Elmo Recio

polywog@drexel.edu

Assignment 2

Socratic Maxims:

One of the Socratic Maxim (SM) that I believe is relevant today is that of knowledge not being the same as talent, skill or inspiration. This is extremely important this day and age when computers, and technology are shaping the way we live. We, as a society, have this blind faith in technology. Many of us use a computer, but not many of us know a computer. Some of us even program computers, yet without the basic understanding of why a particular algorithm works. We use the tools handed to us by the corporations and not think twice about the underlying software, the middle-ware.

A keen example of this is the software involved behind Graphical User Interface (GUI) toolkits. Now a-days, toolkits are being designed such that you don't need to know how the dirty work is being done. This SM may be applied to these toolkits. A proficient Qt Programmer may know a lot about Qt Widgets, and design mega-applications based on the toolkit, but when presented with a vanilla installation of X-Windows with only libX11 and libXext, he will be clueless as to how how to develop a GUI application. He will go through the motions of developing good-looking applications but it's only practical knowledge. He would not truly know how to draw buttons, or vectors, or pixels on the screen.

The Attack On Meletus:

The purpose of the attack on Meletus in the Apology is not to destroy Meletus, per se. However, the attack can be seen as a double edged sword. First of the word destroy is far to harsh as to what he is doing to Meletus. A better word, or wording, would be discredit. He is trying to do two thing: discredit Meletus in the eyes of the jury and also, attempting to show Meletus that he actually does not know as much as he thinks about Socrates' effect on the people (namely the youth of Athens.)

Socrates attempts to save Meletus' soul via the elenctic Method. But he knows that if Meletus is like any other person in the public-eye that he cannot be saved. So he proceeds with the elenctic method to prove to the jury that this guy doesn't know what he is talking about.

Socrates' Pedagogical Denial:

Socrates' denying that he is a teacher doesn't show a lack of responsibility of his influence on the young. He cannot be held responsible for what the youth do on their own, if they are trying to mimic him. You cannot put a small subtitle or disclaimer on his chest before each dialogue. An analogy may be drawn between modern day television and the youth.

Should the media be responsible for outbreaks such as: "The Trench Coat Mafia?" I think not. These youths are fully responsible for their actions and they know right from wrong. The same may be said about the youths in Athens. They know right from wrong and can determine for themselves when they have gone too far. Socrates cannot be held responsible for everything that everyone does. Especially since, he is not ``directly'' teaching them.