Socrates in Silicon Valley

Socrates, come back here.

I read Sartre and Socrates.

Socrates died in prison, his philosophy intact.

Socrates died in prison, his philosophy intact.

Here you go Socrates. I thought of you.

The philosopher Socrates discussed death with his friends in prison.

Socrates, a man wise enough to know that he knows nothing.

Socrates, a man wise enough to know that he knows nothing.

It implements the SOCRATES Programme for victims of violence and exploitation.

You too... go on. Cities aren't for rabbits, my poor Socrates.

It is the project of questioning what we believe and why we believe it what Socrates called the examined life.

It is the project of questioning what we believe and why we believe it what Socrates called the examined life.

I came to tell boy Socrates here that the Baltimore Herald is opposed to Hemlock, and will provide a lawyer.

The basic thrust of Confucianism has changed little since Confucius s disciples recorded his aphorisms a generation before Socrates. Indeed, Confucianism became the official ideology of the Chinese state two centuries before the birth of Christ.

That would not have been news to the Athenian leaders who considered what Socrates was doing to be sufficiently disturbing to put him to death for corrupting the youth. Nor will it be news to anyone familiar with the many successful efforts to bring philosophy to a broader market.

Independence in thought and deed is vital for any company to function and to build things that last and contribute to economic growth and prosperity. In Plato s Apology, Socrates advocates for the examined life the habit of rigorous self reflection and posing hard, heterodox, and possibly upsetting questions.

Now, however, its citizens must recognize that they do not have all the answers unfortunately, so far at least, there seems to be no awareness among them that there is even a problem. Like the skilled craftsmen described by Socrates, on the strength of their technical proficiency, they claimed a perfect understanding of every other subject, however important.

None of this will be easy, not only because Europe s relationship with Russia has grown so chilly, but also because Putin is understood to despise the EU as politically impotent. Russian leaders may have misinterpreted as a sign of weakness Europe s representation at last month s EU Russia summit by two Portuguese politicians European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose government currently holds the revolving EU presidency.

Those of us who think that science and religion dwell in different domains, and who recall that Socrates argued that science did not teach you about morality or meaning, find that our case is undermined by the literalists and fundamentalists in every religion. There are Christians who know all about the fire and brimstone of the Book of Revelation, but seem not to have heard the instructions about generosity in the Sermon on the Mount.