#1962 How to Think Like Socrates

A couple +1s ago, I mentioned the fact that Donald Robertson joined us in Athens.

It was awesome.

In addition to hanging out with us touring Athens for the first three days we were in town, he gave a couple impromptu talks on the Acropolis and a more formal talk on the grounds of Plato’s ancient Academy.

During that talk, he read from the introduction to his new book How to Think Like Socrates.

That was especially awesome.

Today, and over the next several days, I want to explore some of the wisdom from his new book.

Before we jump in…

If you haven’t checked out the Notes on his previous book How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, get on that!

Donald and I chatted about the new Gladiator movie and he was hoping they’d mention wisdom from the great emperor philosopher (Marcus Aurelius!) as his presence in the first movie did wonders for the Stoic brand. (I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m told Aurelius and his wisdom is referenced a number of times.)

Now…

Let’s get to work.

I want to chat about one of my favorite ideas from the book—a distinction between “Sophists” and philosophers.

Donald tells us: “Before we can even begin to help ourselves, we need, moreover, to figure out what our goal is. Self-help is no help unless we know what it is we’re trying to achieve. First, we need to learn how to focus on the bigger picture and, as Socrates insisted, ask ourselves some difficult questions concerning our values. For instance, should our ‘self-improvement’ be measured in terms of achieving external goals, such as wealth or reputation, or inner ones, such as wisdom and self-mastery? What really constitutes human flourishing or a good life?”

He continues by saying: “The internet is awash with self-help advice. Young people in particular, drink from a veritable firehose of opinions about how they should be living. The youth of Athens faced essentially the same problem. Their ‘influencers’ were called the Sophists, self-proclaimed ‘experts’ or ‘wise men.’ Ancient Athenians attended speeches given by Sophists, who claimed to improve their students, just as today we consume videos by those who profess to be self-improvement experts. The Sophists charged hefty fees for teaching young Athenians how to become more persuasive speakers, with promises that they would thereby achieve success in public life.”

And, he tells us: “Modern influencers often profess to teach us how to succeed in our careers and relationships. Nevertheless, despite being separated by over two thousand years, certain ancient Sophists and modern-day influencers can, at times, sound uncannily alike. That’s because they’re often telling their audiences what they want to hear, or what they know will capture their attention—something Socrates described as pandering. They compete with their peers for praise—ancient Sophists for applause; social media influencers for ‘likes.’ That inevitably leads them to appeal to our existing prejudices rather than challenge them. But what if this very relationship does us more harm than good?”

Sophists vs. Philosophers.

← I find the distinction (and the connection to modern-day social media influencers!) absolutely FASCINATING. So much so that, at the end of his talk on the ancient grounds of Plato’s Academy, I asked Donald to talk a bit more about the distinction.

Now...

After marking up the couple pages in the book in which Donald shares this wisdom (pages 8 and 9, for the record!), at the bottom of the pages I wrote:

“ULTIMATE GAME. 2,500-YEAR-OLD CHALLENGE. SEDUCED: FAME/WEALTH/HOTNESS. HERCULES! VICE VS. VIRTUE. SPA VS. HOSPITAL.”

Let’s quickly unpack what I was thinking.

First, we need to remember the fact that having the wisdom to know the ULTIMATE GAME we’re playing (and how to play it well!) is a 2,500-year-old challenge. We’ve had “influencers” “pandering” to our craving for fame, wealth, and hotness for A VERY LONG TIME.

Remember The Choice of Hercules?

I got that story from Donald. In How to Think Like a Roman Emperor he shares the story Socrates and the ancient Stoics used to tell about young Hercules BEFORE he was Hercules. It goes like this...

Young Hercules is walking in a forest by himself. Two goddesses approach him. One rushes in front of the other. She’s overly made up and preening—you can almost see her getting ready to snap a selfie and post it on Instagram to get some more likes as a modern-day influencer. ;)

She tells him that her name is Happiness. She’s lying. Her name is vice. She tells him that, if he follows her, his life will be filled with everything he wants—with zero effort. She’s lying.

The second goddess waits patiently. Then she steps forward. She has an austere but beautiful presence. She tells Hercules that the other goddess is lying. She tells him that if he follows her, she will promise him a life of hardship and challenge.

But...

In the process of forging the strength to overcome these challenges in service to something bigger than himself, he will earn the respect of the gods. Her name? Areté.

A sophist. And a philosopher.

Which one are YOU paying attention to? Choose wisely.

TODAY.