Chanced upon this short quote but it got my attention...
Still getting my attention...I wonder why...Is it the barrenness? Or is it the busy life?...This quote has got me more interested in Socrates. Found some info which I thought was interesting about this great philosopher...
Socrates was usually to be found in the marketplace and other public areas, conversing with a variety of different people—young and old, male and female, slave and free, rich and poor—that is, with virtually anyone he could persuade to join with him in his question-and-answer mode of probing serious matters. Socrates' lifework consisted in the examination of people's lives, his own and others', because “the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being,” as he says at his trial (Plato, Apology 38a). Socrates pursued this task single-mindedly, questioning people about what matters most, e.g., courage, love, reverence, moderation, and the state of their souls generally. He did this regardless of whether his respondents wanted to be questioned or resisted him; and Athenian youths imitated Socrates' questioning style, much to the annoyance of some of their parents. He had a reputation for irony, though what that means exactly is controversial; at a minimum, Socrates' irony consisted in his saying that he knew nothing of importance and wanted to listen to others, yet keeping the upper hand in every discussion.
(Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/)
But when Socrates was in his forties or so, he began to feel an urge to think about the world around him, and try to answer some difficult questions. He asked, "What is wisdom?" and "What is beauty?" and "What is the right thing to do?" He knew that these questions were hard to answer, and he thought it would be better to have a lot of people discuss the answers together, so that they might come up with more ideas. So he began to go around Athens asking people he met these questions, "What is wisdom?", "What is piety?", and so forth. Sometimes the people just said they were busy, but sometimes they would try to answer him. Then Socrates would try to teach them to think better by asking them more questions which showed them the problems in their logic. Often this made people angry. Sometimes they even beat him up.
(Retrieved from http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/socrates.htm)
Hmm, personally, I think it would be interesting and insightful to know more and think about the questions he asked. But I wonder if asking questions with no right answers is gonna irritate and anger people in the present society and community that we live within. Maybe... How many people are really comfortable with this kinda questioning? Hmm, or should I ask how many of us do wanna spend time asking and thinking about these questions, especially in an efficiency-driven environment? To what extent would it then be beneficial? But do we believe in the benefits in this kinda conversation? I am not sure if I should ask any more questions...
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