[SOLVED] Socratic Wisdom

So far we have only had the opportunity to discuss about one and a half pieces by Plato in class, the Apology and the Symposium, although you should have already finished reading both these pieces, or are very close to doing so (since we were supposed to finish Symposium today). So far, we have learned about Plato’s style, his method, and his mentor Socrates, but not much about his philosophy as such, that is, his entire system of thought that he develops through his dialogues. Don’t worry, this will emerge as we progress, through the rest of the Symposium, as well as the Phaedo and Republic selections, but for now let’s just focus on what we know and have had the opportunity to talk about. It seems that Plato, following his mentor Socrates, holds that philosophy is a negative enterprise as much, if not more so, as it is a positive one. This means there is much that we must unlearn before we can actually learn or gain knowledge, i.e. we must discern what is not knowledge, or truth, before we can talk about what it actually is. This peculiar ability has been characterized as “Socratic Wisdom,” and is also related to Socrates’ ironic disposition, as well as Plato’s ironic style in his works. With this in mind, for your reflection, write 1-2 pages (double spaced) on what Socratic Wisdom is, and why it is important. How would you describe it in your own words? How does it work? What does it teach us? That is, what is the peculiar character of Socratic Wisdom to you? Also, I’d like you to discuss how this “wisdom” relates to Socrates the person as Plato shows him to us. For this, consider the various parts of the Symposium where Plato has the narrator or speaker in the dialogue mention aspects of Socrates’ personality, such as when Aristodemus and Socrates are in the way to the party (p. 17; 174d-175b), and in particular Alcibiades’ speech near the end of the dialogue (p. 52-9; 215b-220e and 223c-d), or any part of Socrates’ (i.e. “Diotima’s”) speech in the Apology (look especially to how Diotima/Socrates portrays “Eros” (Love) the god (daimon) at pp. 41-2; 202d-204a and her discussion of the Ladder of Love and Beauty Itself at p. 47-8; 210a-211b). While these examples give you a lot of parts of Symposium to consider, along with any other aspect of the text that you like, you don’t have to address all of these parts of the text. Rather, I’d like you to draw from different parts of the story of the Symposium that resonated with you, that you like or found interesting, that relate to both the person Socrates as portrayed by Plato and how this portrayal, particularly found in the speeches of Diotima (Socrates) and Alcibiades, touch upon the themes of Socratic Wisdom, irony, knowledge vs. opinion, and what we have characterized as the Socratic/Platonic “Criteria for Knowledge.” Be sure to address all of the points in the prompt, but do so however you see fit. Treat this as an essay (that is, a complete thought with an introduction, body and conclusion) to reflect on this question and try to answer it. While there is no right answer (that is, this is not a trick, answer what you honestly think), there are right and wrong ways to write this, and you’ll be graded mostly on how well thought out your answer is, how much you draw from the text and lectures (so, not merely all your own ideas, though that’s part of it), and so on. Focus mainly on the readings from the last week, particularly the Apology and Symposium

Request assignment answer