The Beginning

Conversation 1, Socrates Worldview 1/22

Socrates parked his bike, threaded his way across the crowded café, and found the second-last empty seat at the end of a table on the terrace. He sat down facing the harbour and soon his coffee arrived. He was just settling into his morning sudoku when a voice asked:

‘Mind if I sit here?’

‘Not at all,’ said Socrates, looking up and concealing his slight annoyance at the disturbance to his thoughts. A somewhat younger man, also in cycling gear, pulled back the chair opposite and sat down facing Socrates.

‘Graham’, said the man, extending his right hand.

‘Socrates,’ responded Socrates, shaking the man’s hand.

There was a slight lull. Socrates toyed with the idea of going back to his sudoku, then as he had expected, the man asked:

‘Are you really called Socrates, or are you having me on?’

Sighing inwardly, Socrates folded his newspaper and put it on the table. If he could not do his sudoku, he might as well have some fun with this fellow, he thought.

‘Are you really called Graham?’ he asked in return.

‘Yes, I am,’ replied the man, flushing slightly, ‘But you know what I mean, Socrates is the name of a famous ancient Greek philosopher. You look like anything but a Greek philosopher, and you look far too ordinary to be anyone famous.’

‘Well, thank you for the compliment,’ said Socrates, ‘but, despite appearances, I am something of a philosopher. The first philosophical truth I have to tell you is that none of us is ordinary. We are all unique and extraordinary and thoroughly deserving of an exceptional name. You seem to be a sharp-enough young man. I shall call you Adeimantus if you don’t mind.’

The man looked at Socrates suspiciously. He was beginning to suspect that he had come face to face with a fugitive from the mental hospital down the street. He decided to tread carefully.

‘Adayee …? Why that name?’ he asked.

‘Have you not read Plato’s Republic?’ said Socrates. ‘So few have these days. I am paying you a compliment by giving you that name.’

‘All right, then. But tell me about your name, Socrates.’

SOCRATES. Socrates really is the name I was given. My father was called Socrates, and his father before him, and so on back to the famous Socrates in Greece, as far as we know.

ADEIMANTUS. You have only one name?

S. Yes. It is both a blessing and a curse, as you will discover yourself. It is easy to remember, and quite frankly, it is so unusual that nobody forgets it. But, of course, the modern world demands a first name and a last name. Computer systems will not accept otherwise. It is another instance of the tyranny of the technocrats.

A. So how do you sign up for anything online?

S. Well, I just give first name Socrates, last name Socrates. Socrates Socrates. Since Socrates was my father’s name, it is perfectly true.

S. So now Adeimantus, if you read Plato’s dialogues, you will soon learn that Adeimantus was a young man of Athens who engaged Socrates, my illustrious ancestor, in dialog.¹ To be fair, he did a lot of listening while Socrates did a lot of talking. Nevertheless, Socrates the Elder held Adeimantus in high regard. Adeimantus was quick, astute, and agreeable. It is a name you can be proud of, and one that I will not forget.

A. Very well, I will go along with that. Adeimantus I will be. So, tell me about your philosophy.

S. To put it simply, I am both a scientist and a religious man. I have a doctorate in physics, and I am a quite conventional catholic. The philosophical work is in reconciling those apparently conflicting worldviews. I would not like to be thought of as either soft-headed or hypocritical.

A. Interesting! According to Xenophon (Xenophon 2013, Memorabilia, Book I, 1 [11]), your illustrious ancestor had no time for those who worried about the nature of the physical world and, as well as that, he was accused of leading the youth of Athens to follow improper gods.

S. (Nearly jumping out of his seat with excitement.) You read Xenophon! What a happy day! You see, I was right to call you Adeimantus! And you are right to say that my ancestor was not sympathetic to the natural philosophers of his day. He did not see how their speculations would benefit anyone. He was right to the extent that it would be many centuries before the science that grew out of the efforts of the natural philosophers would bring about big changes to everyday life. But now those changes have been so profound that most people in Western society are functional materialists. They cannot see any room in the scheme of things for God, or any kind of spiritual world, and they behave accordingly. So, plainly, these days a philosopher cannot ignore science and its contribution to our understanding of the world.

A. Quite so.

S. And while Socrates the Elder was arraigned for disrespect to the gods of Athens, he did strongly encourage his listeners to pay heed to the gods, or indeed the god, in matters of morality and which required knowledge beyond the reach of men (Xenophon 2013, Memorabilia, Book I, 1 [9]). His concern there is, perhaps, still valid.

A. Agreed.

S. What I would like to demonstrate to you, Adeimantus, is that it not irrational to believe in a spiritual world, provided you don’t make excessive claims for the sphere of influence of that world. I would equally argue that it is not irrational to adhere to a materialist view of the world, provided you don’t make excessive claims for the sphere of influence of that world either.

A. I would be fascinated to hear your arguments for how a rational person can be both a materialist and a religious believer.

S. I could state the arguments quite succinctly, Adeimantus, but I fear that, astute though I see you are, they would not achieve their full force without considerable preparation of the ground, such are the strictures of the unconscious biases that we all carry. If you have the interest and patience, you can find me here any day and we can embark on a journey into those unfamiliar waters.

A. I am fascinated. I will see you tomorrow.

S. Tomorrow it is then. See you anon.

References

Plato. n.d. "The Republic." In The Classic Plato Collection: 24 Socratic Dialogues, edited by Charles River Editors, translated by Benjamin Jowett.

Xenophon. 2013. The Complete Works of Xenophon. Delphi Classics Version 1. Hastings, East Sussex: Delphi Publishing Ltd.

1. See for example (Plato n.d.).