Whitney Swaim - Socrates (Outside Reading 5)

Paul Gooch wrote a thought-provoking article called Socrates: Devious or Divine? He shares, “since his death Socrates has been the subject of such competing assessments that some have despaired of ever finding the real person executed in Athens in 399 B.C.” (p. 32). This statement prompted me to think about the time when writing was coming to the forefront in Europe. Socrates’ ideas influence philosophy in great ways. However, this ancient philosopher never wrote anything down. Socrates lived during a time when many people did not practice writing. They were perhaps ruled by a literate society, but reading and writing were privileges for the upper class during this time. Thus, our understanding of Socrates may only be gathered from writings of others (mainly Plato). Since Socrates’ society no longer kept active oral accounts, his true ideas were lost. The only hard evidence we have of Socrates’ thoughts is found in the skewed works of Plato and other philosophers. It may be argued that oral societies are more effective than literate ones, and vice versa, but it seems clear that societies that have an unhealthy balance of both will not leave an accurate legacy.