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You've Heard of Plato? Aristotle? Socrates? .... Morons.
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You've Heard of Plato? Aristotle? Socrates? .... Morons. Yes, I made a Princess Bride reference. I love that movie.  I've just read over this post before I published it, and it sounds like I'm attacking people on this blog or other blogs. I'm not. Truly, I'm not. I don't play bullshit games like that. So if you're reading this and thinking, "Hey, Lion is saying this about ME!!!"... stop thinking that. I'm not. I don't know you well enough to direct anything at anyone on here, except maybe M1ssy, and it's not directed at her, either. So that being said, I feel like waxing philosophical tonight. . Socrates is widely known down throughout the ages as one of the wisest people who ever lived. His published works are brilliant, and he is still one of the most quoted philosophers in history, though most people don't realize the quotes they're making are from him. He is one of the founders of Western<b> philosophy... </font></b>think about that for a minute. If you ever feel like getting a little wiser, you'd do worse than reading up on the works and philosophies of Socrates, all of which were written down by his student Plato, and Plato's student Aristotle. And one of the most poignant things Socrates ever said was also considered one of his most enigmatic. I've come to appreciate this quote over the last couple of years, and I think I may even have come to understand it to some extent... maybe. The quote is this: "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." Socrates. From Plato's Apology. You could go crazy with this quote, and I'm far from the right person to try and explain all of the nuances that this quote could potentially encompass. Lord knows, I'm a smart guy, but there are times I can be just plain stupid. But here's a bit of what I've come to understand about it. Stop thinking you know everything, open your mind to accept possibilities, and quit trying to be a know-it-all. I used to be like that. Sometimes I have to catch myself from STILL doing shit like that. I think it's the curse of humanity to believe we know everything once we hit our teenage years, and we only get over that belief after a long, long, LONG time, a lot of hardships, and living a lot of life... if, in fact, you get over it at all. Some never do. It's amazing how many people in the world truly think that they have the answer to everything right in their pocket. You see it constantly online, since people are shockingly brave with their opinions when there are no consequences to giving them out. You see it with the people you work with who have been doing their jobs for a while and think they've got it all down pat. You see it with advice about relationships and love and heartache, how to raise your or your pets, how to care for your aging parents, how you should decorate your home, blah blah blah. Everyone has opinions. There's nothing wrong with opinions. In fact, I'm of the opinion that everyone should chime in with their opinions... when someone asks for them. The problem lies in when your opinion is not asked for, or if you choose to shove your opinion in another person's face and try to force them to accept your opinion whether you agree or not. Not to badmouth religion, but religions worldwide are amazingly bad about this. This coming from a good Christian boy. I think one of the meanings of Socrates' quote is the inherent danger of thinking you know what's best for everything and everyone. And worse... ignoring another person's advice or opinion simply because it doesn't fall into your "acceptable" range of thinking. I mean, I've only ever lived my own life. I've never lived your life. How can I possibly know what's best for you on a given topic? But what I HAVE done is lived my OWN life, and I can give you MY OWN perspective on how I'VE dealt with that given topic. Then once you've heard my life experience or my "wisdom" on the matter, you can do with that information what you will. If I were to try and convince you to do as I suggest, or try and force you down a particular choice, or even pressure you to do what I tell you... most likely, you'll tell me to my face that you'll do it, and once I'm gone, you'll do whatever you wanted to do, anyway. So why waste the effort, the time, and the frustration? You'll either do what I suggest, or you won't, and you'll live with the results of your decision, and my hands are clean. What's more, there are about 6 billion people on this planet, and people live and die every day... each has had an entirely different life, filled with different perspectives, different experiences, different knowledge. Among those people are brilliant minds that specialize in a gigantic array of topics. Who am I to be so egotistical as to think I know better than they do about a given subject? I certainly don't know every single viewpoint of humanity. Maybe I'd be smart to listen with an attentive ear to every opinion and every fact people give to me... ... and not reject those thoughts outright because they didn't sound right at first blush for whatever reason. Does that mean I'm going to necessarily AGREE with all those opinions and such? Of course not. Some people are freakin' nuts. But to outright ignore what a person is saying about a topic simply because I don't agree with it is absolutely the dumbest thing I could do. For all I know, that person might know a hell of a lot more about it than I do. For all I know, that person is right, and I'm wrong. How would I know unless I gave their viewpoints full consideration? A genuine attempt to reconcile what they are saying with what I think/know/believe. I might still reject it. But at least I gave that person's perspective a chance. I attempted to learn from it, even if I disagreed with it, because you never know how much of what they're saying is actually true. Because, after all, I know nothing. How else can I truly become wise but to accept that I don't really know anything? Maybe it would be easier to rephrase the quote a little: I KNOW nothing. But perhaps I have a great deal of knowledge about things I have learned and experiences I have lived. If I actually knew something, no one could ever teach me anything about that thing. So if I agree that I know nothing, I can continue to be taught. I won't reject ideas out of hand because they conflict with what I KNOW... I'll give the ideas due consideration and see if those ideas are worthy of being added to what I believe to be correct. And let's face it: I might be pretty damn good at head-knowledge and book-learning and military thinking and on and on and on, but not a damn thing of any of that has prevented me from being in the circumstances I find myself in. If I'm so damn smart, how did I end up in such a stupid life situation? And so, I must accept that I know nothing, so I can try to keep learning enough to better myself. Combine that with Albert Einstein's quote: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." Or something to that extent... I'm paraphrasing a bit. But the point is clear: if what your doing isn't working, why the hell are you doing it again? If where you are isn't satisfying, why aren't you trying to move? If everyone in your life is telling you over and over that what you're thinking or doing is wrong, there are only two options: either everyone in your life is wrong, or you are. What's more likely? That dozens or hundreds or thousands or millions of people are completely and utterly wrong... or that you're wrong? Let's just think about that a minute, shall we? Which is really the most likely? Someone reading this just thought to themselves, "I'm right, naturally. Everyone else is wrong." Well, I guess you KNOW everything, don't you? Socrates would shake his head in dismay. Well, so much for thoughts about sex and relationships, huh? I kind of thought this blog would start taking a different direction... geez, am I really going to start writing essays? I know my writing skills need exercise, but come on, Lion... are you really going to bore your readers? You only have 10 watchers as it is, for crying out loud. Who knows? I just felt like being philosophical tonight. "To Strive, To Seek, To Find... And Not To Yield." Lord Alfred Tennyson. .  Your Friendly Neighborhood King of the Jungle, The Lion. READ THIS! ------>>>lionthatroared I DARE you to read my blog and attempt to be unchanged by sheer, utter AWESOMENESS!!! It's like Kung-Fu Panda fighting Super Models with heavy metal music pumping in the background... hyped up on Rockstar energy drinks! And... whipped cream with chocolate sprinkles! And... laser-guided sex toys are probably involved! And... and... oh, I know... I'm pretty sure Chuck Norris roundhouse-kicked it at some point! |
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I've always worked it out like this; knowledge is the accumulation of facts, intelligence is the ability to use those facts and wisdom is deciding how to use those facts with that intelligence. How does this relate to the quote? It is pure hubris to believe you, a single person, can truly comprehend the entire breadth and depth of the universe. One person, their knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, is as close to nil as makes no difference when put next to the vastness of reality. Smart as a horse and hung like Einstein.
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As a species we are extremely gifted with the powers of denial and pretense. So yes sometimes it is not hubris to realize you maybe the only one who sees reality. And it is not wrong to have a different opinion about something that everyone else seems to agree upon. It might be far better to be thought insane than to compromise your ideas, but it is a good idea to keep an open mind and add to what you know.
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If you ONLY thought about sex and relationships, you wouldn't be Lion. I kind of like the philosophical stuff - keeps my brain sharp. I think it is all about being open-minded. Although courage of your convictions plays a HUGE role in life. Or should. People just need to realize that MAYBE, just maybe, they COULD be wrong. 2022... it HAS be better, right?!
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 shows the real you on here! Always loved reading about history and following famous people. ty for sharing and I am sure with more readers of your blog you will come up with some awesome work. hugs V Some of the famous quotes in time! “The unexamined life is not worth living” – Socrates (470-399 BCE) “Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily” – William of Ockham (1285 - 1349?) “The life of man [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” – Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) “I think therefore I am” – René Descartes (1596 – 1650) “To be is to be perceived (Esse est percipi).” Or, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” – Bishop George Berkeley (1685 – 1753) “We live in the best of all possible worlds.” – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 – 1716) “The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk.” G.W.F. Hegel (1770 – 1831) “Who is also aware of the tremendous risk involved in faith – when he nevertheless makes the leap of faith – this [is] subjectivity … at its height.” – Søren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) “God is dead.” – Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.” – Albert Camus (1913 – 1960) “One cannot step twice in the same river.” – Heraclitus (ca. 540 – ca. 480 BCE) Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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I've always worked it out like this; knowledge is the accumulation of facts, intelligence is the ability to use those facts and wisdom is deciding how to use those facts with that intelligence. How does this relate to the quote? It is pure hubris to believe you, a single person, can truly comprehend the entire breadth and depth of the universe. One person, their knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, is as close to nil as makes no difference when put next to the vastness of reality. Smart as a horse and hung like Einstein.
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing" The greatest gift is truly knowing yourself... I'll speak for myself... now I know nothing for I am but a player on a stage. My part one of many-small but significant to those around me. Those who know it all never learn and what they know never stops changing. R.B. Passion071 I am in the Mood for Love... Hot, Passionate, Toe curling, soul-satisfying love.
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