Socrates' famous sayings
Know yourself (know yourself)
The fewer our needs, the closer we are to God.
The gods have reserved for themselves the knowledge of the most important things.
Those who want to control the world must first be able to control themselves.
Only by knowing yourself can you know life.
Introduction and story of Socrates
One evening in June 399 BC, an old man in his seventies was about to be executed in an Athens prison. I saw that his clothes were ragged and his feet were bare, but his face was calm and composed. After sending away his wife and family members, he chatted with a few friends and seemed to have forgotten about the upcoming execution. It wasn't until the jailer brought in a glass of poisonous juice that he stopped talking, took the glass, and drank it all. Afterwards, he lay down and smiled and said to his friends who came to say goodbye that he had eaten one of his neighbor's chickens and had not paid for it yet, so please repay it for him. After saying that, the old man closed his eyes peacefully and fell asleep. This old man is the great philosopher Socrates.
Socrates (470 BC - 399 BC) was not only a famous philosopher in ancient Greece, but also a famous historical figure with a distinctive personality who has been criticized and praised from ancient times to the present. His father was a stonemason and carver, and his mother was a midwife.
As a teenager, Socrates learned crafts from his father, was familiar with Homer's epic poems and the works of other famous poets, and became a very knowledgeable person through self-study. He made a living by imparting knowledge. When he was in his 30s, he became a social ethics teacher who did not receive compensation or set up a library. Many children from rich and poor families often gathered around him to learn from him and learn from him. Socrates often said: "I only know that I know nothing."
He spent most of his life outdoors. He likes to talk with people from all walks of life in public places such as markets, sports fields, and streets on various issues, such as war, politics, friendship, art, ethics and morality, etc. He participated in the war three times, served as a hoplite, and rescued wounded soldiers in battle more than once. Around the age of 40, he became a well-known figure in Athens.
Socrates lived a hard life. Regardless of the severe cold, he always wears an ordinary single coat, often wears no shoes, and is not particular about eating. But he didn't seem to notice this, and just concentrated on his studies.
Socrates' teachings are mystical. He believes that the existence, development and destruction of various things in heaven and on earth are arranged by God, and God is the master of the world. He opposed the study of nature as blasphemous. He advocated people to understand the principles of life and live a moral life. His philosophy mainly studies ethical and moral issues.
Socrates often debated with others. During the debate, he used question-and-answer formats to help the other party correct and abandon their original misconceptions and help them generate new ideas. He abstracted the universal from the individual and took the four steps of sarcasm, midwifery, induction and definition. "Satire" means to make the other party contradict himself and admit ignorance about the issue through constant questioning; "midwifery" means to help the other party abandon the misconceptions and find the correct and universal things, that is, to help the truth come out; "induction" means to start from the individual Find the uniqueness in things and find general rules through individual analysis and comparison; "definition" means to attribute a single concept to the general.
Socrates never gave students ready-made answers when teaching them. Instead, he used rhetorical questions and refutations to make students unconsciously accept the influence of his thoughts. Take a look at an interesting example of his Q&A with a student.
Student: Socrates, what is good deeds?
Socrates: Are theft, deception, and selling people as slaves good or evil?
Student: It’s an evil act.
Socrates: Is it evil to deceive your enemies? Is it a bad act to sell captured enemies into slavery?
Student: This is a good deed. But I'm talking about friends, not enemies. Socrates: According to you, stealing is a bad thing to a friend. But if your friend is about to commit suicide and you steal the tools that he is going to use to commit suicide, is this an evil act? Student: It’s a good deed.
Socrates: You said that lying to friends is a bad thing. However, during the war, in order to boost morale, the commander of the army told the soldiers that reinforcements were coming. But there are actually no reinforcements. Is this deception evil?
Student: This is a good deed.
This teaching method has its merits. It can inspire people's thoughts and make people actively analyze and think about problems. He uses dialectical methods to prove that truth is concrete and relative. Under certain conditions, you can transform into your opposite. This epistemology is of great significance in the history of European thought.
Socrates advocated expert governance. He believed that all walks of life and even national power should be managed by trained, knowledgeable and talented people, and opposed democracy implemented by lottery election. He said: Managers are not those who hold power and bully others, nor are they elected by the people, but those who know how to manage. For example, a boat should be driven by someone who is familiar with sailing; when spinning wool, women should manage men because they are good at it and men do not.
He also said that the best people are those who are competent at their jobs. Someone who is proficient in farming is a good farmer; someone who is proficient in medical skills is a good doctor; someone who is proficient in politics is an excellent politician.
In 404 BC, Athens failed in the Peloponnesian War. "The rule of the Thirty Tyrants replaced the democratic government." Critias, the leader of the Thirty Tyrants, was a student of Socrates. . It is said that once Critias called Socrates and ordered him to lead four men to arrest a rich man and seize his property. Socrates refused to obey and walked away. He not only dared to resist Critias' illegal orders, but also publicly condemned his atrocities. Critias called him away angrily and forbade him to approach the young man again, warning him: "Be careful, don't force us to lose another sheep from the flock." Socrates didn't like him at all. Ignore him and continue to go his own way.
Later, the rule of the "Thirty Tyrants" was overthrown, and the democrats regained power. Some people accused him of having a close relationship with Critias, opposing democratic politics, and poisoning young people with heresy. Socrates was arrested and imprisoned. According to Athenian law, before the court condemns the defendant, the defendant has the right to propose a punishment different from that requested by the plaintiff, so that the court can choose one of the two. Socrates took this opportunity to deliver an impassioned speech. He claimed to be innocent and believed that his words and deeds were not only innocent, but also conducive to social progress. As a result, he was sentenced to death. While in prison, his friends tried their best to persuade him to escape, bribed the jailer, and formulated an escape plan, but he would rather die than violate his beliefs. In this way, the 70-year-old man passed away peacefully.
Socrates had a large number of fanatical admirers and a large number of fierce opponents both during his lifetime and after his death. He did not leave any writings in his life, but his influence was huge. Historians of philosophy often regard him as a watershed in the development history of ancient Greek philosophy, and call his previous philosophy Pre-Socratic philosophy. As a great philosopher, Socrates had a great influence on later Western philosophy.
Socrates School of Socrates
Socrates (470 BC - 399 BC) was not only a famous philosopher in ancient Greece, but also an ancient Greek philosopher with a distinctive personality. A famous historical figure who has been vilified and praised to this day.
Socrates' teachings are mystical. He believes that the existence, development and destruction of various things in heaven and on earth are arranged by God, and God is the master of the world. He opposed the study of nature as blasphemous. He advocated people to understand the principles of life and live a moral life. His philosophy mainly studies ethical and moral issues.
Socrates advocated expert governance. He believed that all walks of life and even national power should be managed by trained, knowledgeable and talented people, and opposed democracy implemented by lottery election. He said: Managers are not those who hold power and bully others, nor are they elected by the people, but those who know how to manage. For example, a boat should be driven by someone who is familiar with sailing; when spinning wool, women should manage men because they are good at it and men do not. He also said that the best people are those who are competent at their jobs. A person who is good at farming is a good farmer; a person who is good at medicine is a good doctor; a person who is good at politics is a good politician.
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Socrates's family was not wealthy. His father was a sculptor and his mother was a midwife. When he was a boy, he had the ideal of inheriting his father's business and once studied sculpture, but stopped because he lost interest. But I like to study philosophy, astronomy and geometry. Su's wife's name is Xanthippe, who is quite famous. The relationship between the couple was not harmonious, because the master sat on the streets of Athens or in front of the temple all day long, giving lectures and discussions with ordinary young people. He neither wanted to be a monk nor had any other occupation to make a living, and he never cared about his wife. Small. Therefore, in the eyes of his wife, Socrates was an idle person who had nothing to do, a lazy man who only brought trouble but not bread. Su often called himself "Gadfly", and his wife also called him so. The gadfly is a fly that sucks the blood of cows. She actually compared her husband to a vampire in the family. However, every time Candibal got angry, the great philosopher always protested silently, making the strong wife often feel that there was no place for heroes. . It is said that once, when Su was still making silent protests, his wife was so angry that she poured a bucket of water on her husband's head. The master only smiled and said: "I know After the thunder, it will definitely rain.
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The story Socrates told Plato
I finally found a short story today. I have heard it before, but I just didn’t remember it. Now I can put it down Let it dry here
One day, Plato asked Socrates what love is. Socrates told him to go to the wheat field once, or walk without looking back, and pick the biggest and best one on the way. Plato thought it was easy and went out with confidence, but he still didn't go back after a long time.
Finally, he appeared in front of the teacher dejectedly and told the reason for returning empty-handed: "It's rare to see a plant that looks good, but I don't know if it is the best. I have no choice but to give up because I can only pick one. Look again. Is there anything better? When I reached the end, I realized that there was no wheat in my hand." At this time, Socrates told him: "This is love!"
Once again, Plato asked Socrates what marriage was. Socrates told him to go to the cedar forest once, or walk without looking back. On the way, he must pick the best and most suitable tree available, but he can only pick it once. Plato learned the lesson from the last time and went out with confidence. After half a day, he dragged a cedar tree that looked straight, green, but a little sparse. Socrates asked him: "Is this the best tree?" Plato answered the teacher: "Because I can only take one. I finally found one that looked good, but I also found that time and physical strength were running out. I didn’t care if it was the best, so I took it back.” Socrates told him: "This is marriage!"
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The story of Socrates persuading a lovelorn man
One day, Socrates met a lovelorn man.
Socrates: My child, why are you sad?
Lovelorn: I am lovelorn.
Socrates: Oh, that’s normal. If there is no sadness when love is broken, love will probably have no taste. But, young man, how did I discover that you are even more devoted to broken love than to love?
Lovelorn: The grapes you got are lost. You are not the only one to experience this regret and loss. How can you know the sadness and sadness in it!
Socrates: If it is lost, it is lost. Why not continue to mosaic it? There are still many delicious grapes.
Lovelorn: How about stepping on her? What I can’t get, no one else can get.
Socrates: But this can only make you farther away from her, and you originally wanted to be closer to her.
Lovelorn: What do you think I should do? I really love her.
Socrates: Really love? So of course you want your loved ones to be happy?
Lovelorn: That’s natural.
Socrates: What if she thinks leaving you is a blessing?
Lovelorn: No. She once told me that she felt happy only when she was with me.
Socrates: That was once, in the past, but she doesn’t think so now.
Lovelorn: Does this mean she has been lying to me?
Socrates: No, she has always been loyal to you. When she loved you, she was with you, now she doesn't love you, she left, there is no greater loyalty in the world than this. If she no longer loves you, but still pretends to be very affectionate for you, and even marries you and has children, then that is real deception!
Lovelorn: But wasn’t the emotion I invested in her wasted? Who will compensate me?
Socrates: No, your feelings are never wasted, because when you give your feelings, she also gives her feelings to you. When you give her happiness, she also gives you happiness. .
The Lovelorn: But how unfair this is!
Socrates: It is indeed unfair. I mean unfair to the person you love. Originally, it is your right to love her, but it is her right not to love you, and you want to deprive others of the freedom to exercise their rights when you exercise your own rights. How unfair this is.
Lovelorn: But you can see clearly that I am the one who is suffering now, not her. It is I who is suffering for her.
Socrates: If you are suffering for her, she is living a good life, why not say you are suffering for yourself!
Lovelorn: In your opinion, is all this my fault?
Socrates: Yes, you made a mistake from the beginning. If you can bring her happiness, she will not leave your life. You know, no one will escape happiness, but time will heal the wounds in your soul.
The Lovelorn: I hope this day will come, but where should I take the first step?
Socrates: Go thank the person who abandoned you and bless her.
Lovelorn: Why?
Socrates: Because she gives you a new opportunity to find happiness
Beauty is difficult
Virtue is knowledge or: Virtue is knowledge, Ignorance is the source of evil
Ignorance is evil
Others live for food, but I eat for survival.
Wisdom means knowing one's ignorance
I only know one thing in my life, why am I so ignorant.
There are two kinds of people in this world, one is a happy pig, and the other is a painful person. Be a miserable person, not a happy pig.
If you put the pain of everyone in the world together and let you choose, you may still be willing to choose your original share.
Men live by forgetting, and women live by remembering.
Only reason is the most valuable
I know very clearly that I have no wisdom, no matter how big or small.
Education is a tool and method to seduce our hearts
The most effective education method is not to tell people the answers, but to ask them questions.
If you want to learn knowledge from me, you must first have a strong desire for knowledge, just like you have a strong desire to survive.
Ideas should be born in the hearts of students, and teachers should just act like midwives.
There is a sun in everyone, the main thing is how to make it shine.
Education is not indoctrination, but igniting a fire.
Problems are midwives, helping new ideas to be born.
The best person is yourself