Socrates, Knowledge Of Self

We may think that modern self-help books are the only way to understand ourselves, but the ancient Greeks had some interesting takes on it too. From Socrates' belief that his job was to reveal what he knew that he did not know to Aristotle's theory of the golden mean, learn some interesting facts about some of the earliest ideas of self-help here.

Socrates was a Greek philosopher from Athens 
who is credited as a founder of 
Western philosophy and the first moral 
philosopher of the ethical tradition of thought.

The Greeks believed that a man could only become virtuous by time and practice. In the "Metaphysics," Aristotle wrote of potentiality and actuality. He argued that everything in the world is made of matter, which has the potential for some form or function, but it must be activated to achieve its full function.

So a seed can grow into a tree because it possesses what it needs to fully realize its potential.

For humans, the path to virtue was also aided by society, according to Aristotle's idea that people learn from one another when they cooperate. The concept of cooperation suggested that flaws in human development resulted from lack of good models more than imperfect social conditions such as poverty and deprivation.

Socrates' thinking was quite different, as his main goal was to reveal what he knew that he did not know. Socrates believed that an unexamined life was not worth living and felt as though the only way to find truth was through asking questions and examining oneself.

Socrates asks Meno, "how will you inquire into a thing which you do not know?" He proposed that we all have knowledge but don't realize it and the purpose of philosophy is to dig it out from within ourselves. This technique can be seen in modern self-help books where authors urge readers to take a good look at themselves and their lives in order to make positive changes.

Socrates Self Examination

Socrates didn't tend to focus on society or external matters when trying to determine virtue; instead, he wanted individuals to search their souls for knowledge. This idea of self-examination was promoted by the Stoics, but instead of using it to determine personal wisdom, they believed that it would also reveal universal truths about nature. They thought that by looking closely at ourselves and the world around us, we could see that everything was unified by one divine cosmic force or "pneuma."

According to Socrates' student Plato's theory of forms in his book "The Republic," when applied to society, this philosophy means that all people are equal in terms of what is really important - their soul. People who act morally are following the divine lead because goodness comes from understanding what is good.

A person who does not know how to act well will be incapable of doing so, therefore it is important to know what is good and seek wisdom. Plato claimed that virtue was its own reward, but this doesn't mean that the Stoics didn't believe in rewards for good deeds; they just felt that these material gains were not as important as acting morally.

The idea of pursuing the "golden mean" or balance between extremes is also seen in Socrates' teachings. For example, he believed it would be wrong to prioritize friendships over justice because friendship could only happen when everyone acted according to their best nature by doing what was right. He posited that there were three parts of the soul: reason, will and desire, which should work together like a team rather than working against each other or being at odds with one another. The extremes of having nothing but will and desire, or nothing but reason and no emotions, were unhealthy for the soul.

Wrapping Up

Knowledge about self-help has evolved since ancient times, particularly in regards to how society views the individual's role in it. For example, Aristotle believed that humans rely on one another because we all have something to contribute; Socrates' philosophy urged individuals to look deep within themselves for personal truth which was not reliant on other people; and Plato suggested that by looking at ourselves closely we could find universal truths which apply to everyone rather than just ourselves.

While these ideas may seem very different now, they are really quite related - wisdom comes from within oneself through reason and examination as well as interaction with others. Also consider the idea of looking inward to change and at one's self to find answers, which is a common theme in modern self-help philosophy.