Socrates: Philosophy in an Hour

As Socrates wrote nothing down, it seems only fair to begin with a quotation that explains why he did this:

Knowing nothing, what could I write down?

He goes on to explain:

Once there was an ancient Egyptian god called Theuth. He invented numbers, geometry, astronomy, dice, and writing. One day Theuth went to see Thamus, the King of Upper Egypt, and began to show him all he had invented. When Theuth reached the alphabet, he explained: “This is an invention which will greatly improve the wisdom and memory of your people.” But the king replied: “O ingenious Theuth, your alphabet will have exactly the opposite effect from the one you claim. As soon as Egyptians begin to rely upon written wisdom, they will stop using their memory and call things to mind not by using their own internal resources, as they should, but by using these external signs.

. He would begin by asking his adversary to define the subject under discussion – which might be anything from the nature of justice to the method of becoming a general. Whether sublime or ridiculous, the subject was given the same treatment. This was the great innovation of the dialectic: it was a tool that could be applied to anything. Having elicited a definition of the subject, Socrates would then proceed to pick holes in it, and in the process a better definition would be achieved. In this way he advanced from particular examples to those with more general application, finally arriving at the universal truth.

He would begin by asking his adversary to define the subject under discussion – which might be anything from the nature of justice to the method of becoming a general. Whether sublime or ridiculous, the subject was given the same treatment