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The challenges of relativism and skepticism This paper is dedicated to several questions such as the nature of virtue, relativism, and skepticism. While providing a research of Socrates and the Sophists Ill try to represent my point of view on current topic. Using various materials from academic websites and encyclopedias Ill discuss how Socrates responds to the challenges of relativism and skepticism. Also some necessary definitions will be made. First of all, on the very beginning of this paper I want to accentuate Socrates position and especially outline he difference between his outlook and public mind. Socrates was a representative of the idealistic religious-moral outlook, openly hostile to materialism.
It was Socrates to set problem of idealism substantiation and has opposed antique materialistic outlook, natural-scientific knowledge and godlessness. Historically, Socrates initiated tendencies or Plato's lines in an ancient philosophy. Socrates a great antique philosopher, a pathfinder of rationalistic and educational traditions of the European way of thinking. He takes an outstanding place in history of moral philosophy, ethics, logic, dialectics, political and legal doctrines. His influence on a progress of human knowledge can be felt up to now.
Socrates philosophical doctrines hadnt loose their urgency and took a great interest at all times. Across centuries the audience of his interlocutors changed, but did not decrease. And today it, undoubtedly, is more populous ly than it was in Socrates times. Major topic of his discussions is human, a problem of a life and death, good and a evil, virtues and prophets, the rights and a duty, freedom and the responsibility, a society. Socrates dialogues are an instructive and authoritative example of how it is possible to be guided in a thicket of these eternally pressing questions. Studying Socrates philosophy at all times was considered as attempt to understand yourselves and your time.
And in spite of all originality of our epoch and novelty of our problems we are no exception to this rule. The main goal of this paper is to challenge relativism and skepticism through the challenging of Socrates and Sophists. Who were Sophists? Sophism (from Greek sophos clever, wise) Logical twist, which deliberately simulates formal correctness of thinking and gives out a false reasoning for a true one.
These philosophers deepen critical attitude to all things which are directly given to a human being as subject of imitation or belief. They demand check on durability of any statement, unconsciously got belief, uncritically accepted opinion. Sophistry was against all that things which lived in human consciousness un substantially. Sophists criticize the basis of old civilization because they saw incorrectness of these bases. Everything that forms society customs, moral principles was doubted by sophists. Therefore, only those received the right to existence which was proved by this consciousness.
That means, that individual became the judge above all that things which do not suppose before individual court. In V a century in the majority of the Greek cities-states had democratic order, that is why persons influence on the state affairs, both judicial, and political, in the big degree depended from its eloquence, its oratory skill and ability to find arguments in favor of the point of view and in such way persuade the majority of fellow citizens. Sophists also offered the services for those who aspired to participate in a political life of the city: trained in grammar, stylistics, rhetoric, etc. We may say that they were ancient analogue of pr managers and image makers, they are also very popular today among modern politician. The initial principle of sophists formulated by Protagoras: " the Person is a measure of all things: existing if that they exist, and nonexistent if that they do not exist ." Things which pleasure person are well and that one which causes sufferings are bad.
Criterion of an estimation good and bad become here sensual propensities for each individual. Similarly, in the theory of knowledge, sophists orient themselves on individual, declaring that he with all his features is the subject of knowledge. Everything that we know about subjects they argue, we receive through the sense organs; nevertheless sensual perception is subjective: what seems sweet to healthy person will seem bitter to the sick one. It means that any human knowledge is relative.
As we see, if separate individual declare a criterion of true, or if to be precise his senses, the last words of the theory of knowledge will be subjectivity, relativism and skepticism considering that objective truth is impossible. We shall pay attention, that for ancient Greeks the world of opinion really does not exist, but sophists argue: only the world of opinion exists, life is just changeable sensual world, shown to individual perception. Individual sensations are first and foremost. In the theory of knowledge relativism substantiate moral relativism: sophists showed conventionality of laws and moral estimations. Just the person is a measure of all things and each community (state) is a measure of fair and unfair. Relativism is defined as a theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them. (Answer.
com) Technically skeptics did not reject moral values themselves, but only denied that values exist as spirit-like objects, or as divine commands in the mind of God. Moral values, they argued, are strictly human inventions, a position that has since been called moral relativism. There are two distinct forms of moral relativism. The first is individual relativism, which holds that individual people create their own moral standards. The second is cultural relativism which maintains that morality is grounded in the approval of one's society - and not simply in the preferences of individual people. (Ethics) Answer. com defined skepticism as A doubting or questioning attitude or state of mind; dubiety.
The ancient school of Pyrrho of Elis that stressed the uncertainty of our beliefs in order to oppose dogmatism. The doctrine that absolute knowledge is impossible, either in a particular domain or in general. A methodology based on an assumption of doubt with the aim of acquiring approximate or relative certainty. Doubt or disbelief of religious tenets. While Socrates was against nature studying he was deeply convinced that to studying nature is fruitless intervention Gods Providence. Socrates imaged world as creation of a deity, so great and almighty, that it can see and hears everything on Earth and can be present everywhere at once.
Guessing instead of scientific researches is necessary to receive instructions of gods concerning their will. Where the deal concerns studying nature Socrates didnt differ from any ignorant inhabitant of Athens. He followed the instructions of Delphian Oracle and his followers to do the same. Socrates accurately made sacrifices to gods and in general diligently carried out all religious practices. He declined the nature and proclaimed the rightness of spirit and consciousness. According to Answers.
com definition Virtue is Moral excellence and righteousness; goodness. An example or kind of moral excellence: the virtue of patience. Historically, virtue theory is one of the oldest normative traditions in Western philosophy, having its roots in ancient Greek civilization. Plato emphasized four virtues in particular, which were later called cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. Other important virtues are fortitude, generosity, self-respect, good temper, and sincerity. In addition to advocating good habits of character, virtue theorists hold that we should avoid acquiring bad character traits, or vices, such as cowardice, insensibility, injustice, and vanity.
Virtue theory emphasizes moral education since virtuous character traits are developed in one's youth. Adults, therefore, are responsible for instilling virtues in the young. (Ethics) Socrates states Cognize yourself. Only in such way it is possible to understand what is right, law, piety, goods and harm. Materialists, while studying the nature, denies divine mind, mocked all former opinions. Thus, to basic philosophical question Socrates give an answer as idealist: cognition is essential, a consciousness is primary, and the nature is something secondary and even insignificant, not worth philosophers attention. When we read the dialog between Protagoras and Socrates we see how each of them oppose and argue using their own point of views.
And we see that their discussion brings no understanding of question itself. "Then holiness is not of the nature of justice, nor justice of the nature of holiness, but of the nature of unholiness; and holiness is of the nature of the not just, and therefore of the unjust, and the unjust is the unholy": how shall we answer him? I should certainly answer him on my own behalf that justice is holy, and that holiness is just; and I would say in like manner on your behalf also, if you would allow me, that justice is either the same with holiness, or very nearly the same; and above all I would assert that justice is like holiness and holiness is like justice; and I wish that you would tell me whether I may be permitted to give this answer on your behalf, and whether you would agree with me. And do you think, I said in a tone of surprise, that justice and holiness have but a small degree of likeness? (Plato) We cannot deny both essential part of cognition sense and spirit are both important in gaining knowledge. Protagoras and Socrates disputed about two sides of one thing. Protagoras and Socrates, you are strange beings; there are you, Socrates, who were saying that virtue cannot be taught, contradicting yourself now by your attempt to prove that all things are knowledge, including justice, and temperance, and courage, -which tends to show that virtue can certainly be taught; for if virtue were other than knowledge, as Protagoras attempted to prove, then clearly virtue cannot be taught; but if virtue is entirely knowledge, as you are seeking to show, then I cannot but suppose that virtue is capable of being taught. Protagoras, on the other hand, who started by saying that it might be taught, is now eager to prove it to be anything rather than knowledge; and if this is true, it must be quite incapable of being taught. " Bibliography Plato, Dialogue.
Ethics, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, web web
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