coberst Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 What would Socrates do? Socrates sought to save Athenian society by making it self-critical. Imagine that you and many other colorblind people live on this isolated island. All inhabitants are colorblind from birth and know nothing about color; there is no word for color in their vocabulary. Assume Fred is a health nut who exercises constantly and is always advising others to start a strict exercise routine for their health. Fred is well liked but most people on the island think that he over emphasizes the value of exercise. One day after pursuing a specific exercises routine Fred become conscious of color. He is shocked and frightened and discontinues the exercise. Many weeks later curiosity gets the best of him and he returns to the exercise routine and there again appears the perception of color. Fred experiments with this matter and concludes that when he performs the afore mentioned exercise routine he can perceive color constantly. If you were Fred would you inform your friends and acquaintances of this occurrence? How would you explain this perception to others? How would others respond to your efforts to explain what happened? I suspect most individuals would walk away from such seeming non-sense with a shrug and a grin. Suppose some of those making the proscribed effort found it to be a bore and a struggle and lost enthusiasm. Does this little game of make-believe give you a better appreciation of why the Athenians executed Socrates for “corrupting the youth”? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallynewell Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 One problem with a person's experience of society in general and also in their particular circumstances is that this is not independent of time. Habit, order, procedure increase efficiency which will increase individual and general well being. In order to sell some disruption of the established order, with its temporary decrease in efficiency and hence benefit, then there must be some consensus that in the medium or long term general benefits will outweigh the negatives. However some individuals create disruption not specifically for any long term or general benefit. Most people limit exploration in order to proceed, as time is finite; and progress within similar social strands to the ones they created earlier, I believe this is called experience. I know this is terribly vague but I have been thinking of how time effects so much of knowledge and procedure. Please comment, disagree, develop or apply! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coberst Posted April 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 I wished to point out in my OP the difficulty that anyone faces when they try to introduce something very new to the general population. So I guess there is a great similarity between Socrates and Galileo in that regard. I have discovered that it seems a human propensity to do a turtle, withdraw into the shell, when faced with a new idea that isn't some form of entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallynewell Posted May 3, 2009 Report Share Posted May 3, 2009 Perhps its the feeling that life will be too complex if I have to rethink my universe, and why should if this works ok 70%, near enough 20% ... and besides I'm busy with the basics. Not sure if this true but I believe that technology had only developed sufficently till about 5000BC in Europe before there was enough spare time to increase social complexity enough to support an non subsistence/non warrior working class, ie thinkers, judges, poets, lawmakers, mythmakers etc... I am trying to suggests that available units of "spare" (non subsistence) time could be a good yardstick to apply to a society in terms of its flexibility and potential for growth and invention. Is there theory on this sort of area??? Our current society could be very wealthy in this area but we have these potential time units soaked up in mass/multi individual activites such as Facebook, TV, YouTube, AFL ........ Please comment.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coberst Posted May 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2009 sally It is a matter of values. If our main value is maximizing production and consumption then our other values will be equally vacuous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawcat Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 Socrates was a revolutionary, and was killed. A revolutionary tries to changes existing order, by advocating new procedures and substance. If Fred's advocacy for exercise-for-color, is not a change in order, but merely adds to existing order, then Fred will not have a problem pitching the idea. However, if Fred's society's lives are ordered on the basis of greys, then Fred will be a revolutionary, and will be executed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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