Mostly Fluent

I have started reading How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World. The book is by Donald Robertson, a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, trainer, and writer. I am only sixty or so pages into the book. Nevertheless, I wanted to share something interesting from the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book.

Let me quote directly from Robertson.

Socrates was a real person — a famous Athenian philosopher. However, despite a rich tradition of literature, many details concerning his life and thought remain uncertain. The challenge of sorting out truth from fiction in our sources, which has vexed historians throughout the ages, is known as the “Socratic Problem.”

I found this surprising given that I was reading a book literally titled How to Think Like Socrates. As I have come to learn, Socrates did not write any dialogues himself. He left that to his students, in particular Plato and Xenophon. These sources do contain dialogues with Socrates, but scholars think these are likely made up. Thus, as Robertson states “This book therefore contains a dramatized and semi-fictional account of the life of Socrates…”.

Be that as it may, I am still really enjoying the read. Philosophy is something that I haven’t dealt a great deal with. So, I am a complete novice to much of what is discussed. But isn’t that fun?! Learning about something brand new is often the most enjoyable.

I’m sure I’ll have more to say about this book later, so say tuned!