Socrates and Self Confidence

By Robert Russell, 23rd Nov 2011 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/1rj1c9il/
Posted in Wikinut>Health>Mind & Spirit>Self Help

People from a variety of backgrounds struggle with low self esteem and a lack of self-confidence. One of the reasons that often causes a person to struggle with the issue of self- confidence is a lack of certainty or security about who they as well as a lack of confidence in their views and opinions. The Greek philosopher Socrates (469 - 399 BC) encouraged his followers to turn their philosophical gaze upon themselves.

Philosophical Tips

Socrates is credited as the first philosopher in the Western tradition to make turned philosophy’s gaze upon the thinker. The Pre-Socratic philosophers who preceded him were concerned with the questions of natural philosophy or, in contemporary terms, natural science or cosmology. Socrates was concerned primarily with ethical questions an essential part of which is what a human being is in general and who I am in particular. According to Socrates, the beginning of wisdom is knowledge of oneself.

One doesn’t have to become a professional philosopher to adopt the Socratic perspective in one’s life. The Socratic method basically involves a procedure of question and answers. Socrates engaged in discussions with his peers in order to pursue a topic from multiple points of view. Each person in the conversation contributes a view on the topic under discussion. The strengths and weaknesses of view is then critically considered by the other members of the group who each member contribute their own perspective as well. The goal is to continue the conversation until the truth about the topic became self-evident. Socrates believed that any question yields eternal and absolute answers. While many people no longer have faith in eternal and absolute answers, this in itself is beside the point. One of the most valuable aspects of Socrates’ method is recognition that viewing an object from multiple perspectives is the most fruitful way at gaining insight and knowledge.

What does it mean to turn the Socratic method on oneself? According to Socrates, knowledge begins with self-knowledge. He encouraged his followers to “know thyself.” Self-exploration can easily fall into the category of clichés and trivia and there are not only a few self-help gurus who are more than willing to take a person’s money in exchange for quick and easy techniques. Insight about oneself is a life long endeavor since who we are is continually changing and evolving. The 20th century French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre referred the human being as a “project” since we are constantly pro-jecting ourselves into the future while carrying our past baggage with us. While, Sartre and Socrates have diametrically opposed views of what a human being is, the one thing they shared is that the self can be philosophically investigated and understood.

(1)The first step in adopting the Socratic method in one’s life to be thoughtful and reflective. Take stock of your ideas and desires. Ask yourself why certain things are more important than others and why.

(2) Keeping a diary, which is a form of carrying on a dialogue with yourself, is a helpful tool as well. Discuss your ideas and thoughts with friends who know you well. They are in a position to provide critical insights and perspectives that you may otherwise neglect.

(3) Keep Freud in mind. You don’t have to be a Freudian or fan of psychoanalysis to recognize the validity of some of Freud’s important insights. One of Freud’s insights is that consciousness is not as transparent as Socrates thought it was. In other words, consciousness hides from itself because we unconsciously choose not to remember things because they are too traumatic or they jeopardize our views of who we are.

Meet the author

Robert Russell
I play guitar professionally in a Cajun/zydeco band named Creole Stomp. We are a nationally touring band that have been together ten years. I also have a PhD in philosophy.