Donald Robertson

But if you give a big pile of money to somebody who's foolish and vicious, it's just going to allow them to do more foolish and vicious stuff, right? And the same would apply to status. And actually, most of these external things Goods, as they're known, in a sense, are more like practical advantages or opportunities that you have in life.

But if you give a big pile of money to somebody who's foolish and vicious, it's just going to allow them to do more foolish and vicious stuff, right? And the same would apply to status. And actually, most of these external things Goods, as they're known, in a sense, are more like practical advantages or opportunities that you have in life.

But if you give a big pile of money to somebody who's foolish and vicious, it's just going to allow them to do more foolish and vicious stuff, right? And the same would apply to status. And actually, most of these external things Goods, as they're known, in a sense, are more like practical advantages or opportunities that you have in life.

And what really matters is how you make use of them, whether you use them wisely or whether you use them foolishly. So then doesn't that suggest that the only thing that's intrinsically good would be practical wisdom or moral wisdom? Yeah. because how you use other things, even the disadvantages you have, even poverty and sickness might be used well by somebody who's profoundly wise, right?

And what really matters is how you make use of them, whether you use them wisely or whether you use them foolishly. So then doesn't that suggest that the only thing that's intrinsically good would be practical wisdom or moral wisdom? Yeah. because how you use other things, even the disadvantages you have, even poverty and sickness might be used well by somebody who's profoundly wise, right?

And what really matters is how you make use of them, whether you use them wisely or whether you use them foolishly. So then doesn't that suggest that the only thing that's intrinsically good would be practical wisdom or moral wisdom? Yeah. because how you use other things, even the disadvantages you have, even poverty and sickness might be used well by somebody who's profoundly wise, right?

They might develop more resilience as a result. They might learn from the experience, for instance. But somebody who's foolish and vicious will use even every advantage in life badly yeah so it's by this kind of questioning method socrates gets his interlocutors the usually young adult young men um just embarking on adult life basically to realize that the things that most people assume

They might develop more resilience as a result. They might learn from the experience, for instance. But somebody who's foolish and vicious will use even every advantage in life badly yeah so it's by this kind of questioning method socrates gets his interlocutors the usually young adult young men um just embarking on adult life basically to realize that the things that most people assume

They might develop more resilience as a result. They might learn from the experience, for instance. But somebody who's foolish and vicious will use even every advantage in life badly yeah so it's by this kind of questioning method socrates gets his interlocutors the usually young adult young men um just embarking on adult life basically to realize that the things that most people assume

to be the goal of life, like reputation and material success and stuff like that, aren't really intrinsically the most important thing in life, but what matters more is your ability to use these things well, which is something that they tend to have neglected and not really discussed. And so Socrates says that's what we should be talking about. How do you use these things well?

to be the goal of life, like reputation and material success and stuff like that, aren't really intrinsically the most important thing in life, but what matters more is your ability to use these things well, which is something that they tend to have neglected and not really discussed. And so Socrates says that's what we should be talking about. How do you use these things well?

to be the goal of life, like reputation and material success and stuff like that, aren't really intrinsically the most important thing in life, but what matters more is your ability to use these things well, which is something that they tend to have neglected and not really discussed. And so Socrates says that's what we should be talking about. How do you use these things well?

And so the goal of life or flourishing would consist in a kind of practical wisdom or moral wisdom and also in the realization that the prevailing values of our society are kind of back to front and the things that everybody is led to value, like consumerism and celebrity culture and all that kind of stuff, those are misplaced values, basically.

And so the goal of life or flourishing would consist in a kind of practical wisdom or moral wisdom and also in the realization that the prevailing values of our society are kind of back to front and the things that everybody is led to value, like consumerism and celebrity culture and all that kind of stuff, those are misplaced values, basically.

And so the goal of life or flourishing would consist in a kind of practical wisdom or moral wisdom and also in the realization that the prevailing values of our society are kind of back to front and the things that everybody is led to value, like consumerism and celebrity culture and all that kind of stuff, those are misplaced values, basically.

and them being the same values that everybody is still being swayed by now i wonder about that you know i think there's got to be a reason for that and i don't pretend to know exactly what it is but the ancient philosophers had some answers i believe that part of it is if you imagine when you're born as a child you're kind of a blank slate to some extent and you know you you start interacting with adults before you can even speak let alone reason and so you you just emulate what you see other people doing as a small child

and them being the same values that everybody is still being swayed by now i wonder about that you know i think there's got to be a reason for that and i don't pretend to know exactly what it is but the ancient philosophers had some answers i believe that part of it is if you imagine when you're born as a child you're kind of a blank slate to some extent and you know you you start interacting with adults before you can even speak let alone reason and so you you just emulate what you see other people doing as a small child

and them being the same values that everybody is still being swayed by now i wonder about that you know i think there's got to be a reason for that and i don't pretend to know exactly what it is but the ancient philosophers had some answers i believe that part of it is if you imagine when you're born as a child you're kind of a blank slate to some extent and you know you you start interacting with adults before you can even speak let alone reason and so you you just emulate what you see other people doing as a small child

and i think it partly comes from the fact that we model our values on other people's behavior so as a child growing up you think you take a look around you and you think what's all this meant to be about you think well everyone else seems obsessed with money and property and status like so you just kind of naturally fall into that if you're not careful are you saying that we are the progeny of uh socratic society's culture eventually just a few thousand years down the line

and i think it partly comes from the fact that we model our values on other people's behavior so as a child growing up you think you take a look around you and you think what's all this meant to be about you think well everyone else seems obsessed with money and property and status like so you just kind of naturally fall into that if you're not careful are you saying that we are the progeny of uh socratic society's culture eventually just a few thousand years down the line