short stories with tragic endings

Socrates versus The World

Socrates is a renowned Greek philosopher. His talks were influential and controversial. Some believed he was criminal, while others believed he was a change agent. Ultimately, being a philosopher signed his death penalty, whereas if anyone else were to be in his position, one would have likely denied the allegations and preserve one's own life. However, in the name of philosophy, Socrates abides by truth until his final breath.

In Plato's Apology, Socrates gives the example of being somewhat of a gadfly to society. In his example, he gives the notion that society, specifically Athens, is a "great and noble horse which is somewhat sluggish ... and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly" (Apology 30e). In Socrates' mind, he has done a great service to Athens. Conversations dealing with the gods, truth and wisdom is all Socrates ever spoke. Calling himself a gadfly means, while he may be a pest to Athens leaders, his existence was absolutely necessary to the awakening of the collective consciousness of humanity. Athens, and ultimately humanity, is the great and noble horse, in his example, one of which is sluggish. This, in Socrates' opinion, is a complement. Due to the insurmountable mass which is humanity a great deal of energy is needed to inspire movement and create change. A stagnant pond does not cultivate life, whereas a flowing river brings life to all its banks. The gadfly, as a pest, is bothersome. However, as a motivational tool, the gadfly can inspire change. Socrates argues the positive nature of his existence, clinging onto the fact that without him Athens would not be considered an intellectually advanced society.

The debate whether Socrates was a criminal or a change agent was decided in court where he was charged as a criminal. Personally, however, I believe he was a change agent. A change agent is an agent for change. In other words, one becomes a change agent by inciting change within a system. Like with all systems, change can be defined as entropy. Entropy is chaos and a system can either collapse or grow stronger through chaos. Socrates incited chaos in Athens, thus the hierarchical leaders interrupted his actions as threatening to the societal system in place. The hierarchical leaders in Socrates' day are the same leaders appointed today; the religious, educational, and political authorities. Socrates was encouraging free-thinking, awareness, and this is dangerous to the structure of society.

Like every change agent, condemnation and compassion is crossed by a thin line. Their message of change can easily be rejected as well as accepted. Take for example Jesus from the Bible. He spoke of truth and love, and still was charged as a criminal and murdered. More recently, the story of Bhagwan Rajneesh, brought to light in a Netflix series Wild Wild County is a prime example of the preverbal system still in action. I have known of Bhagwan Rajneesh for many years, however, known as Osho. His teachings have been printed and distributed all over the world. A man named Elliott Hulse began hosting Grounding Camp in 2016, where attendees would speed three days practicing Osho dynamic meditation – I am one of those people. Before Wild Wild County, Bhagwan Rajneesh and Rajneeshpuram were unknown. Even after watching I still believe in his message.

Osho's message is awareness. Another condemned change agent is Timothy Leary. His message infamously known by this quote, "Think for yourself." (Lorenzo). He is known for the psychedelic drug movement in the '60s. However, LSD and psilocin (the active ingredients in magic mushrooms) have been successful in treating depression, anxiety, and PTSD. (Erin Brodwin, 2018). The same can be said of Osho. He still lives on, as does Jesus. The difference is the religious authorities were not making money from Rajneeshees – and that is unacceptable for them. Once Socrates' ideas began to spread, the authorities could not profit. To say that Osho has not provided a great service to society, is to say Socrates did not provide a great service. To say Socrates did not provide a great service, is to say Jesus did not provide a great service. All change agents say the same thing, all just use different metaphors. Albert Camus, in The Rebel, says "Awareness, no matter how confused it may be, develops from every act of rebellion." Socrates became a rebel. He rebelled against the conditioning of Athens, of society, and of humanity. Justifiable or not, I believe Socrates did a great service to Athens and humanity.

Examining one's life is absolutely as crucial as Socrates claims. Perhaps more importantly, the examination of society will come from examining one's life. A quote in Voltaire's Candide, said by Candide himself, "We must cultivate our garden." This is Socrates point. Do not simply throw seeds at the ground and expect a garden, or worse, do not take someone's word that a garden will self-sufficiently grow.