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Socrates’s Concept of the Self
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This lecture notes discusses Socrates's concept of the self.
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Socrates’s Concept of the SelfSocrates was an ancient Greek philosopher considered to be the forerunner of Western
philosophy. He was, in particular, a scholar, teacher and philosopher who influenced
countless of thinkers throughout generations. His method of questioning, famously
known as the “Socratic Method”, laid the groundwork for Western systems of logic in
particular and philosophy in general.
Plato was considered to be his greatest student. In fact, it was Plato who wrote his
philosophy. As is well known, Socrates did not write anything. It was Plato who
systematically articulated Socrates’s philosophy through his famous dialogues, which
also chronicled Socrates’s life.
Socrates was eventually accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and sentenced to
death by drinking hemlock. He could have opted for exile, but chose death instead. It
can be surmised that Socrates used his death as a final lesson for his students to face
the adversities of life calmly and squarely rather than flee like chickens and ducks when
faced with storms in life.
Socrates was fully convinced that philosophy must obtain practical results for the
greater wellbeing of society. And for Socrates, the very first step towards the realization
of this goal is the acquisition of wisdom through “knowing one’s Self”. As Socrates
famously said, ultimate wisdom comes from knowing oneself.
So, how does Socrates view the self?
The key to understanding Socrates’s concept of the self is through the philosopher’s
take on the “Soul”.
But Socrates’s concept of the soul should not be viewed from the vantage point of
Christianity, that is, a religious conception of the soul. It is important to note that the
ancient Greeks lived long before the existence of Christianity so that for them, the
concept of the soul did not have the same religious connotations that it has for us today.
But what does Socrates actually mean by soul?
Of course, we cannot know for certain what Socrates really meant by the term soul. But
most scholars in philosophy agreed with Frederick Copleston, a famous historian of
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