Know Yourself

Know Yourself

Try, with the preparation of this article address a topic of very difficult access, in-depth approach which will require venture into the domains of various dimensions in which they develop and demonstrate the actions that make our being owners of a developing intelligence, a claim mentioned, - developing, on the basis that we still have far to go, thank God! in this regard.

My thanks, to be honest, it would be mean if we limit ourselves only to the intellectual development reached or considered to be intelligent, does not imply that this condition is manifested spontaneously in all our actions, the behavior of our species is a mosaic of contradictions where the scale ranges from one extreme to another, the notorious advances in science and technology are contrasted with others in which we are still halfway or others where we really stuck, or worse, we enter voluntarily in a swamp surrounded by sand quicksand.

These contradictions to which we refer occur or acquire some tangible form, the results obtained as a result of our actions, life is itself a creative act, so it is unrealistic to think that what we do, or what we leave to do, can go unnoticed in the constant course of events.

You can build new horizons full of hope, but remember and have in mind, that self-destruction, is also built, is not casual and involuntary act which we are exempt from some degree of responsibility.

Here, the results are indicators of the direction we have taken, of the orbit on which we move and where we are going, when we discuss in depth our road map and compare with the expectations of development we have formulated, plotting the coordinates will indicate the exact degree of human development we have achieved.

Of all the creatures that inhabit this planet, man is the only one who seems to need guidance as to the reason, if any, by which he was born, where it is believed to have come from and where it is going The search for answers to these questions have always been the greatest spur to his intellect and the starting point of all his speculations.

The truth is that the natural man, which leads through life immersed in the throes of its many activities, how to behave in ethical values ​​inherent to the species as if it were a nomadic course uncertain groping for a path , following an imperative of constant improvement driven by those who from the depths of history have been passed down from generation to generation their impressions.

Know yourself, this quote attributed to Socrates, in itself summarizes the synthesis of all the answers concerning the analogy between man and the universe, everything that exists, "the story of creation and development of all minds, can concentrate on the analysis of a single drop of human blood.



Try to extend this concept with the following addition:

"The idea of ​​nature (physis) and what things are, and since they themselves determine his behavior, is the fundamental idea that presides in the broader Greek thought.

As we have known in some previous articles, those in which we have studied thoroughly the history of philosophy in Greece, we have analyzed the fundamental assumption that this idea holds, in the very emergence of rational thought (logos) and the set of different models of interpretation of the universe that gave birth and gave birth to Greek philosophy.

The idea of ​​nature, physis, is to turn the thread of reflection of the Greeks with regard to man.

This could not be otherwise for two reasons: first, because the Greeks conceived of man as a natural being, a being whose site is in the universe, but certainly he is a living being "rational", endowed with logos and, therefore, is the only creature in the universe able to understand and interpret.

Second, because to decide what standards of conduct are the most appropriate and desirable, taking into account both the community and the individual itself, it is necessary to know human nature, then, in effect, only knowing what man is and what are behavior patterns that favor their being, you can decide on what suits you best.

The question for the men, then, for the Greeks the question of human nature. "

Socrates was focused on the problems of man, like the Sophists, but unlike them, he knew getting to the bottom of the matter, to admit that he was a scholar in this field:

"Verily, O Athenians, and for no other reason I've earned this name, if not because of a certain wisdom. And what is this wisdom? Such wisdom is just human wisdom (ie, that you can have the man on man): and with this wisdom is truly possible that I am wise. "

What is the nature and ultimate reality of the man? What is the essence of man? They are trying to answer questions Socrates.

Eventually you will reach a clear and unequivocal answer: the man is his soul, because his soul is precisely what distinguishes specifically of anything else.

Socrates understood our reason and soul of our business headquarters and ethical thinking.

In short: the soul is for Socrates the conscious self, that is, consciousness and moral and intellectual personality.

Consequently, thanks to this discovery, "Socrates created the moral and intellectual tradition which Europe has lived ever since then"

(A. E. Taylor). One of the greatest historians of Greek thought has been further elaborated:

"The word soul, for us, because of the spiritual currents through which they passed along the story, it always sounds an ethical and religious tinge"

Clearly, if the soul is the essence of man, take care of yourself means taking care not the body but the soul, and teach men the care of one's soul is the supreme task of the educator, which was precisely the task Socrates considered having been entrusted by God, as we read in the Apology:

"That this ... is the order of God, and I am convinced that for you no more good in my city that is obedience to God. In truth, during my walk I do nothing to persuade you, young and old, that body is not what you should worry or wealth or anything else, before and more than the soul, so that it becomes optimal and otherwise, before and more than the soul, so that it becomes optimal and virtuous, and that virtue is not born of wealth, but wealth comes from virtue, and all the other things that are good for man, both for individual citizens to the polls " .

One of the key arguments made by Socrates to prove this thesis is as follows.

One is the instrument which we use and the other is the person who uses the instrument.

Now, the man uses the body as an instrument, which means different things that are the subject-which is man and the instrument, which is the body.

When asked what is man?, You can not answer that it is the body, but it is that which uses the body, psyche, soul (mind) is that the body uses, so that the conclusion is inevitable:

"We know the soul orders him who warns us," Know thyself. "Socrates carried his doctrine to the point of awareness and critical reflection, which managed to draw all the consequences logically flow from it, as we shall see.

In Greek what we call "virtue" is said arete, meaning that activity and mode of being perfect to everything, making it do what it should be. (The Greeks spoke, therefore, a virtue of the different instruments, a virtue of the animals, and so on., For example, under the dog is to be a good steward of the horse, to run quickly, and so on). Thus the virtue of man can not be more that what the soul is as it should, according to their nature, ie, good and perfect.

This is, according to Socrates, science or knowledge, while vice is the privation of science and knowledge, namely, ignorance.

Socrates thus leads to a revolution in the traditional table of values.

The true values ​​are not those that are linked to external things, such as wealth, power or fame, nor those who are bound to the body, such as life, physical strength, health and beauty, but only the values ​​of the soul which are all included in the knowledge.

Of course, this does not mean that all traditional values-values ​​become, without more, it simply means that by themselves are worthless.

Only become values ​​when used as required knowledge, ie, depending on the soul and its arete.

Source: Johannes Hirschberger History of Philosophy. Barcelona: Editorial Herder, 1981.

Socratic thinking to come to us through ancient Greece philosophers, especially Plato, who have immortalized his teachings, we must add, that as has happened with great characters of our history, as can be, among many others, figures as Melchizedek, King of Salem, The Patriarch Abraham, or Jesus Christ himself, the only Son of God, have left us no knowledge of their own handwriting, his actions have been collected by his disciples and made known to the world later using the writings that we know today.

These teachings have mentioned, are marked with an indelible mark, the spiritual and cultural heritage of all mankind and yet the indisputable greatness and depth of its concepts, it is good to consider that what we have passed, they have received from their predecessors, they have already begun a groove depth above and, above all, that the task will continue to build with the contribution of each individual with his thinking and feeling, in the arduous and amazing job of self-discovery.

The great religions, preachers today are attributed exclusively possession of revealed truth, those who argue that everything that man should know about their origins and destiny, and they have been revealed and we just need to know, should plunge into the depths of humility, pride banished from their hearts and return to the path of those who still take the path searching and practicing, as he mentions the poet:

Wayfarer, there is no way, are made by walking.

Hugo W. Arostegui

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