[Self-Introduction] Why I, who had no interest in philosophy, came to empathize with Socrates

To be honest,
I used to have almost no interest in philosophy.

SocratesorPlato—I knew their names, at least.
They appear in textbooks, so I just recognized them as 'probably some great people.'

But,
what they were thinking or why they are still talked about today,
I had never even thought about such things.

The phrase 'the wisdom of ignorance' also felt like something I had heard somewhere.
But I had never tried to relate its meaning or essence to my own life.

I thought philosophy was just
abstract talk for smart people,
something unrelated to daily life.

That changed
after I started becoming interested in psychology and how society works.

Why do people conform?
Why do we feel the need to 'read the room'?
Why is it so scary to say what is 'right'?

As I researched these things,
Socrates kept appearing
as a name I couldn't avoid.

When I revisited his story, honestly, I was surprised.

This
doesn't feel like a story from 2,400 years ago.

The feeling of worrying about how society sees you.
The atmosphere where you stay silent for fear of being attacked if you speak your true mind.
Seeing a social media firestorm and
the feeling of putting the brakes on yourself, thinking, 'I'd better not say anything unnecessary.'

That,
I realized, is exactly what I am feeling right now.

Before I was interested in philosophy, I thought
the 'wisdom of ignorance' was
just a phrase that sounded smart.

But now,
I feel that this is'a story about how to live.'

Myself, pretending to understand.
Myself, worrying about the evaluation of those around me,
swallowing the things I want to say.

To that version of myself,
Socrates keeps asking questions.

These questions
really struck home
for me, living in modern society.

Because
this wasn't some special philosophical talk, but the very sense of discomfort I had felt many times in my daily life.

In meetings, before I speak my true feelings, the thought of
"Is it okay to say this?" comes first.
On social media, posts that are a bit eccentric and edgy tend to get more engagement.
Even though I know that,
I'm afraid of backlash, so I end up choosing only safe words.

It's not that I don't have anything to say.
It's not that I haven't thought about it.
It's just that the feeling of "not wanting to stir up unnecessary trouble"
has, before I knew it, sealed my lips.

Is that wisdom?
Or is it cowardice?

The man who didn't read the room 2,400 years ago

It was while I was thinking about such things that I encountered
"The Apology of Socrates".

He was accused of
"not believing in the gods"
and"corrupting the youth
"
and was made to stand before the court of Athens.

At this point, in modern terms,
he wascheckmated.

There was a possibility he could have been saved if he had made excuses well,
and if he had adopted the attitude the public demanded,
he might have at least avoided the death penalty.

Even so, Socrates
did not conform.

Instead, he said this.

Nowadays,
he would likely be attacked by everyone for being "unpleasant," "condescending," or "not reading the room."

However, he did not back down.

"Socratic ignorance" was the ultimate self-defense

One of Socrates' famous concepts is
"Socratic ignorance".

This is
not about being ashamed of lacking knowledge.

It is an attitude of being able to say you don't know when you don't know.

In modern society,
this attitude is extremely difficult to adopt.

If you say "I don't know that" in a meeting, you feel like you'll be mocked and your evaluation will drop.
If you write "I don't really know" on social media, you're afraid you'll be thought of as ignorant.

That is why I often pretend to understand.

But Socrates said,
it is those who pretend to understand who are truly in danger that.

People who think they understand do not doubt the possibility that they might be wrong. And they are the easiest to deceive.

The "wisdom of ignorance" was not a technique for appearing wise, but

a stance for protecting oneself that.

The reason I chose to "live well" over being evaluated

What is truly amazing about Socrates is not his knowledge, but his choices.

He knew that "if I apologize here, I will be saved" and "if I stay silent, I can survive."

Even so, he did not say anything he did not believe to be true.

Why?

Because for him, what mattered was not "how I am evaluated," but "

am I living well."

We today, without realizing it, are grading ourselves based on the scores of others.

Follower counts, likes, company evaluations, the eyes of society.

As we live in accordance with these, we lose sight of where our own standards were.

Socrates throws this question at us there.

Continuing to question organizes one's life

Socrates does not force answers upon you. Instead, he keeps questioning.

This question is not
for refuting others.

It is a tool to keep myself from stopping my thinking.

In modern terms, it is
close to a self-check to protect oneself from
cognitive bias.

By continuing to hold questions,
you can notice discrepancies in how you live.

Socrates might have been
like a tuner
for fine-tuning one's life.

When you feel exhausted from reading the room too much

I don't want to copy Socrates' way of life
as the absolute correct answer.

As long as I live in modern society,
reading the room is necessary, and
I cannot completely ignore how I am evaluated.

Even so, recently,
before choosing something or writing something,
I try to throw that question at myself.

There are few things I can answer clearly.
In fact, I am overwhelmingly more likely to be lost.

But as long as I keep imposing this question on myself,
at the very least, I don't have to pretend to understand.

That is why I,
carrying this question with me,
continue to write on note like this.

It is not to teach the correct answer,
nor is it to refute anyone.

It is so that I do not get too swallowed up by the social atmosphere,
and do not lose sight of my own senses.
And to share the process of thinking with someone who feels the same suffocation.

2,400 years ago,
the question thrown by a philosopher who did not read the room
continues to ring quietly within me even now.

This note article is
my own memorandum to not forget that question,
and it is also a small act of resistance.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading until the end.
This article is a summary of my profile, which is the result of returning to Socratic thought and asking myself questions.

Articles themed on philosophy