The Philosophy of Cartesianism

Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am. ), Descartes nonable basis for his philosophy of Cartesianism, is also compelling evidence towards the defense of ace of the most famous of the early Greek teachers, Socrates. In coordinate to be, unriv each(prenominal)ed must think. Socrates was a seeker of truth, and the highest association is knowing what is best for iodinself and ones community. He was penalized and served the ultimate sentence for his belief in the genuine nature of instruction. He was blamed for opposing the authoritative belief that fosterage had the sole purpose of transmitting social mores intact.He believed instead that education was meant to examine and re-evaluate social norms for the betterment of federation. It was his re-evaluation of social norms that was perceived as self-destructive by his society. This leads to the askion, Is it dangerous to think to much? Is it sometimes better to permit things be, in order to keep the peace? wholeness of the many a(prenominal) rouses brought a make waterst Socrates was the charge of corrupting the youth with his informs. Instead of letting the laws govern their lives, he was attempting to taper his pupils ways of rationalizing their own earth.God originally gave mankind free get out so that we would non become a bunch of robots walking some doing his bidding, and yet this is what traditions were doing. The customs of early Athens were limiting on what a person could or could non believe. Socrates believed independent thought in itself could nalways be bad. It is what one does with this friendship that determines its worth. Socrates believed that self-knowledge is different from the knowledge of information that had been reach down from generation to generation.Socrates was more concerned with ethical knowledge self-understanding centre self-improvement. Not unaccompanied must one know what it means to be a human being and understand ones own character (and how it go sh ort of the ideal), but knowing better means doing better. Knowledge becomes a virtue. One must transform ones own character in the fire up of ones vision of what is best. Socrates believed true knowledge or human wisdom was not abstract information or facts that filled the brain. It is knowledge that transforms character, brings order to a disorderly life, refines attitude, and makes one better.This self-understanding that Socrates taught his pupils is actually beneficial to a community. When one has order in their lives, it is easier for them to bring order to the humans close to them. When you smile the institution cannot help smiling too. Conversely, when one allows himself to be corrupted, he corrupts the society around them. Self-improvement equals social reform. At the same time, social reform requires knowledge of what is best for the community (as a whole). Thus, since self-improvement and social reform ar interdependent, self-knowledge and knowledge of social justice ar also interdependent.Ethics is intrinsic from politics and individual good is inseparable from the common good. Therefore, by teaching the youth to think without worrying about following tradition, Socrates not only helps them enhances themselves, but he improves society in general. There still system the question as to whether or not this constant inquiry into the world can be detrimental. Without pioneers of thought, pioneers of action would never exist. As cognizance progresses by means of time, more and more of its theories ar being put into development.Although the progress of science has groovyly enhanced society and the world we live in, there are many cases where an invention or discovery managed to set society back. One of the best examples of this is guns of dope destruction, more specifically, the A-bomb. No one would disagree that this was a terrible thing to create even the inventor had hesitations when he count on out what he was doing. Still he made it, and as society progress, it progressively develops newer and more destructive weapons.The irony is that the leaders of society are the pot pushing for the regretfulger and better weapons, for the sake a guaranteeing national safety. Yet as more and more weapons are created the inevitable mass destruction of all societies becomes evident. In this way, Socratic thought and the quest for knowledge is detrimental to a society. Pure Socratic belief is best summed up by his saying, the unexamined life is not worth living. Many of Socrates adversaries believed that this principle was an collapse invitation for anarchy.Examining life leads to new ideas that do not necessarily conform with the beliefs of society. This causes large movements of revolution. Socrates believed these movements were a great tool in the advancement of civilization. One great proof against this idea is the rise of Hitler and communism. Hitler examined his life and found that the Jews were the source of all his pr oblems. He therefore decided to kill as many of them that he could. His ultimate goal was genocide. In this case the personal thoughts of an individual did not help the advancement of society.The new debate becomes, Is it justifiable to condemn a person for Socratic behavior? The answer is no. Everyone should be allowed to quest for knowledge. That is why the necessity for a college education in the modern world is so strong. Society needs thinkers. What is condemnable is the specific actions that are taken as a result of some of these thoughts. Hypothesizing about what a weapon of mass destruction can do and testing it out on innocent people and animals are two different things. Many people criticize Socrates for not being a man of action.All Socrates ever accomplished was questioning and probing the democratic beliefs of his day. He built nothing, and he wrote nothing, all he did was think, and a person cannot be condemned for their thoughts. In the big picture, people should be encouraged to think for themselves, to decide what they are passing game to believe and what they are going to dismiss as fiction. Society has the correctly to punish a mans actions if they are causing injure to society, but expressing a view other than popular opinion is not harmful to society.In actuality, contemplation can help to resolve many of societys problems. Meditation on a problem leads to realistic solutions to the problem, and in essence, progress. By examining oneself, a person gains better insight into who they are, and where their built in bed in society is. This allows them to become more secure with themselves and more efficient in the community. Socratic behavior is about examining everything in order to gain knowledge. The pursuit of knowledge is not condemnable as long as no one is getting hurt.