Dialectics of Socrates as the art of creative dialogue. Constituent elements. Socrates' dialogues

Everyone has heard of Socrates at least once in his life. This ancient Greek philosopher left a bright mark not only in the history of Hellas, but also in the whole of philosophy. Especially interesting for studying the dialectic of Socrates as the art of creative dialogue. This method became the basis of all the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher. Our article is devoted to Socrates and his teaching, which became the basis for the further development of philosophy as a science.

Socrates: the genius and the uncircumcised

A lot has been said about the great philosopher, his personality in the development of philosophy and psychology was mentioned more than once. The phenomenon of Socrates was viewed from different angles, and the history of his life was covered with incredible details. To understand what Socrates meant by the term "dialectic" and why he considered it the only possible way to know the truth and come to virtue, it is necessary to learn a little about the life of the ancient Greek philosopher.

Socrates was born in the fifth century BC in the family of a sculptor and midwife. Since the legacy of the father, according to the law, was to receive the elder brother of the philosopher, he from early years had no propensity to accumulate material wealth and spent all his free time on self-education. Socrates possessed excellent oratorical abilities, was able to read and write. In addition, he studied art and listened to lectures by sophistic philosophers who propagandized the supremacy of the human "I" over all rules and norms.

Despite the eccentric lifestyle of the urban beggar, Socrates was married, had several children and was known as the bravest warrior who took part in the Peloponnesian War. In his entire life the philosopher did not leave Attica and did not even think of his life outside its borders.

Socrates despised material goods and always walked barefoot in the already worn-out clothes. He did not leave behind a single scientific work or composition, because the philosopher believed that knowledge can not be taught and planted to man. The soul needs to be pushed to the search for truth, and for this purpose disputes and constructive dialogues are perfectly suited. Socrates was often accused of contradicting his teachings, but he was always ready to enter into a discussion and listen to the opponent's opinion. Strangely enough, it turned out to be the best method of persuasion. Almost everyone who at least once heard of Socrates called him a wise man.

The death of the great philosopher is also surprisingly symbolic, it became a natural extension of his life and teachings. After accusing Socrates of corrupting young people's minds with new deities not being the gods of Athens, the philosopher was brought to justice. But he did not wait for the sentencing and sentencing, but he himself offered execution by taking poison. Death in this case was considered by the accused as a release from the earthly vanity. Despite the fact that friends offered to get the philosopher out of jail, he refused and met his death steadfastly after taking a portion of the poison. According to some sources, the cup was cicuta.

A few touches to the historical portrait of Socrates

The fact that the Greek philosopher was an outstanding personality, one can draw a conclusion after one description of his life. But some strokes characterize Socrates especially brightly:

• He always maintained himself in good physical shape, engaged in various exercises and believed that this was the best way to the health of the mind;
• The philosopher adhered to a certain system of nutrition, which eliminated excesses, but at the same time gave the body all the essentials (historians believe that this saved him from the epidemic during the Peloponnesian war);
• He spoke ill of written sources - they, according to Socrates, weakened the mind;
• Athenian was always ready for discussion, and in search of knowledge, many kilometers could pass, asking recognized sages.

From the middle of the nineteenth century, at the time of the highest development of psychology, many tried to describe Socrates and his activities in terms of temperament and predispositions. But the psychotherapists did not come to a common opinion, and they wrote off their failure on the minimal amount of reliable information about the "patient".

How the doctrine of Socrates came to us

The philosophy of Socrates - dialectic - has become the basis of many philosophical trends and trends. She managed to become a base for modern scholars and orators, after the death of Socrates his followers continued the work of the teacher, creating new schools and transforming already known techniques. The difficulty in accepting the teachings of Socrates is the lack of his writings. We know about the ancient Greek philosopher thanks to Plato, Aristotle and Xenophon. Each of them considered it a matter of honor to write several works about Socrates himself and his teachings. Despite the fact that it has come down to our times in the most detailed description, do not forget that each author has introduced into his original interpretation his attitude and a note of subjectivity. This is easily seen by comparing the texts of Plato and Xenophon. They completely differently describe Socrates himself and his activities. In many key points the authors radically differ in opinion, which significantly reduces the reliability of the information stated in their works.

Philosophy of Socrates: the beginning

The ancient dialectic of Socrates has become an absolutely new and fresh trend in the established philosophical traditions of Ancient Greece. Some historians consider the appearance of such a character as Socrates quite natural and expected. According to certain laws of the development of the universe, each hero appears exactly when this is most necessary. After all, not a single religious stream emerged from scratch and did not go anywhere. It, like grain, fell on fertile soil, in which it germinated and yielded fruits. Similar analogies can be carried out with all scientific achievements and inventions, because they appear in the most necessary moment for humanity, in some cases radically changing the further history of the whole civilization as a whole.

The same can be said about Socrates. In the fifth century BC, art and science developed at a rapid pace. Constantly there were new philosophical currents, instantly gaining followers. In Athens it was quite popular to gather and hold contests of oratory or dialogues on an acute topic of interest to the whole policy. Therefore, it is not surprising that on this wave the dialectic of Socrates arose. Historians argue that, according to the texts of Plato, Socrates created his doctrine as a confrontation with the popular philosophy of the sophists, which was against the consciousness and understanding of the native of Athens.

Origin of the dialectic of Socrates

The subjective dialectic of Socrates completely and completely contradicted the doctrine of the Sophists about the predominance of the human "I" over all social. This theory was very popular in Attica and in every way developed by Greek philosophers. They argued that the person is not limited to any norms, all her actions come from desires and abilities. In addition, the philosophy of that time was fully aimed at finding the secrets of the universe and the divine essence. Scientists competed in eloquence, discussing the creation of the world, and aspired to penetrate as much as possible the idea of equality of man and gods. The Sophists believed that penetration into the higher secrets would give mankind immense power and make it part of something extraordinary. After all, even in its present state, the person is free and can rely on his actions only for his hidden needs.

Socrates, for the first time, turned the philosophers' view of man. He managed to translate the sphere of interests from the divine to the personal and the simple. The knowledge of man becomes the surest way to the achievement of knowledge and virtue, which Socrates put on one level. He believed that the secrets of the universe should remain in the sphere of divine interests, but the person first of all must learn the world through himself. And this should make him a benevolent member of society, for only knowledge will help to distinguish good from evil and lie from truth.

The ethics and dialectic of Socrates: briefly about the main

The basic ideas of Socrates were based on simple universal values. He believed that he should slightly push his students to seek the truth. After all, these searches are the main task of philosophy. This statement and the presentation of science in the form of an endless path became an absolutely fresh trend among the sages of Ancient Greece. The philosopher himself considered himself to be a kind of "midwife" who, through simple manipulations, allows a completely new judgment and thinking to be born. Socrates did not deny that the human person has great potential, but argued that great knowledge and concepts about oneself should lead to the appearance of certain rules of behavior and framework that turn into a set of ethical norms.

That is, the philosophy of Socrates led man to the path of exploration, when every new discovery and knowledge had to lead again to questions. But only this way could ensure the acquisition of virtue, expressed in knowledge. The philosopher said that having ideas about goodness, a person will not do evil. Thus, he will put himself in a framework that will help him to exist in society and to benefit him. Ethical norms are inseparable from self-knowledge, they, according to the teachings of Socrates, flow from each other.

But the knowledge of the truth and its birth are possible only through a multifaceted examination of the subject. Dialogues of Socrates on this or that subject served as a tool for clarifying the truth, because only in a dispute where each opponent argues his point of view, one can see the birth of knowledge. Dialectics presupposes a discussion before the truth is fully clarified, each argument receives a counterargument, and so proceeds until the ultimate goal is achieved-the acquisition of knowledge.

The Principles of Dialectics

The constituent elements of Socrates' dialectic are fairly simple. He used them throughout his life and through them he brought the truth to his disciples and followers. They can be represented as follows:

1. "Know thyself"

This phrase became the basis of the philosophy of Socrates. He believed that it was with her that it was necessary to start all the research, because the knowledge of the world is available only to God, and a different destiny is destined for man: he must seek for himself and cognise his possibilities. The philosopher believed that it is from the level of self-knowledge of each member of society that the culture and ethics of the whole nation depends.

2. "I know that I do not know anything"

This principle significantly distinguished Socrates among other philosophers and sages. Each of them claimed that he possesses a higher body of knowledge and therefore can call himself a sage. Socrates also followed the search path, which can not be completed a priori. The boundaries of the consciousness of the individual can move apart to infinity, so insight and new knowledge become just a stepping stone to new questions and searches.

Surprisingly, even the Delphic oracle considered Socrates to be the wisest. There is a legend that says that after learning about this, the philosopher was very surprised and decided to find out the reason for such a flattering characteristic. As a result, he questioned the mass of Attica recognized by the cleverest people and came to an astonishing conclusion: he was recognized as wise, because he does not boast of his knowledge. "I know that I do not know anything" - this is the highest wisdom, because absolute knowledge is available only to God and can not be given to man.

3. "Virtue is knowledge"

This idea was very difficult to perceive in public circles, but Socrates could always argue his philosophical principles. He argued that any person strives to do only what his heart desires. And it wants only beautiful and beautiful, so the understanding of virtue, which is the most beautiful, leads to the constant realization of this idea.

We can say that each of the above Socrates statements can be reduced to three whales:

• Self-knowledge;
• Philosophical modesty;
• The triumph of knowledge and virtue.

The dialectic of Socrates is represented by the movement of consciousness to understand and achieve the idea. In many situations, the ultimate goal remains unattainable, and the question is open.

The Socratic Method

The dialectic, created by the Greek philosopher, contains a method that allows one to embark on the path of self-knowledge and the attainment of truth. He has several basic tools, which to this day are successfully used by philosophers of various currents:

1. Irony

Without the ability to laugh at yourself, you can not come to an understanding of the idea. After all, according to Socrates, dogmatic self-confidence in its rightness hinders the development of thought and does not leave the right to doubt. Proceeding from the method of Socrates, Plato argued that the real philosophy originates with astonishment. It can cause a person to doubt, and therefore make a significant advance in the path of self-knowledge. Dialectics of Socrates, used in ordinary conversations with the inhabitants of Athens, often led to the fact that even the most confident in their knowledge, the Greeks began to experience disappointment in themselves the same. It can be said that this side of Socrates' method is identical to the second principle of dialectics.

2. Mayeventics

Mayevtikoy can be called the last stage of irony, on which the person gives birth to truth and approaches the understanding of the subject. In practice, it looks like this:

• A person gets rid of his arrogance;
• Is surprised and disappointed in his ignorance and stupidity;
• Approaches the understanding of the need to search for truth;
• The path of the answer to the questions posed by Socrates;
• Each new answer gives rise to the next question;
• After a series of questions (and many of them can be asked in a dialogue with oneself), the personality independently gives birth to truth.

Socrates argued that philosophy is a continuous process that simply can not turn into static magnitude. In this case, one can predict the "death" of a philosopher who becomes a dogmatist.

Mayevtik is inseparable from the dialogues. It is in them that one can come to knowledge, and Socrates taught his interlocutors and followers to seek the truth in different ways. For this, questions are equally good and important for other people, and for oneself. In some cases it is the question posed to itself that becomes decisive and leads to knowledge.

3. Induction

A distinctive feature of Socrates' dialogues is that truth is unattainable. It is the goal, but the philosophy itself is hidden in the movement towards this goal. The urge to search is dialectic in its most direct manifestation. Understanding, according to Socrates, is not the assimilation of truth as food, but only the determination of the necessary object and the path to it. In the future, only forward movement is expected, which should not cease.

Dialectics: Stages of Development

The dialectic of Socrates was the first and, it may be said, spontaneous stage in the development of a new philosophical thought. It arose in the fifth century BC and continued to develop actively in the future. The historical stages of the dialectic of Socrates are restricted by three philosophers to three main milestones, but in reality they are represented by a more complex list:

• Ancient philosophy;
• Medieval philosophy;
• Philosophy of the Renaissance;
• The philosophy of modern times;
• German classical philosophy;
• Marxist philosophy;
• Russian philosophy;
• Modern Western philosophy.

This list eloquently proves that this direction developed throughout all the historical stages that humanity was passing through. Of course, not in each of them the dialectic of Socrates received a serious impetus to development, but modern philosophy connects with it many concepts and terms that appeared much later than the death of the ancient Greek philosopher.

Conclusion

The contribution of Socrates to the development of modern philosophical science is invaluable. He created a new scientific method of searching for truth and drew the energy of a person inside himself, giving him the opportunity to learn all the facets of his "I" and make sure of the correctness of the saying: "I know that I do not know anything."