Alain De Botton a writer, philosopher, and television presenter, explores contemporary subjects and themes to highlight philosophy in everyday life. In De Botton’s book “The Consolations of Philosophy” he uses several philosophers to help the reader interpret everyday life. In the chapter “Consolation for Unpopularity” De Botton (2000) describes how Socrates born some 2500 years ago is one of the most influential Greek Athenian philosophers, attributing Socrates with producing one of the most inspiring gifts to western philosophy. De Botton (2000, 7) describes this gift as the logic of philosophy, the art of applying logical thinking to popular ideas to produce an informed opinion and independence of mind in the face of unpopularity. De Botton (2000) poses the key question why do we follow popular thought, especially ideas posed by influential people? De Botton asserts that it is because questioning the status quo often leads to one becoming a social pariah. De Botton’s (2000) argument is that the ability to think critically is grounded in philosophy; this allows one to confidently arrive at a logical position whilst acknowledging other arguments, which is supported by sound judgement. Thus, according to De Botton (2000, 7) the “Consolation for Unpopularity” is the self-confidence to challenge accepted norms through logical thought. The line of logic used by De Botton is that Socrates became a symbol of someone that stood up to the status quo using his intellect to challenge accepted ideas against the overwhelming majority.
De Botton (2000, 16) asserts that because a person holds a position of power or influence over society, it does not mean their opinion is true and correct. Using philosophy De Botton urges individuals to test these propositions critically with their own logic. Socrates (De Botton 2000, 16) identified that the majority of Athenians generally accepted the ideas of its influential citizens, thus associating esteem with what is right. De Botton (2000, 17-18) describes how Socrates would engage these people in conversations of life; through these discussions he identified assumptions about the logic used to form their beliefs.
De Botton (2000, 19) argues that the threat of becoming unpopular prevents challenges to the accepted norms, this is because there is a sense that these ideals are structured from a sound social foundation. These opinions are cemented in social norms because they have been adhered to through the rigours of time without question and therefore accepted as correct (De Botton 2000, 20). Socrates would question commonly accepted Athenian ideas, norms and beliefs through conversation. Socrates would question his interlocutor to identify the assumptions in the accepted logic, thus making him very unpopular among Athenians. This became a point of friction between the community and Socrates, which most probably was a major factor in his sentencing to death. Challenging these norms requires unquestionable sound logic and self-confidence this is often mis-conceived as a threat and may result in becoming a social pariah or in extreme case of Socrates a death sentence.
Socrates (De Botton 2000, 24) created “The Socratic Method for Thinking” a simple test to ascertain the validity of an accepted idea. De Botton (2000, 26) uses Socrates analogy to assert the point that the Socratic Method is used to; evoke thought, rigorously test ones position, respond rationally to objections and formulate a logical sound opinion.
“A truth produced by intuition was like a statue set down without a support on an outdoor plinth. A strong wind could at any time knock it over. But a truth supported by reasons and an awareness of counterarguments was like a statue anchored to the ground by tethering cables. Socrates’ method of thinking promised us a way to develop opinions in which we could, even if confronted with a storm, feel veritable confidence”.
The significance of this test was that, Socrates Method was simple so that an everyday person may use the method to determine what is right (De Botton 2000, 27). The basic premise of the method was formulated to determine the correctness of a hypothesis. Through each stage of the Socratic Method the thesis is challenged, exceptions are identified and taken into account to formulate the superior statement, thus allowing the individual to state their proposition emphatically (De Botton 2000, 25). Athenians found Socrates to be confronting with his relentless pursuit of the truth through conversation. They believed he was a threat to the status quo through continued questioning of commonly accepted norms and beliefs and as a result he was committed to death for his quest of the truth. Socrates became a Martyr, symbolising someone who stood up to the status quo using his intellect to challenge accepted ideas against the overwhelming majority. De Botton (2000) draws on Socrates idea that just because a person holds a position of control or sway over a society, doesn’t mean their opinion is logical and individuals should test these ideas to form their own logical opinion. De Botton (2000, 7) asserted that the logical application of philosophy provided Socrates with the self-confidence to produce well defined cogent thoughts while met with Athenian disapproval. To produce these clear and cogent thoughts De Botton (2000, 24) defined the Socratic Method as simple method to evoke thought, rigorously test ones position, respond rationally to objections and formulate logical sound opinions. De Botton’s (2000) key assertion is that we are all able to question generally accepted ideas and develop well thought out logical positions that we can have confidence in. Bibliography
Alain De Botton (2000), “Consolation for Unpopularity” in “The Consolations of Philosophy, Penguin, London