Human Understanding

 

“A philosopher knows that in reality he knows very little. That is why he constantly strives to achieve true insight. Socrates was one of these rare people. He knew that he knew nothing about life and about the world. And now comes the important part: it troubled him that he knew so little.”  ― Jostein Gaarder, Sophie's World

Whilst reading 'Sophie's World', I was especially struck by the thinking of Socrates. Being one of the most influential Greek philosophers, Socrates was ultimately concerned will helping others to realise true insight; to view the universe as he did. Socrates wanted to show everyone how completely oblivious they are to the wonders around them. Even though Socrates was writing before Christ and therefore before science, when we really think about what we know about the world, even today, we realise we know very little. We are able to explain how things happen in nature; how the tides are controlled by the moon, how plants use photosynthesis to produce food and how different species adapt to survive in their environments. However, in reality, we know very little of why these things happen. Socrates in particular was especially concerned with how little we know of the universe. He therefore is widely known for his constant need and want of knowledge.

What we truly know and what we perceive about the universe and its existence are, in fact, very different. One can believe that there is a higher being that is eternal and created the universe in His own image whereas someone else may believe in science, the Big Bang Theory and that when we die, we just cease to exist. However, neither can really know how correct they are in their beliefs, the universe may have begun as a result of the Big Bang but we may also find that there is indeed life after death. This is what Socrates was ultimately concerned with; our lack of true knowledge. The idea of the human soul is a subject that has created a lot of scepticism in modern society, the idea of is one of the main ideas within Christianity and therefore it is widely believed. However, what if the idea of life after death is just believed because it is a comfort to us? The idea that we just cease to exist after death is much harder for us to accept as it does not bring comfort for those we have lost. The atheistic view would state that there is no eternal soul and therefore cannot be life after death, however, neither view can ever really know which idea is correct.

If we take away the moral part of the world; God, then there is no real reason why humans should strive to be good. Therefore, maybe religion is used as more of a way to order and control society rather than as a comfort to us. Obviously there are people who oppose this view, they believe that faith is ones' true connection to God and through that connection they are able to learn how they should live their lives. However, if there were no morals or principles as a result of religious belief, would society still function adequately? Would individuals feel a need to show compassion, love and respect for others? Some would argue that our human reason would help us to act correctly towards society, but what if our human reason stems from religion and without it, humans have no understanding of the difference between right and wrong? It is therefore evident that, although we as humans have developed greatly, we are still to learn a lot about life, the universe and ourselves.

E.A.C