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noiplah t1_j3vk7g0 wrote

I like the quote, but...

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/05/28/socrates-energy/?amp=1

> In conclusion, the quotation is from a character named Socrates who was a gas-station attendant in a book published in the 1980s by Dan Millman. The quote was not from the renowned Greek philosopher.

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newbiesaccout t1_j3vlaia wrote

It's OK. Most 'actual' quotes from Socrates are not from Socrates either, but from the character Socrates in a book by Plato.

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radiowavess t1_j3w1ohv wrote

He never wrote anything down because he hated interpreters

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newbiesaccout t1_j3wxpd6 wrote

The method of dialectic is not very conducive to writing, as one needs to be able to ask and answer, but a reader can only read and can't be questioned directly.

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periphrasistic t1_j3w98n7 wrote

About to say: this did not remotely sound like Socrates, whether in Plato, Xenophon, or Aristophanes.

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newbiesaccout t1_j3x05jd wrote

And none of those would be considered quotes of Socrates, as each of those authors is presenting their own dramatic work.

The only quotes of Socrates that could be regarded as true would be from historians who are trying to make an accurate record. But Plato was trying to present a certain philosophical message himself, and to make something that is dramatic.

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periphrasistic t1_j3yxnkr wrote

There are no such historians in the extant Greek literary corpus. My purpose in listing off the three extant Greek authors which portray Socrates was to note that of our existing literary depictions, none would have said the trite shit that is at the head of this thread. But yes thank you for reminding me that that Socrates himself wrote nothing down: I also took a high school survey of philosophy class.

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newbiesaccout t1_j3zc0bj wrote

I don't quite get the sarcastic and aggressive tone here, but ok. I don't think we much disagree here. I'm pointing it out for those who might not know. I do agree with you that these are the accounts that'd typically be taken as 'quotes of Socrates', as the anecdote about Socrates' wife being a tamable horse in Xenophon's Symposium is taken as though he said it.

And if you think that 'Plato is not an accurate depiction of Socrates' is known by all undergraduate philosophy students, you'd be surprised how many tenured classics professors seem to hold the opinion.

There are a few scattered anecdotal accounts of Socrates that are intended to be accurate (even if not from historians). I'm not sure if one could derive a quote from them.

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periphrasistic t1_j3ze9bw wrote

Perhaps you’ve caught me on a bad day, but your comment felt needlessly pedantic when, as you note, there’s no underlying disagreement here. If your intent was to expand upon what was implicit in my comment for the sake of those who don’t know what Xenophon or Aristophanes (or even Plato) wrote about Socrates, then fair enough. Apologies for being aggressively sarcastic.

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