Carolyn J Sweers

Socrates, We Need You Carolyn J Sweers

We live in an opinion saturated age. People hurl opinions at each other with various claims to rightness. It is doubtful that such opinions could stand up to the rigorous questioning that Socrates did. Why is that a problem? Partial understandings are mistaken for the final word. There is a lack of humility stemming from a recognition that all human opinions are partial and incomplete. All knowledge claims have as background the vastness of a reality no theory can fully capture. Socrates forcefully reminds us of this and provides both a goad and a guide to the importance of an examined and reverent life.