Posted for Riley P. (16-1)
In our group we talked about Socrates, kind of. We started out talking about him and Andrew touched on the point that Socrates didn’t write anything down, which really seemed to bug him. Then we switched gears and started talking about a definite truth, a point that Allison brought up. Just like Plato and Socrates she believes there is no way to know for sure what is real and what isn’t.
When we changed groups the floater from the podcast group came to join us. She brought a change in topic about Genetic Engineering. We discussed whether or not changing the genetic material of potential babies was moral correct or not. To some it was viewed as a yuck factor. To others it seemed similar to when people select their “ideal” mate.
Yuck Factors where mentioned in our group. Instead of naming a few we discussed why we had them and what Socrates would have thought about these yuck factors. No definite answer was reached but we touched on the fact that Socrates would more then likely believer yuck factors are a part of human nature because we simple don’t have the knowledge to conquer them.
Eventually we made it back to the fact the Socrates didn’t write anything down and we discussed why he didn’t do that. Some believed it was a selfish approached; others believed it was because of his stubborn need to argue back. One issue we all argued on though is that Plato choice the attributes he wished the world to see of Socrates. In reality all we know of him could be an illusion.
Thank you so much for posting this for me Matt! Anyways I enjoyed our discussion I just wish we could stay on topic a little better. Other then that we had a bunch of interesting points.
ReplyDeleteIt was no problem.
DeleteI think that's one of the exciting things about discussion groups; there is tremendous room for connecting one topic to another and to another...I digress. But you see my meaning.
DeleteCheck out my video response to this and other posts here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99iAA1gr6g
Tell me I'm not the only one who noticed this: pic.twitter.com/RJW4NBKH
ReplyDeleteYes I just noticed it after I posted Riley's discussion.
DeleteI really like the discussion on Plato and Socrates. If you look down the lists of posts my group also discussed Plato. Honestly, I believe that Plato tried to force his beliefs on other people. He used Socrates to make himself more popularamong the people of that time. I think Plato probably changed things that Socrates said to better fit what he believed. Here is D.Q. for you. Is it possible that Socrates did not write anything down in hopes that every individual would create their own different viewpoints instead of believeing everything he said?
ReplyDeleteI think you are on to something Emily. Take Aristotle for example. What he had to say was enlightening. However, because of that what then occurred was that, since he was so enlightened, people took his word as a fundamental truth for a long time after his death. I may have my facts mistaken, but he proposed that heavier objects fall faster. It is a simple experiment, but it wasn't until well after his death anyone tested his idea.
ReplyDeleteI have a video describing how we need not to identify with philosophers, but identify with ideas of theirs. Each of which we have critically examined and found reason to not reject.
That is an Interesting point Emily. I personally like that Socrates did not write anything down. Sometimes being selfish has its perks. It shows that you see yourself as value and you live according to your nature. Therefore you respect your own mind and see yourself as a value worth preserving.
ReplyDeleteYou all are making very interesting points. I agree with Emily when she says that Plato tries to force his belief on people. He felt that he had all knowledge and his way was the only way. On the other hand I don't fell that Socrates had selfish intentions by refusing to write his ideas down. I believe he knew the true meaning of philosophy. By saying that I mean he knew there was no right or wrong, it is all according to the person. I believe that he was allowing the individual to gain their own outlook on things. His philosophy was his get,your own is the way I look at it. I am posting on this blog because I wasn't able to locate my groups posting ( Sec 16 Group 3). In our group discussion on tuesday we talked about Aristotle's meaning of true happiness. to sum it all he believe that true happiness comes from being satisfied. real true happiness is gained by living in the moment it's not even an emotion. It's more of a goal. it is being content with the life you lived your accomplishments. it Is being able to rest easy worry free at the end of the day when it's all said and done. That's true Happiness. And I agree with him.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that Plato tried to force his ideas by saying they were Socrates', but with Plato being a student of his would it not be a pretty good assumption to think that their ideas were nearly the exact same in most instances at least?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think that some human beings need tangible evidence that something occurred, or, in the case of Socrates, that something specific was said. I do think that time, and the sometimes unreliable oral passing on of information, has diluted some of Socrates actual ideologies. What we have in present day is Plato's account, and it is obvious that his thinking differed from Socrates. So what exists today is not a pure reflection of who Socrates really was. However, I do understand that there is so much in history that has been lost, because either written language did not exist, or someone refused to write something vital down. I can't be angry, but I am a little bitter that, for example, we know very little about early Native Americans, because they never developed a written language. I think that same holds true for Socrates; I would love to know, from his words, what he was thinking and doing on a daily basis.
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