Okay, the one thing that I do remember with confidence is that he taught anyone but refused payment* [and therefore refused the “teaching” characterization in favor of merely having some discourse and being joined in investigations], and at least in legend he rarely ever so much as set foot outside the city (there is one dialogue, Phaedrus, where he actually does go to outside the city walls and much ado is made of that fact). I think the elite were pissed at him for teaching their children (in public lecturing, etc.), thus “corrupting the youth”.
Ah yes! That was it. If I remember correctly, there was also much ado about how he would also teach slaves. I was remembering the Phaedrus dialogue (who could forget the classic, ‘Yeah your gay love for that beautiful boy is cool and all, but it will never be as cool as my love for knowledge, also writing is obviously corrupting the youth’) but I was forgetting that it was a big deal he was outside the city.
there was also much ado about how he would also teach slaves.
You’re right, especially since one of the big ones is Meno, in which Socrates argues for the Reminiscence theory of knowledge (i.e. that knowledge is remembered rather than learned) by educating a slave on math by basically asking the slave leading questions allowing him to come to the answer using his own ability for inference.
I disagree with Socrates-via-Plato on most things, but the dialogues are still very interesting and it reminds me of why I got into philosophy to start with.
Though, based on the little bit we hear from Xenophon, my personal belief is that actual Socrates would disagree with most of what Socrates-via-Plato would theorize. He seemed far more interested in a theory of criticism than a theory of construction, but that is probably my personal bias talking.
Yeah, I definitely got into philosophy for the history of ideas more than anything else. It is absolutely incredible how long some of these ideological dialogues have historically been going on, and yet somehow people still treat them as if they are novel.
Okay, the one thing that I do remember with confidence is that he taught anyone but refused payment* [and therefore refused the “teaching” characterization in favor of merely having some discourse and being joined in investigations], and at least in legend he rarely ever so much as set foot outside the city (there is one dialogue, Phaedrus, where he actually does go to outside the city walls and much ado is made of that fact). I think the elite were pissed at him for teaching their children (in public lecturing, etc.), thus “corrupting the youth”.
*He probably did accept food, as you suggest
Ah yes! That was it. If I remember correctly, there was also much ado about how he would also teach slaves. I was remembering the Phaedrus dialogue (who could forget the classic, ‘Yeah your gay love for that beautiful boy is cool and all, but it will never be as cool as my love for knowledge, also writing is obviously corrupting the youth’) but I was forgetting that it was a big deal he was outside the city.
You’re right, especially since one of the big ones is Meno, in which Socrates argues for the Reminiscence theory of knowledge (i.e. that knowledge is remembered rather than learned) by educating a slave on math by basically asking the slave leading questions allowing him to come to the answer using his own ability for inference.
I disagree with Socrates-via-Plato on most things, but the dialogues are still very interesting and it reminds me of why I got into philosophy to start with.
Yeah, that was it!
Though, based on the little bit we hear from Xenophon, my personal belief is that actual Socrates would disagree with most of what Socrates-via-Plato would theorize. He seemed far more interested in a theory of criticism than a theory of construction, but that is probably my personal bias talking.
Yeah, I definitely got into philosophy for the history of ideas more than anything else. It is absolutely incredible how long some of these ideological dialogues have historically been going on, and yet somehow people still treat them as if they are novel.