Less pain was the key to the other things. Nice straight pleasure, any amount with no major future pains. Death is the exception. Avoiding death is promising.
THE IMAGINATION THOUGH IS GOOD TERRITORY IF IT DOES NOT INVOLVE VICTIMIZATION
Something true might even be more than true. If it is true in relation to some lesser thing. It might even be less than true. If it is true in relation to some greater thing. But if it's true, we can say: ‘That it's true through-and-through!’
—Socrates
… Some things are true, but not good, and this is not truly good. And some things are good that are still true, although if they were bad, they would not be true. This, unfortunately, is true.
—Socrates
First, Justice is from the gods. No one can dispute that.
—Socrates
Whatever you believe, there can only be one god named Justice.
—Socrates
Since we cannot know divine justice absolutely not being absolute in judgment like her ourselves, we must concern ourselves with justice of this kind. The justice of not being Just. A lesser justice. Justice of this kind… must be some weak kind of justice. It is not really justice at all, but some mere appearance of justice.
—Socrates
If justice is 'just’ the appearance of justice, then we must concern ourselves with the good life, for the good life is all that has the appearance of justice.
—Socrates
If anyone would like to speak on my earlier questions, now is always the time to hear it.
—Socrates
Just because you see that you know doesn't mean that you know that know. Just because you see that you know everything doesn't mean that you actually know anything. Just because you make an effort to know does not mean you succeed in the process of knowing. Just because you have reached certainty of knowledge does not mean that you have actual knowledge.
—Socrates
Thus, we begin with what we say that we know, which is what we think that we know well. We then inquire into the process of knowing, which is the thing that we might endeavor to know. Then we inquire into what we think we see, which is that thing which we must know, if in fact we do know. Finally, we must see as to whether we know it, and that is the most challenging part.
—Socrates
In the end, very often we do not know, or there is some way that we know, which is in fact the way that we do not know.
—Socrates
Thus, it may be said that the Sophists were wise, for although they knew, they also knew that they knew not.
—Socrates
We may endeavor to know that we know not, for unless we know that we are not wise, we cannot know that we are wise.
—Socrates
This in all things: Know thine self, and to thine own self be true.
—Socrates
Now we will discuss the subject of relative ideas. For it is my view that relative ideas are all that is necessary for truth. Consider the notion of an idea-relation. An idea is in some way a relation that is expressed. It is 'some thing’. If the thing is expressed as some relation, then we can call it an expressed relation. And an expressed relation has at least one idea. After all, an idea is an idea. Once an idea is a related thing, an idea is an adequate representation. A representation of what? Well, a representation of itself. For unlike things that are not related, or which cannot be considered, An idea is something which is considered as related. Thus, as soon as we have an idea, we have something related. Thus, all that is necessary for truth is a relative idea.
—Socrates
Abandon your prior conceptions: put your mind on the truth, and nothing else. What is true is the objects of truth. Some are infinite, some are finite. It may be hard to fathom, for not all men are the same. Make your choice of reality and illusion. If you choose reality, you will know of other things, and they will give you sight and wisdom. If you choose illusion, you will not know even yourself. Pick one! One is good, and the other evil! One belongs to the world in all its shining glory, the other belongs to the cave in all its darkness. Men are judged on the basis of their awareness. Those who are most aware will gather the fruits of wisdom and reap plenty. Those who live in the cave will learn despair. So, the world is divided into good and bad men. The success of a man is the success of his life: wise or foolish, long or short, happy or sad, the beginning or the end. Much has been said of life on Earth. Do what you must. Make of it what you will. If you can, apply your intelligence to invention. Write harmonic verse. Prove your claims. Life does not end with truth! Truth is only the beginning.
—Socrates
The soul very often has a ‘first inspiration.’ Afterwards, the soul seeks perfection. Seeking perfection creates a drama of the soul: idealism or conflict. In those terms the soul is defined.
—Socrates
It seems to me we should trust our close neighbors. They have knowledge of our materials. And if we are surrounded by aliens, then we should only trust parts of ourselves. And these parts of ourselves can be somewhat separate from who we really are if we do not realize ourselves. Thus, if we do not realize ourselves, we can still trust part of ourselves which is a neighbor to ourselves, but which our not-so-neighborly neighbors do not consider part of ourselves. We can also transform into others like our neighbors, but only after incorporating parts of ourselves which are not yet parts of ourselves.
—Socrates
Ideas are the real things… in its essence a composition with a purpose for the soul.
—Socrates
It is only the best ideas which deserve to be part of the soul.
—Socrates
Knowing neighbors is the fundamental identification with ideas, while the actual realization of the soul is higher than that.
—Socrates
The natural soul realizes natural ideas, while the intellectual soul realizes intellectual ideas. The object of the soul is to become natural, yet the natural soul may not be intellectual.
—Socrates
The soul is superior to ideas.
—Socrates
Understanding ideas creates the soul.
—Socrates
The ideas of the higher soul are merely neighbors. The ideas of the higher soul need not exist as ideas, but as real things. These things are as much neighbors as they are other people or parts of the soul.
—Socrates
The neighbors, which are elements of the soul.
—Socrates
This is the cloud we call the True Cloud. The highest form of the cloud, which we cannot always see.
—Socrates
Difference is true difference, but it is neither love nor hate. It is true that when we love what is different, it is not loving the same. It is a true difference. But, such it is true, we may hate it or we may love it.
—Socrates
The different thing is of a different nature if it is truly different, although it may truly be the same. And this is what we call subtle.
—Socrates
The clouds may be at war in the way of clouds being different. They may be at war about the same. And we, being different from the clouds, are not at war with the clouds. We are at war with being different. And now, it must be, if those who make war are opposed to us, they are in love with opposition, for they do not oppose the clouds, nor do they oppose difference.
—Socrates
And, fundamentally, it is the same-looking clouds, one completely rare and familiar, and the other completely common with difference.
—Socrates
Mathematics was trumped by concepts like Justice and the form of the Good in Plato's philosophy.
—Juste Ledger
Epicurus — one of the most misunderstood, he really advocated moderation in pleasure, but the word Epicurean now refers to a seeker of pleasure.
—Turns on Heroes
The symbol of the laurel given to elites gave intellectual achievement a kind of indefinable essence.
—Writings in Stone
