three Wise Men today. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. It is said that the Western Civilization is based on the ideas put forth by these guys. Here's the rationale, as given by Theo (the Olive Ball). It makes sense too. Socrates taught Plato taught Aristotle taught Alexander the Great, who with the universal language of the time, Greek, the society binder of sorts, passed it onto the Romans, who, along with the concept of Christianity, laid down the founding principles of the Western Civilization. This means, that what we are today (the Western World, that is. The distinction is important because Eastern Philosophy had a different basis. They don't teach that here:)) is mostly the doing of the three blokes I mentioned above.

The first one is Socrates. He is supposed to be the wisest of all Greek philosophers known. And the strangest. For a start, he wasn't a pretty sight. Bulging eyes that darted sideways, flaring nostrils, huge lips, long hair, average height, and an unkempt unwashed attire. He walked about with a stick and an air that could give any Greek God a run for his money. He loved talking, would start discussing philosophy with just about anyone on the street. He asked the most fundamental questions. He brought about the concept of universal definitions. What is bravery, love, existence? His style of teaching was through questioning and bringing out answers from his students. He enjoyed confusing his audience. He liked to make them aware of their own ignorance, by constantly questioning their beliefs. They would end up losing track of their own selves. And then, if they were lucky, he would clarify things. He was adored and resented at the same time. The authority disliked his ways and feared that he was creating his own deities. He was sentenced to death, a sentence which he, at the ripe age of 70, merrily accepted. He was given the opportunity to escape, but he refused. he drank the hemlock and died a peaceful death, condemning the authority and its ways, but submitting to it towards the end, probably because he was bored of life. Cool dude. He had spunk. Spunky Socrates.

Plato, the next dude in line. Socrates' student, his follower, and his biggest critic. He is known to be one of the most dazzling writers of his time. I am still to read him. He raised some of the most profound questions in philosophy. He questioned on Reality, Knowledge, Identity, Ethics, Method, Beauty and Love. His questions were bang on. His answers, nearly. He gave two forms of Reality. One, the Phenomenal Reality. The reality which we live in. Our reality. Our world. Or the Material reality. That, for him, is easy to comprehend, because that, is what our senses perceive. The other reality, is the Real Reality. The Actual Reality. That reality sees no Change. That reality has no Time. It is the reality of Forms and Ideas. Those ideas are integral to the Phenomenal Reality we live in. They explore concepts of beauty, love, identity etc. Plato, for some reason, was obsessed with Beauty (he probably did not get enough of it, having spent half his life with the unique looker Socrates). Aesthetics was one subject he has discussed in great detail in one of the countless books he's written. And he hated the concept of Democracy.

Aristotle is the next in line. Don't know much about him yet.

This piece was merely a description of what the original thinkers were like. It is not meant to be taken as a reflective piece. Reflections will come when I'm a little wiser. And that could take a lifetime.:)

Till then, I continue my journey of "Knowing thyself"(Socrates).