Column: In a time of strife, humanity's salvation is found in philosophy of Socrates
Today is a time for change. Not modifications or adjustments, but radical change. It is a time to move from being merely smart to becoming wise, and there is a world of difference there.
Normally, societal and global woes occupy my mind, but today is different. Today we are in the midst of multiple bombardments, from the massacre of Ukrainian civilians, to the conscription of naïve Russian soldiers turned barbarian, to the hundreds of mass shootings, to the neglect of those needing food and shelter, to the record millions of refugees and Internally Displaced People, and to, in general, the unrelenting cruelty of humans toward other humans, nonhuman animals, and our earth. I truly believe our only salvation is to embark on a journey toward wisdom.
The teachings of Socrates, as related by Plato, seem the most relevant for today’s rocky world. As a very brief overview, we can imagine three primary concepts for sparking our stalled human journey toward wisdom.
More in opinion:Only grief, misery and death remain in wake of Buffalo mass shooting
First, INTERESTS. Through legitimate Socratic questioning, one can clear away our minds’ thickets of small-term, short-term, implanted interests and find our true and deepest interests as human beings. These consist not of acquiring wealth, re-election, power over others, etc. Rather, they refer to developing our highest humanity, our inborn powers of reason, perspective, and compassion.
Second, TELOS. One can imagine oneself truly flourishing as a human being by understanding that these true human interests constitute our special human potential. We must strive to keep the actualization of this potential as our central image, as our target in life or, as the Greeks would put it, as our telos — our pre-designed ideal, flourishing human self. The usual example of this is the acorn and oak tree: the oak tree is the acorn’s telos, its flourishing self; it is the culmination of the acorn’s teleological development. Our question: what is the greatest human potential, the telos, of us homo sapiens?
Third, TOUCHSTONE. One must recognize that we frequently face a (metaphorical) touchstone situation. This is a situation that tests our commitment to our target, our commitment to aim for our flourishing self, especially in times of temptation and fear. For example, when an official is faced with a political decision (which is a touchstone situation), how can one, and will one, make one’s choice based on one’s target? Can we reach inside and find what decision would do justice to our human self, what would aim toward our reason, perspective, and compassion? Or would we be distracted by some short-term goal better suited to a different species? A metaphorical image to test our actions in our touchstone situations is a guardrail: if we’re going off course, straying from our teleological journey, there is a quiet voice (guardrail) inside us that reminds us that we’re going off course and urges us back to our intended, or teleological, course. Interestingly, the Greek word for “sin” is hamartia, an archery term meaning missing the target, missing your mark. This is why attention to our metaphorical guardrail is critical in warning us when we’re distracted and veering away from our inborn teleological course, the course that reflects our best self, our wisdom.
Join the conversation:How to submit a letter to the editor or guest column to The Herald-Times
We must remember that, as homo sapiens, we can be smart, yet fall far short of our inborn potential to flourish. This is, at bottom, a matter of good faith: good faith in remembering who we human beings have the potential to become, especially among those entrusted with the well-being of others, and good faith in remaining committed to our teleological journey. Let’s stop being satisfied with “smart”. Let’s become wise.
Diane Legomsky, Ph.D., is a retired professor of Greek philosophy.