Friday, May 22, 2020

A Guide to Socratic Ignorance

Socratic ignorance refers, paradoxically, to a kind of knowledge–a person’s frank acknowledgment of what they don’t know.  It is captured by the well-known statement: â€Å"I know only one thing–that I know nothing.†Ã‚  Paradoxically, Socratic ignorance is also referred to as Socratic wisdom. Socratic Ignorance in Platos Dialogues This sort of humility regarding what one knows is associated with the Greek philosopher Socrates (469-399 BCE) because he is portrayed displaying it in several of Plato’s dialogs.  The clearest statement of it is in the Apology, the speech Socrates gave in his defense when he was prosecuted for corrupting the youth and impiety.  Socrates recounts how his friend Chaerephon was told by the Delphic oracle that no human was wiser than Socrates.  Socrates was incredulous since he didn’t consider himself wise.  So he set about trying to find someone wiser than himself.  He found plenty of people who were knowledgeable about specific matters such as how to make shoes, or how to pilot a ship.  But he noticed that these people also thought that they were similarly expert about other matters too when they clearly were not.  He eventually drew the conclusion that in one sense, at least, he was wiser than others in that he did not think he knew what he did not in fact know.  In short, he was aware of his own ignorance. In several other of Plato’s dialogs, Socrates is shown confronting someone who thinks they understand something but who, when questioned rigorously about it, turns out not to understand it at all.  Socrates, by contrast, admits from the outset that he does not know the answer to whatever question is being posed.   In the Euthyphro, for instance, Euthyphro is asked to define piety.  He makes five attempts, but Socrates shoots each one down.  Euthyphro, however, does not admit that he is as ignorant as Socrates; he simply rushes off at the end of the dialog like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, leaving Socrates still unable to define piety (even though he is about to be tried for impiety). In the Meno, Socrates is asked by Meno if virtue can be taught and responds by saying that he doesn’t know because he doesn’t know what virtue is.  Meno is astonished, but I turn out that he is unable to define the term satisfactorily. After three failed attempts, he complains that Socrates has benumbed his mind, rather as a stingray numbs its prey.  He used to be able to speak eloquently about virtue, and now he can’t even say what it is.  But in the next part of the dialog, Socrates shows how clearing one’s mind of false ideas, even if it leaves one in a state of self-confessed ignorance, is a valuable and even necessary step if one is to learn anything.  He does this by showing how a slave boy can only solve a mathematical problem once he has recognized that the untested beliefs he already had were false. The Importance of Socratic Ignorance This episode in the Meno highlights the philosophical and historical importance of Socratic ignorance.  Western philosophy and science only get going when people begin to question dogmatically help beliefs.  The best way to do this is to start out with a skeptical attitude, assuming one is not certain about anything.  This approach was most famously adopted by Descartes (1596-1651) in his Meditations. In actual fact, it is questionable how feasible it is to maintain an attitude of Socratic ignorance on all matters.  Certainly, Socrates in the ​Apology doesn’t maintain this position consistently.  He says, for instance, that he is perfectly certain that no real harm can befall a good man.  And he is equally confident that â€Å"the unexamined life is not worth living.†

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Social Workers And Social Work - 1529 Words

In the society we live in today, there are many problems people face whether it has to do with family, friends, jobs, stress, money, children, abuse or, etc. Although many people face issues in their daily lives sometimes these issues can be overwhelming and in these cases it is important to realize that there is help from people. Social workers are put in place by the government to provide help and assistance to those who need it and even those who may not accept it but are in need of it. There are many times a social worker will be seen as the bad guy but its hard to forget that they are just doing their job and actually are doing more good than bad. Social workers provide the help and services that most families and communities need but may not be able to access or may have other conflicts which prevent them from receiving help. Whether it be help by necessary force or by willfulness of the person or family that needs help, it can be assured that a social worker will be there to p rovide just that. Family and Children Services is what the agency I interviewed for works in, the social worker that I interviewed was Gurkiran Somal. She works for a social welfare agency called All Nations Coordinated Response Network, also known as ANCR. This agency is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Due to the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry, Child Welfare Initiative there was reformation of the Child Families Services. Now Winnipeg has 17 Aboriginal agencies and 2 General Authority agencies,Show MoreRelatedSocial Workers And Social Work Essay1165 Words   |  5 Pages In today`s society, social work as a profession has changed enormously over time. Many interviews, samples and surveys from individuals have been taken over the years about the perception of social workers. Earlier samples of surveys and interviews have shown that social work was not always a popular profession, but now social workers are popular publicly. The public as in people now has a better understanding of social work. Studies showed that numerous of people do not quite have a full understandingRead MoreSocial Workers And Social Work1684 Words   |  7 Pages At the heart of social work most social workers consider their social work values as one of the most crucial principles of the social work profession (Higham 2006). The recent report of the social work taskforce sets out a vision of social work for a profession confident about its values, purpose and identity (Social Work Taskforce, 2009, pg61). Generally, the term value is viewed as particular beliefs or principles an i ndividual may hold deemed worthy or valuable (Banks,S, 2006). BASWA 2012 definesRead MoreSocial Workers And The Social Work Essay1706 Words   |  7 PagesSocial workers are caregivers, they provide assistance to people in need, and they address social problems. The social worker’s goal is the improvement of society to better the lives of individuals in need. The social work professional mission is to enhance the well-being of people and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the poor, and the vulnerable individual. The Social Work profession has six core values. Social workers incorporate these core valuesRead MoreSocial Workers And Social Work950 Words   |  4 Pages The social work profession is a profession that is created with educated professionals, social workers, which make important contributions to society by helping society’s most vulnerable individuals, families, and groups. Social workers assist vulnerable populations with enhancing their social functioning, meeting their needs, and solving problems. Social policies are a key component in the success of the social workers ability to help the vulnerable. â€Å"Social policies are the laws, rules, and regulationsRead MoreSocial Workers And Social Work1377 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Workers Issues We are the present. The future is our children. We all have some child(ren) in our lives whom we love dearly and would probably die for them. They are our future. Many of those children need help; mental, emotional, and physical help. If these children do not receive help, our future will be worse than the present is now. Social workers can help fix that. In the last paper, I addressed the issue of social status/work. The work status fluctuates greatly pending on the fieldRead MoreThe Social Work Of A Social Worker1585 Words   |  7 PagesAs a social worker, we are essentially given the opportunity to utilize our past and personal experiences, educational background, and diverse relationships to make a difference in countless people’s lives. Whether we choose to dedicate ourselves to practicing micro or macro social work, we can influence the outcomes of social policies, assist clients with obtaining basic necessities, or change a person’s thought processes by applyi ng psychosocial theories as necessary. However, we are obligatedRead MoreThe Social Work Of A Social Worker1551 Words   |  7 PagesUnder the social work profession, social workers embrace the principle of social justice and are committed to work toward achieving social change. In direct practice, social workers work with individuals living in poverty and subjected to all sorts of injustices. In social work, practitioners work in partnership with clients, when coming up with possible solutions to the presenting problems. It is important that in the process, social workers remain with a nonjudgmental attitude and look at howRead MoreSocial Work As A Social Worker1414 Words   |  6 PagesWhat makes social work idiosyncratic unlike the rest is the willingness and passion to promote human well-being. I yearn and hunger to see growth of what is already innate. That is the reason psychology became my undeclared major. My ignorance of the social work role did create misconceptions and fears. I knew I had to be in some helping profession. I was not sure if I would do so through occupational therapy, psychology, teaching, or social work. I wanted to be a social worker, but I wasRead MoreSocial Worker And Social Work Essay1076 Words   |  5 Pagesdefinition of what social work is. My view of social work was based off of movies that portrayed social workers as individuals who only worked with children. In these movies, the social worker was known as the Child Protective Agent and was called in when a child or children were being mistreated. After taking this course, I now know that my idea of a social worker, although right, was only the tip of an iceberg. The social worker does not only work with children, they work within a large social system thatRead MoreSocial Work : A Social Worker1033 Words   |  5 Pagesbecome a social worker. Social work is a professional and academic discipline that works to improve the quality of life and enhance the wellbeing of individuals, families, couples, groups, and communities. Heather Holland is a Social Worker at Uniontown Hospital who has over 12 years’ experience in the field. She explains that a typical day on the job is far from easy. â€Å"Days in this career are crazy, busy, and mostly, undetermined† Holland explains of her days on the job. Social work is a very

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Awakening Free Essays

The Awakening Free Essays In her novel, The Awakening, Kate Chopin depicts a woman much like herself. In the novel, the reader finds Edna Pointillism, a young wife and mother who, like Chopin, struggles with her role in society. The Victorian era woman was expected to fill a domestic role. We will write a custom essay sample on The Awakening or any similar topic only for you Order Now This role requires them to provide their husbands with a clean home, food on the table and to raise their children. They were pieces of property to their husbands, who cared more about their wives’ appearance than their feelings. Edna initially attempts to conform to these roles, her eyes are gradually opened to capabilities of liberation. Throughout the novel, many aspects to Dean’s awakening are revealed. Dean’s emotional awakening and change in perspective on romance lead to Dean’s final awakening and her death. Edna begins an emotional awakening when she hears Mademoiselle Raise play the piano. Edna was, â€Å"very fond of music† and musical renditions, sometimes, â€Å"evoked pictures in her mind. † Hearing Adele Rotational play, Dean’s imagines a â€Å"figure of a man. † His countenance was one of â€Å"hopeless resignation. † Here the music internally affects Edna only with feelings of loneliness. Also, Edna pictures a man instead of a woman, which might suggest that early in the novel, Dean’s life is controlled by men. This control effects even her inner thoughts and emotions. Comparatively, when Mademoiselle Raise plays the first chord a â€Å"keen tremor† goes down Dean’s spinal column. Edna has heard other piano artist play. This time, hearing Raise play was perhaps the first time â€Å"her being was tempered to take an impress of the abiding truth. † Edna waits for the inevitable lonely images in her mind, but they do not appear. Instead, â€Å"passions themselves were aroused within her soul. † Edna, â€Å"trembles†¦ Ekes†¦ And the tears blinded her. Such is the physical reaction Edna has to the music. This physical reaction is described in sexual language, which shows that Mademoiselle Resizes music has awakened Edna to the possibility of sexual passion as well as emotional expression. This is the beginning of Dean’s awakening where she allows herself to fully feel and express her emotions. This emotional awakening leads to another major part of Dean’s awakening, which is her more liberated view of romance and sexuality. When Edna was a young girl, she had crazy, wild crushes, real or imagined, on the young en in her community. Her marriage to Leonie Pointillism was one of traditional convenience. Edna married Leonie in rebellion against her father, who objected to her marrying a Catholic. Edna showed her natural inclination to rebel against authority but still married into a traditional Victorian role. Dean’s relationship with Leonie was traditional and boring with â€Å"no trace of passion. † However, when Edna became acquainted with Robert on Grand Isle, she was awakened by Roberts attention and flirtatious attitude. Roberts flirtations introduce a new possibility to Edna, giving her the confidence she needed to embrace her own identity. While Dean’s relationship with Robert remains non-sexual, when she meets Alice Robin her sexual awakening is completed. Allele’s kiss is â€Å"the first †¦ Of her life to which her nature had really responded. It was a flaming torch that kindled desire. † Afterward Edna feels, â€Å"as if a mist had been lifted from her eyes’†¦. â€Å"Allowing her to, â€Å"comprehend the significance of life. † The traditional restrictions of Dean’s marriage to Leonie stifled her natural passion and required her to hide her desire for romance. With Alice, Dean’s romantic passion is liberated. She does not have to feel ashamed of that part of herself. This sexual liberation awakens in her a passion for life that she has not experienced before. Dean’s final awakening occurs when she realizes she has created a liberated world for herself, but has no one with whom to share it. Robert, the one person that seems to understand Edna, has left because he understood the consequences of her actions. Dean’s ultimate liberation traps her into a corner where she must choose to carry on with her independent, yet isolated life, or o back to the traditional Victorian wife and mother she was. Now that her awakening has occurred, there is no way she will go back to her previous â€Å"dual life†. However, she lacks the courage to face the new life she has created for herself. She decides to save her independence at the cost of a life that would have been spent in slumber. She does this by giving herself to the free and passionate Gulf. Dean’s suicide completes the message Kate Chopin was attempting to convey, women who try to liberate themselves, as they have every right to do, are ultimately defeated by society restrictions. In the last pages of the novel, the reader is assured of Dean’s weakness by the reappearing of the image of the exhausted bird falling into the water. Although, Edna awakened to the possibility of a liberated life, in the end, society weakens her, preventing Edna from pursuing her desires. Dean’s seemingly reckless abandon of her former unsatisfying life does not produce the desired results and the consequences for Edna are obvious. Throughout the novel, Edna experiences several awakenings; the most important are her emotional awakening and her resulting sexual liberation. Although these awakenings make Edna realize the excitement of living and give her the confidence to choose her own lifestyle, in the end, Victorian society prevents her from maintaining her new life. Because she is alone in her pursuit of female liberation, she is left alone. She cannot stand her lonely isolation, but also knows she cannot return to her former life. She refuses to give in to the demands of her world and gives herself to the freedom of the sea. How to cite The Awakening, Papers