A Pocketful of Points to Ponder by Socrates

Bust of Socrates

My current drive-time accompaniment has been a lecture series on Ethics by Peter Kreeft. One quickly observes that a learned man has distilled a lot of material into a clear summation of the great ideas of history. It feels like I should be taking notes and re-listening to what I have already heard.

Socrates is one of the foundation stones of Western philosophy. Kreeft shows early on how all of the main historical positions of ethical scholars were presented, or refuted, by Socrates 500 years B.C. and that in one form or another these schools of thinking continue to be lived out today.

How many times we hear Socrates' most famous quote, "The unexamined life is not worth living." It's repeated so often that it ceases to impress us. Like most of the billboards we drive past on our daily commutes it gets lost in the landscape of our lives. As oft as we hear it, it can almost seem like that was the only thing he ever said, since we so seldom hear any of his other ideas. For this reason, it seemed a good day to share some of his other observations about life. I've placed a little space between each line to help you pause and reflect before moving to the next.


I am a Citizen of the World, and my Nationality is Goodwill.


Silence is a profound melody, for those who can hear it above all the noise.


The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.


Be the kind of person that you want people to think you are.


Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual.


Understanding a question is half an answer.


He is the richest who is content with the least.*


Beware the barrenness of a busy life.


To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous.


To find yourself, think for yourself.


The years wrinkle our skin, but lack of enthusiasm wrinkles our soul.

* * * *

It is noteworthy that neither of the two most influential men in the history of Western civilization, Socrates and Jesus, wrote books. How their influence extends to us today is quite remarkable, especially when one considers the absence of printing presses and technology. I can't help but wonder who, if anyone, from our generation will be cited as significant 2500 years from now.

* * * *

*Antidote to our tendency toward hoarding?

What's It All About?

The last major painting of Paul Gaugin, a leading Post-Impressionist painter of the nineteenth century, is titled, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? It is a painting fraught with symbolism, which he painted while in self-exile in Tahiti. The title itself asks significant questions, three of the big questions that sometimes prod us and other times haunt us, but always probe our inner depths.

It's good to step back and reflect now and then on the big questions. Too often we're buried in the trivial with thoughts like, "What shirt should I wear today?" and "What should I have for lunch?"

Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College, wrote a book with the interesting title Because God Is Real: Sixteen Questions, One Answer. I like catchy titles, and thought provoking subject matter, and found the introduction to this book resonating with me.

All our lives, we keep discovering who we are. None of us comes to the end of that road in this life. None of us completely knows who we are, once we stop fooling ourselves.

You are a one-and-only individual that nobody could ever replace. Nobody who ever lived in the past was exactly like you, and no one who will ever live in the future will be exactly like you. You have a special job to do in this world that no one else can ever do. Each day of your life, you find out a little more about what that job is.

But you also share the same human nature with all other human beings. Your task on earth is to be you, the one and only you; but it is also to be a human being, and that task is the same for all of us. You take different courses in school, but we all take a course called Life. Life's greatest tragedy is to pass all your courses but flunk Life.

The title of the introduction is Three Questions Everyone Should Ask Themselves. For Kreeft, the three questions are:
Who am I?
Where did I come from?
and
Where am I going?

Hear any echoes? Gaugin wrestled with his life, and we wrestle with ours. Sooner or later we all must wonder, "What's it all about?"

Kreeft's essay on the three questions is a good read, even if the intended audience of the book it introduces is only a Catholic catechism class. Anything that smacks of religion sounds terribly boring or even frightening for some. But in point of fact, religion and ethics are more relevant than ever in our post-modern world. And at the end of the day it is important to know who we are, and what we are not.

Since the three questions are "for everyone" it only makes sense that they apply equally well to artists. This is why galleries and art curators seek "an artist's statement" when submitting samples for consideration. What's this artist all about? Where's she coming from? How deeply has she thought it through and where is she going?

These are questions I wrestle with as regard my own work. They're simultaneously challenging and stimulating. The work itself becomes the answer, and like many of the pieces begun initially without aim, it is exciting to see what will happen next. A work of art, like life, can have many happy surprises. Hence, the forward look to what will happen next.

Quo Vadis

"I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing." ~ Socrates

This week I've been listening to a lecture series by Peter Kreeft on Ethics. The man is incredibly lucid and I recommend this audio series to anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of oneself, as well as the times we live in. On my way to the recycle center this a.m. I was listening to lecture three on Socrates. Fascinating.

Other than Jesus, no human has more profoundly influenced our world. Nietzsche himself cited Jesus and Socrates as the most significant men and minds of history.

How did Socrates become such a wise man? Here's the story. Socrates had a friend who was granted the opportunity to ask a question of the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle always answered accurately though also with an abstruse ambiguity. When you have only one question to ask of the god, you don't want to be frivolous about the matter. Socrates' friend thus asked, "Who is the wisest man in the world?" The Oracle replied that it was his friend Socrates.

Socrates was astonished to say the least, for he did not consider himself a wise man at all. Therefore, he set about to find just one wiser man than himself to prove the Oracle wrong. Each time he met someone who claimed to be wise or was purported to be wise, he'd needle him or her with questions. Was this person really wise? Socrates sincerely wanted to know. The questions dismantled the facade of wisdom and revealed its lack.

Thus began the Socratic method which ultimately became Socrates' claim to fame. Ask questions. Ask good questions. Ask thoughtful and probing questions. In the process, Socrates indeed became the wise man that the Oracle had prophesied.

Philosophy can be incredibly rewarding, and fun, too. The study of philosophy sweeps us into what is known as "the Great Conversation." By studying the history of philosophy we have an opportunity to dialogue with the great minds of history as they grapple with the three great questions.
1. Who am I?

2. Where did I come from?

3. Where am I going?

These are not religious questions per se. They are heart and soul and mind questions that help us get a handle on what we're about. Part of growing up involves the self-awareness that results from allowing these questions to probe us. How can we choose careers or a life path without knowing, or at least having an inkling of who we are, where we came from and what we're about?

The Latin expression "Quo Vadis" means just this: Where are you going? Are you moving toward illumination, or avoiding the facts of your life? Are you striving to gain understanding and seeking answers to the deep questions of your heart? Or is it only diversion you seek as you move away from the firelight into the desert darkness beyond?

I strongly recommend Peter Kreeft's writings, and especially his Modern Scholar Lecture Series on Ethics. But it doesn't matter to me where you start really. Philosophy is a wonderful and worthy pursuit. And any thread on the garment will lead you to other threads of thought that lead you to yet still more in the great tapestry of life and thought. Carpe diem!

NOTE: The clay figures 'round the campfire were created by my son Micah when he was young and at home.