Theories: Socratic Wisdom
In 550-700 words, (i) carefully explain one of the following philosophical claims from what we have covered so far; (ii) carefully explain the reasoning the philosopher who claims it offers in support of their claim. In other words, your assignment should carefully explain what the philosopher in question claims and what reasons they offer in support of that claim:
(1) Wisdom requires recognizing the limits of one’s understanding and knowledge. (Socrates)
(2) Ignorance is far more complex an issue than something we simply do not yet know. (Tuana)
(3) Another philosophical claim from what we have covered so far that fits your intellectual interests. Individualized topics must be approved by your teaching assistant by January 20 at the latest.
Submission requirements:
Submit an electronic copy of your assignment as a Word .doc or .docx file to Canvas using the “Assignments” tab in the left panel of our course webpage.
Formatting requirements:
-550-700 words (include a word count)
-12 point Times New Roman or Garamond font
-Double-spaced, numbered pages
What the teaching team is looking for when reading the assignments:
How well the student understood the readings and lectures relevant to the chosen topic;
How well the student thought about the philosophical claim, the relevant reading, and the philosopher’s reasoning in support of the claim;
How well the student organized the presentation of their thoughts;
How well the student expressed their thoughts (grammar, punctuation, clarity, cohesion, precision, persuasiveness);
Good scholarship (cites sources appropriately).
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Socratic Wisdom
The theories that Socrates set forth about wisdom and its scope are collectively termed as ‘Socratic wisdom’. Socrates tries to encapsulate his philosophy of wisdom in a single line by stating, “Wisdom requires recognizing the limits of one’s understanding and knowledge” (Westcott). This paper sets out to decode and explain this idea, and understand as to what Socrates work offer to substantiate this claim.
The choice of words in the stated quote is suggestive of a profound thought at its base. Indeed, this single line gives a big picture of how Socrates views wisdom or what he believes is to be wise. Socrates requires wisdom to surrender in order to prove its validity and strength. He tends to say that a person should not pretend to know what he actually does not know. He should be conscious as to what the boundaries of his knowledge are and where the borderline between his knowledge and the realm of ignorance exists. In other words, a person who claims more knowledge than he actually possesses cannot be regarded as wise.
Plato gives various references to unfold the Socrates’ stance on knowledge and ignorance. For example, at one point, Socrates is quoted as stating, “I do not think I know what I do not know” (Brickhouse and Smith 130). This surrender, to Socrates, is an ongoing endeavour to manage to stay wise despite one’s limited knowledge.
The argument also has some wider and universalistic applications. For example, it also applies to the strife between deism, theism, and atheism. Socrates stands on the midpoint where he neither advocates for faith nor for an utter surrender. The argument is in closer proximity to ‘agnosticism’ which involves believing only in what a person ca...
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