Spirituality Lesson 6 - Socretes et al

Spirituality – Lesson 6, Socrates et al Socrates was a Greek philosopher who initiated a question and answer method of teaching as a means of achieving self knowledge. He was incarnate on this plane of existence from approximately 470BCE to 399 BCE. At the time Socrates lived, there was much political and social turmoil in Athens, Greece. Socrates was accused of corrupting the young minds of Athens with his philosophies and brought to trial. He chose to defend his actions and philosophies himself rather than have another person speak for him. In essence he told the Assembly gathered to judge him, that they should question their own belief structures. He informed the Assembly that their morals and system of justice was corrupt from his perspective. He told them the Truth from his perspective of Reality. It was a Truth they did not wish to hear. According to Plato, who wrote of Socrates beliefs, Socrates believed that if a human truly understood the implications and ramifications of wrong actions they would either cease the actions or never commit the actions in the first place. Socrates believed that there exists in each human, an Essence, a Spirit, a Soul…. That continues to exist long after the death of the body has occurred. He believed if a human performs a wrong action and knows the action to be wrong then the Spirit or Soul can become injured or corrupted. Once the Spirit or Soul has been injured then the Spirit or soul can experience unpleasant sensations or suffering. The Assembly gathered to hear and judge Socrates did not appreciate or agree with his perception of their morality, justice or Truth. The Assembly felt that the codes of conduct put forward by their society at that moment in time was acceptable and just. Initially the Assembly offered Socrates he option to leave Athens and continue living. He was also given the option to drink Hemlock and die. His death by poison could have been avoided if he deserted his philosophies. Socrates could have escaped from Athens but by choosing not to escape he chose to defend his philosophy of Truth and Justice. He chose to drink poison and die rather than recant or refute his philosophies regarding virtue, self development, justice, morality, ignorance and wisdom.  His death and the way he chose to die gave meaning and purpose to his life. If Socrates has chose to recant his philosophies on life, perhaps the world would never have known the wisdom and teachings of Plato or Plato's student, Aristotle. If Aristotle had not been a student of Plato, who then would have tutored Alexander the Great? Perhaps the Libraries of Alexandria would never have been built. Perhaps there would currently exist very few institutions dedicated to Justice and Equality for all persons. Socrates taught the human race to question the principles of moral equity and virtue and to evaluate the codes of conduct put forward by any society. Justice can have many different meanings; the definition depends on One's perception and interpretation of Truth and Reality. Respectfully submitted by Rev. Susan K. Bowers