The Irony of Socrates Essay Example for Free

The Irony of Socrates Essay Socrates was thought to be ahead of his time. At the time, the citizens of Athens believed that their government had the ultimate power and nothing could be higher. So of course when one person chose to believe another view, the government became a part of the situation to maintain a sense of peace thorough the nation. This didn’t sit well with Socrates. He wanted as many people to know about his knowledge as possible because he had found scientific reasoning as to why his way was true, rather than simply because government officials say it is. This strikes up multiple cases of irony from Socrates’s turn from natural philosophy to what eventually becomes what we know today as political philosophy. The first bit of irony arises from the fact that Socrates is actually writing to more than one audience, and also that he uses more than one strategy to do so. David Leibowitz, author of The Ironic Defense of Socrates: Plato’s Apolog, describes the audience situation, â€Å"Socratic irony has a twofold purpose and a twofold audience: conciliation of, and protection from, the unpromising members of Socrates’ audience, and the education of the promising member in the audience† (p. 17). He then explains the strategies he used to get attention from each audience, â€Å"Irony, in the sense of self-depreciation and even flattery, is necessary for the first audience so that Socrates will be less offensive to them and more in tune with their moralistic views of the world. Irony, also in the same sense of speaking in a â€Å"double† fashion is necessary for the second audience because even â€Å"they start off under the spell of vulgar prejudice†Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 18). Socrates knew that if he wanted anyone to understand his beliefs that he would have to use certain techniques that would speak to the right group of people so he could have potential to be understood. Leibowitz’s descriptions go beyond the fact that you can say two different things to two different audiences. First, it clarifies the complexity of Socrates’ ironic strategies with respect to the unpromising members of the audience. And second, it effectively continues to portray the true character of Socrates after his death. The after death irony works well in two ways also. For the promising young, his words were remembered and reflected on so that they would be taught the truth about his life and his scientific investigations of truth so each individual could decide what to believe in for themselves. For them, it worked so that his knowledge would linger on so that they could follow his footprints to pursue his ideas of philosophy. As for the unpromising Athenians, â€Å"it served as a bitter pill, or rather a pill that begins to taste more bitter over time, as they eventually repent of their condemnation of a man who was obnoxious and annoying, but nonetheless brave and concerned with only virtue† (p. 156). His beliefs seem to make a lot more sense to society today so it truly is too bad that he was put to death because who knows what other theories or discoveries he may have been able to come up with in his lifetime that could have been put to good use in the future. The regret of the people of Athens clearly comes too late for Socrates, but it then becomes a protection service for Socrates’s other philosophical followers so that people could come to admire the nobility of philosophers. Socrates was said to have â€Å"unconventional truths† that he was trying to convey to his listeners (p. 3). The first is how lying has become so simple, but such a necessity in politics. Socrates thought through his choices when presenting himself to the Athens’ officials and came to the conclusion that it was easier and better for him to lie to them. It’s occasions like these that lead people to find the government to be unjust and corrupt, so they truly should never have been in position to had the power to judge Socrates and his choices to begin with. But Socrates knew of this before his trials and knew that telling them the truth would only be a hopeless defense since their minds were already made up before sentencing. Looking back, Socrates denied looking into or taking part in natural sciences, but as Leibowitz’s studies show, â€Å"he was actually hints that this is exactly what he might have done as a young philosopher, and he suggests that these investigations were profane 1 / 2 because they do investigate the gods and attempt to substitute necessity for divine will† (qtd. in Leibowitz, 2). This suggests that people’s beliefs about gods do not generate their beliefs about human morality, but more that their moral beliefs generate their thoughts and beliefs in gods. So it really takes learning what your personal morals are before you can find who you actually are in the religious aspect, whether you were raised on a certain religion or another. In conclusion, the irony shown here is clear in several ways including being able to write to two separate audiences in two different tones and also that Socrates was able to discuss his thoughts on unconventional truths. It’s ironic, and sad in a sense, that we felt a man with his knowledge was put to death because the government was unable to find that they weren’t the ultimate power. And to find that a lot of the knowledge that we know today began from the ideas of Socrates makes you wonder if we could have built more off of what we already know now to better ourselves in the long run. But it’s truly the irony that makes Socrates’s life and knowledge such a big deal to people today. Leibowitz, David. The Ironic Defense of Socrates: Platos Apology. N. p. : n. p. , 2011. N. pag. Web. 2 Oct. 2014. POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG)

The Lunch Time Book Buddies - Pass It On Program Essay -- Literacy Ess

There’s no denying that reading is the foundation for all academic achievement (paths, whether they lead you down the road of a doctoral degree or to the door of parenting). It reinforces language and communication, without it you cannot read a menu, bus schedule, recipe, street sign, bank statement or loved ones letter, not to mention phone texts or discovering a favorite book. Reading navigates us through our day-to-day life and fuels our imagination (and opens up worlds of possibilities: new countries, new cultures, and your own history). However, the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), aka â€Å"Nation’s Report Card†, revealed 34% of fourth grade students in public schools fell below the basic reading level and one in six students not reading proficiently in the third grade do not graduate high school on time. These staggering statistics along with the accountability reforms of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have led scholars and educat ors to look for more effective means of reading instruction and have contributed to the development of alternative, supplemental reading activities and programs to support/bolster literacy improvement. Research shows that the level of reading fluency in third grade is a predictor of future academic achievement. Third grade is when reading transitions from decoding to comprehension of text (Stevens, 2006). These key literacy skills build students’ capacity to learn independently, from all academic fields and social environments (Shanahan, 2010). It is no surprise that reading instruction is such a strong focus of curriculum in pre and early elementary education. Educational trends regarding reading instruction have vacillated between traditional phonics and holistic langu... ...2007). Tips for teaching: Using partners to build reading fluency. Preventing School Failure, 51(2), 52-55. National Center for Education Statistics (2011). The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2011(NCES 2012–457). Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2011/2012457.pdf Shanahan, T. (2010). Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Smith, M. K. (2004). Nel Noddings, the ethics of care and education. The Encyclopaedia of Informal Education. Retrieved from www.infed.org/thinkers/noddings.htm Stevens, R. J. (2006). Developing reading fluency: What does the research say? Catalyst For Change, 34(1), 37-44.

Contrasting Treadwell and McCandless

Compare and Contrast of Treadwell and McCandless When reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer as it documents the Journey Chris McCandless took and watching the movie The Grizzly Man as it documents Timothy Treadwell's journey to document bears I was struck by how similar the two men, McCandless and Treadwell, really were. Yes, there were a great many differences between the two but also by how similar they were. While both men showed how they hated modern society and felt a strong desire to live outside of our society, they both also had very different takes on Alaskan wilderness and how to survive in their Journeys.Just as both loved the outdoors, however, the two had very different practices concerning it. Treadwell would return to society every summer to work and prepare for his next outing and Treadwell refused to take a gun with him. In contrast, McCandless spent all of his time outdoors and away from human society unless he absolutely needed to and carried a gun with him into th e wilderness. Treadwell and McCandless both felt very constrained by human society and preffered to live out in the wilderness if possible.While Treadwell would return to human society for work and to raise money or his next outing or teach others about what he learned of the bears, McCandless tried to spend as much time as he possibly could away from other humans. In Chapter five of Into the Wild it was documented that McCandless had spent at least thirty-six days without seeing another human at one point and throughout the first six chapters it is documented that the most time he ever spent in one place was two months in order to raise money to go to Alaska. Furthermore, McCandless did his best to keep people distant from him by changing his name and giving false nformation.McCandless did his best to not tell anyone where he was going, cut off all ties with his parents, and took no one with him when he went to Alaska. Comparing this to Treadwell, who told people where he was going , how long he was staying, and at a certain point started to take his girlfriend and it shows a great difference between the two men. Treadwell was a peaceful man, if unhinged due to mental disorders he refused to treat. He loved the animals he documented in his time in the wilderness, expecially the bears, and swore to never hurt them.Due to his, Treadwell never took a gun, pepper spray, or even bear repellent with him during his ten years of going to the Maze. Though essentric, Treadwell was actually rather smart in keeping the animals calm as he interacted with them. McCandless, though he displayed no real inclinations towards violence, was aware of the dangers in the wilderness. He knew the dangers of bears and wild animals and had taken a gun with him, a . 22, in order to hunt and possibly for protection even if he knew it would not actually be effective against large animals such as moose, caribou, or bears.The two men had very different views of the animals in the wilderness as is shown by this. Treadwell loved them to the point he would rather risk death then harm them while McCandless saw the dangers and prepared for them. The two men also greatly differed in how they prepared for their trips. Treadwell was well prepared with pleanty of provisions and the nessisary gear. This became more prevalent during his final years due to him having his girlfriend with him as he Alaskan wilds brought on by Jack London's books, among others, resulted in him being woefully unprepared. When entering the Alaskan wiled the first day,McCandless only had some spare clothes, some books, a few pounds of rice, and his gun. The two men died in the Alaskan wilds due, mostly in part, to their recklessness and over-estimation on how much they could handle. Treadwell stayed longer than he should have and this resulted in both he and his girlfriend tragically dying at the jaws of a starving grizzly. Had they left as planned instead of returning to the wilds due a mishap the two would have survived. McCandless went into the wilds and did surprisingly well for himself due to sheer dumb luck that eventually ran out.His choice to go unprepared and believing he could live off the land proved fatal when he was unable to get enough food and he slowly starved to death Just days before hunters arrived at the shelter that became his temporary grave. The two men showed a remarkable love for the wilderness and strove to change their lives for the better and live amongst the romanticized versions of what is actually a harsh reality. Despite both men dying in the wilderness, personal opinion leads me to believe that McCandless was more successful in his ultimate goal to change his life.Treadwell ad wanted to raise awareness of the bear's plight and protect them but had more than likely severely damaged the bears by habituating them to humans that could lead to more fatalities. McCandless had wanted to change his life, find a purpose. He wanted to leave society behind an d see if he could truly live away from it. While he ultimately died in Alaska his entire trip before the event, traveling cross country, and even to Mexico, had changed his life and views. Prior to his final days in Alaska it was shown that McCandless had achieved what he had set out to get, his own happiness.

Same Sex Marriage Should Not Be Legalized - 926 Words

It’s unfortunate that people have misunderstood the meaning of marriage. Marriage is not just a term to describe relationship that are precious to us, it’s more than just a union of heart and mind; it’s an institution between a man and a women. biblically, marriage is a life time union of a man and a women, primarily for the purpose of building a family and providing a stable environments for that family (1 Corinthian 7:2 16) According to Peter Sprigg, same sex marriage should not be legalized because of its immediate and long-term harms that would come from legalizing it. I strongly agree with him, yes, same sex marriage should not be legalized, why should such a union be legalized when it will create more harm than good? More problems for the society than the benefits it will create? I strongly agree with Sprigg, because from the beginning of the creation of the universe, marriage was meant for one man and one woman not for one man and another man. When god created the first man, Adam he created Eve to stay by his side, to be fruitful and multiply according to Genesis 1:27. He did not created another man for Adman; this means that God never wanted same sex marriage to exist in the first place. If he would have wanted it, he would have allowed reproduction and make it more healthy and natural. Another reason why Sprigg believed gay marriage should not be legalized is that â€Å"Freedom of Conscience and Religious Liberty Would Be Threatened† (Mr. Sprigg) I also agree with himShow MoreRelatedShould Same-Sex Marriages Be Legalized?. Same-Sex Marriages2063 Words   |  9 PagesShould Same-Sex Marriages Be Legalized? Same-sex marriages should be illegal because the increase of marriages with the same sex has aroused conflicts in society, affects on children, and religiously. Therefore one must halt the proposal. The history of homosexuality has a lot of stories to tell, however, the beginning of it all would begin shortly and oddly. 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