Criticize, clarify and refine, described below, is the most important part of this assignment. Use several of your ungraded papers to practice this process.
There is no required structure for this paper. But if you are at all unsure about this reasoning process you should follow very closely the instructions given in More Structured Instructions for Socratic Discussions.
Sample Socratic Discussions by Former Students. Some of these papers were written according to a somewhat different set of instructions. Don't just copy the structure of these papers without making sure you understand the instructions given here.
Earlier essays about Plato gave some idea of the Platonic worldview as a context determining the ultimate goals of Socratic reasoning and the principles on which it rests. But the main focus for this section of the course is not more extensive discussions of Plato's thought in general. The main focus will be learning and practicing a particular method of reasoning about virtue, derived from Plato's writing using a "critical reconstruction" approach described earlier. The present essay gives detailed instructions for how to write a Socratic discussion of a virtue of your choice, which is the assignment for the First Graded Paper.
This assignment is very unlike most other college writing assignments.
1. Writing as a kind of thinking. Rather than presenting
a finished product of your thinking, this assignment asks you to show yourself
in the process of critical thinking.
2. Writing as self-critical self-exploration. Self-exploration
means that you are clarifying your thinking by trying to find words to clearly
articulate your own sense of things. This is not reporting what others have
thought about your subject, not arguing with others, not appealing to
authorities, not presenting dictionary definitions. This will be most profitable
if it involves trying to find words to express you own ideas that you find
difficult to put into words.
At the same time, this must be self-critical
self-exploration. You need to play the part of "Socrates" for yourself,
deliberately trying to find problems and difficulties in ideas or beliefs you
previously regarded as unproblematic.
3. Focused and disciplined. Even though this paper must be an
attempt to develop your own thinking out of itself, it must also be very focused
and disciplined.
Everything must be focused on achieving a particular
goal: Formulating description of your virtue that you could (if you wanted) take
as a model for long-term self-molding. This description should be such that each
step you take to mold yourself on this model would make you a more admirable
person.
This is also a very disciplined way of thinking, in
that it must follow very particular methods to reach this goal. The main
such method is Socratic questioning, raising difficulties through
"counterexamples," and resolving those difficulties through clarifying
refinements (described in "#3 Criticize and Clarify", below.)
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#1. Pick a single virtue (V). Focus your discussion on the question: That kind
of V that is admirable, what is the essence of what makes it admirable?
Make everything in your paper contribute something to answering this
question. Click here for a sample list of
virtues (you don't have to limit yourself to this list).
#2. Expand on your associations with your virtue, thinking of many other words
or phrases (W) associated with your virtue.
#3. Criticize, Clarify and Refine
#4. Unify and Organize.
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#3, Criticize, clarify and refine, is the most essential part,
not only for this paper, but for the remaining papers in this course. I will
describe it in more detail here, followed by some remarks on the other three
elements.
Criticize: Make difficulties for yourself, uncover
unsuspected contradictions or ambiguities in your own thought or in your
understanding of normally positive concepts (W) associated with V.
Clarify and Refine: Resolve those difficulties by making progress
toward formulating a clearer and more refined definition of the essence of V.
Click here for some examples of the process described here.
For Criticizing and Clarifying/Refining, follow this process:
A-Pose a positive word or phrase (W) connected with your virtue (V)
B-Make up a story showing you can have W without having admirable V. This shows an ambiguity in W.
C&D-Remedy this ambiguity by Clarifying and Refining the meaning of W, so it refers only to admirable V.
It is absolutely essential that your paper show you know how to do this
process, by giving at least three examples clearly exemplifying A, B, C,
and D.
A-Pick one positive word or phrase (W) associated with
your virtue at a time. Be sure to name this W before proceeding. W should name
something that initially might seem to be close to the essence of what makes V
admirable.
B-Ask this particular question: Can you have some kind of
W without having admirable V?
Make up a fictional story involving a person who does have some
kind of W but very clearly does not have admirable V. Such a story is a "counterexample"
to W.
Counterexamples must be clear, unproblematic,
uncomplicated,
relatively non-controversial. Everything in the story should show this person's
W in a clearly negative light, clearly and obviously not
admirable. Don't make
up a story in which it is doubtful or controversial as to whether W is admirable
or not, or in which W is partly admirable and partly not-admirable, sometimes
admirable and sometimes not.
Make up stories that show you being self-critical about your
concepts and beliefs. Do not make up stories that only confirm your present
beliefs and understandings. Do not use stories as an occasion for asserting your
beliefs about controversial issues.
C-A story showing you can have some kind of W without having
admirable V shows that W by itself can't be a clear and precise definition of
the essence of what makes V admirable. Every counterexample shows a particular
and specific ambiguity in W.
Discuss this ambiguity in W. Say what kind of
ambiguity it is.
-- Does it illustrate some kind of W that is admirable but
not related to this V?
-- Does it illustrate some kind of W that is connected to V
but is not admirable?
D-Do not reject but clarify and
refine. Every counterexample shows a particular and specific ambiguity in W,
which can be remedied by a specific clarification and refinement. Make progress
toward clearing up the ambiguity, clarifying and refining the meaning of W in a
way that contributes to the ultimate goal of defining the essence of V:
-By answering the question: What kind of W is always and only
related to admirable V, and how is it related? Make this specific by describing how this kind of W
contrasts with the kind of W illustrated in the counterexample (not admirable,
or not related to V).
-By making some initial guesses as to how this W is related
to V, or to other concepts related to V.
Refer to the description of virtues in the essay "What is a virtue?" Keep in
mind especially the fact that a virtue is something not directly visible from
the outside, needing to be described in terms of things like motivations,
attitudes, skills, or habitual priorities for attention and concern. No progress
can be made in defining the essence of V by giving rules or advice for what to
do. Following more and more closely a set of rules for what to do cannot serve
as an exact and invariable guide for becoming a more admirable person, because
it is possible to follow any set of rules for bad reasons.
D above, clarifying and refining, is the most difficult part of this reasoning, but the
most important if you are to make progress. In most cases, you should have a
sense of trying to put into words something you feel you know but have
difficulty expressing.
The most common ways of avoiding this difficulty:
(i)-Saying what the person in the counterexample should have
done. (Describing what a V person does, or giving rules for what
she should do, will not provide you with a model of
invisible and internal virtue to model yourself on.)
(ii)-Clarifying and refining W in a very brief and vague way
(using words such as "positive," "beneficial," etc.), or by saying what should
be absent (not selfish, not hurting others, etc.) To serve as an effective model
for self-molding, a virtue-concept has to be very clear, specific, and
positive.
(iii)-Saying what other qualities a person must have in
addition to W, instead of clarifying and refining the concept of W itself.
(Words describing other qualities are also going to be ambiguous, each needing
its own clarification. Naming other qualities just puts off the clarifying and
refining process by naming other concepts that will also need clarifying and
refining.)
Click here for some examples of the process of "criticize
and clarify."
******
Here are some comments about the other three elements necessary for a good
discussion.
#1. Focus your discussion on a single virtue (V). Focus on the
question: That kind of V that is admirable, what is the essence of what makes it
admirable?
A virtue is any internal character trait that you find
admirable. Refer to the essay "What is a Virtue?"
Click here for a sample list of virtues.
Make sure you are discussing a single specific
virtue-concept. "Being a good parent," for example, involves several different
good traits. The words "being noble," might refer to several different traits.
"Being trustworthy" probably involves several virtues (being honest,
responsible, self-disciplined, loyal, discreet).
*****
#2. Expand your associations with V.
A common problem with many Socratic discussion papers is that
they focus narrowly on a one or two concepts, soon running out of new things to
say. Most people actually do have many associations with virtues they admire, if
they take the time to call them to mind.
Here is a good exercise for expanding your associations,
which also helps in generating counterexample-stories, and in formulating a
definition of V that is very clear and specific.
First make a table with two columns, A and B. In the A
column, think of negative opposites of V. What human weaknesses or faults is V
the opposite of? What human problems is V a remedy for? Then think of positive
words or phrases describing admirable V by contrast with these weaknesses,
faults, or problems and put these in the B column.
Then make another two-column table. In the A column, think of
words describing qualities that resemble V but are not admirable. In the B
column, think of positive words or phrases that describe admirable V by contrast
with the negative words in the A column.
The positive words and phrases in the B-columns of these two
tables will give you many W's for the "criticize and clarify" part of Socratic
reasoning. They will also provide topics for discussion in the "unify and
organize" conclusion to the paper -- concepts that are not the essence of V, but
whose relation to this essence can be discussed as a way of making this essence
more clear and specific.
The beginning of A Sample
Paper on Patience illustrates this process.
*****
#4. Conclude your paper by unifying and organizing.
Click here for an example of "unifying and organizing.
A possible ending of a long discussion of Romantic Love also
shows what a "unified" description of an essence might look like.
One result of energetic attempts to make up counterexamples
in Socratic reasoning is to show that all simple and easy to understand concepts
are ambiguous with respect to goodness. Describing the essence of any V will
always involve a creative process of trying to find words to articulate ideas
difficult to articulate.
One common way of avoiding this difficulty is to end the
discussion by simply giving a list of concepts related to V, saying that "the
essence of V consists in A, and B, and C, and D..." or "the essence of V
consists in a combination of A, and B, and C, and D..." (As in "the
essence of love consists in sharing, and intimacy, and trust, and passion,
and....")
To avoid this temptation, force yourself to try to settle on
a single concept you want to propose as the essence of V. This concept may take
several sentences to describe, but it should be recognizably a single concept.
Imagine an archery target, with this single
concept of the essence of V at the center of the target. You will have come
across many other concepts related to V that can be arranged in the concentric
circles around this center, some closer to the center an some further away. Try
to articulate your sense of how these other concepts are related to the single
essence at the center. This is what I mean by the "organize" part of "unify and
organize."
This unifying and organizing conclusion to your paper should
aim at giving a description of the essence of V that is as clear, positive, and
specific as possible. One way of making it clear and specific is defining it by
contrast with negative opposites of V or with things that resemble V but are not
admirable. Avoid vague phrases like "positive," and "beneficial," and avoid
describing V in terms of absences ("not...", "without...", "as long as you
don't...", etc.)
******
Socratic reasoning is both a science and an art. The "science" can be described in terms of certain mechanics, thinking processes that can be described pretty clearly. It is harder to tell someone how to do the "art" part, since this involves an individual creative process of consulting one's own sense of things and finding words to articulate one's own ideas. Formulating the essence of a virtue is not like discovering an unknown insect in the rainforest, lying there fully formed ready to be discovered. It is a creative process of finding new combinations of words that articulate something difficult to articulate.
Demonstrating knowledge of the mechanics is an essential part of this assignment. Papers that fail to show a minimal knowledge of these mechanics will be returned to be rewritten.
- Papers that show an adequate understanding of the mechanics will begin with a grade of 80 (B-),
- More Points will be added to this basic grade of 80, for showing
abilities in the creative and artful part of the assignment.
The creative and artful parts of the assignment show mainly
in two of the elements described above.
(1) The "Clarification and Refinement" part of "Criticize
and Clarify" (#3 D above). I have found that many
students tend to avoid the difficulty of this step by treating it very briefly
or vaguely, giving advice for what to do rather than describing internal mental
habits, or describing what should not be present. Points will be added to your
grade for spending more time on this difficult step, giving careful attention to
describing internal mental habits (habitual attitudes, motivations, skills,
etc.) that make progress toward describing clearly and specifically the essence
of a virtue as described in the essay "What is a Virtue?"
(2) The "Unify and Organize" conclusion to the paper
(#4 above). Points will be added to your paper for
spending more time on this difficult step, giving a clear description of some
single core essence of V, and describing in some detail how other concepts
associated with V are related to this single core.
A. Show an understanding of the basic mechanics.
#1. Focus your discussion on a single virtue (being trustworthy, being a good parent or a good leader, probably involve many virtues).
#2. Expand your associations.
Signs that you have not sufficiently expanded your associations are:
-- you soon run out of ideas to critically examine
-- your discussions revolve around only one or two ideas
#3. Criticize and Clarify. Show you understand the proper purpose
of counterexamples to uncover ambiguities in words (W) associated with your
virtue, and understanding how to respond to counterexamples, remedying this
ambiguity by clarifying and refining the meaning of W.
Common failings here are:
-- Failing to name some word (W) associated with V that you want to critically examine by means of a counterexample.
-- Failing to tell a story illustrating some W very clearly not connected to admirable V.
-- Confusing a counterexample with an opposite example
-- Using stories that illustrate and confirm rather than undermine familiar
ideas or your own beliefs.
-- Talking about what other people might think, or relying on some other
source, rather than relying on your own perceptions.
-- Discussions of topics not relevant to the task of defining the essence of V
(how important V is, complaining that it is not common today, etc.)
B. Show your ability to conduct the discussion creatively and artfully, (1) Pay special attention to clarifying and refining the meaning of W following counterexamples, (2) Pay special attention to formulating a single concept as the essence of your virtue, and discussing how other concepts connected to this single essence are related to this single core.
Common failings here are:
-- Long counterexamples followed by very brief and/or vague clarifications of W.
-- Remedying ambiguities by saying what a person should do (instead of describing an internal character trait)
-- Naming some other virtues needed in addition to W,
instead of clarifying and refining W itself.
-- Clarifying refinements that say what should not be present ("not hurting
others," "self-less" etc. Try to describe the positive
opposite of this absence of hurting, absence of selfishness, etc.)
-- Defining the essence of V by giving an unorganized list of components of V.
-- Sticking to familiar and easy-to-understand concepts.
This is meant just to be a sample of the kind of thing you might expect at the end of a good Socratic discussion. I’ve gathered many ideas from listening to many class discussions of romantic love (RL) over about 20 years.
The following is a list of some of the main ideas that I discovered appeal to me:
trust, communication, intimacy, chemistry, intense feeling, passion, sharing, unselfish caring, lasting, mutual, reliable.
This is a list of familiar words and concepts. The problem for Plato is that all familiar words are vague and ambiguous when it comes to what is truly admirable. If it were just a matter of choosing between words on this list, I would choose "intimacy." But the trouble is that the word "intimacy" itself calls to mind many associations, some of which may turn out to just be "accompanying appearances" of what is truly admirable, rather than a precise explication of my sense of what stirs my admiration about romantic love.
The following three paragraphs are my attempt to make more clear and precise my sense of the core of what it is that makes admirable romantic love admirable. You will note that clarifying what the words mean to me requires some preparatory description setting a context that help make the meaning of my ultimate definition very clear and precise.
*****
"Impersonal" relationships are the extreme opposite of romantic love, and serve as a good starting point for describing romantic love by contrast. To have only impersonal relationships is to leave the deepest part of oneself untouched and undeveloped. Impersonal relationships are also relatively uninvolving emotionally. One can relate to others impersonally and remain emotionally rather dead. What makes Romantic Love admirable can be defined as the opposite of these things, as follows:
The reason romantic love can be important is that those aspects of a person’s being that are most unique, valuable, and precious are also very often aspects that tend to be most private, least able to be shared in impersonal interactions with the general public. That kind of "intimacy" which is an element in great romantic love is what happens when two people meet on this level – when each makes contact with the other in such a way that each feels thoroughly recognized and contacted by the other, in what each is able to now feel is the most precious and unique, private part of his or her being.
Often a person falling in love was previously unaware of this part of her own being, it was something lying dormant, unawakened and undeveloped. Deep personal meeting awakens it, making the person flower and feel more alive, more deeply alive. This explains why people in love feel carried away by passionate feelings beyond their conscious control.
Physical sex contributes to the greatness of great romantic love when and insofar as it serves as a concrete representation of this exposure and joining of the most private aspects of oneself to the other, and the intense emotional aliveness that this brings about.
(Of course individuals in love have to have other virtues such as being responsible [actually many other virtues] to make them good individuals, but I think "being responsible" is another virtue needing another discussion, not an intrinsic ingredient in the single virtue of romantic love.)
In the context described above, my present theory about the essence of what makes admirable romantic love admirable would be: That kind of deep personal meeting which more fully awakens in each partner, and causes to flower in intensely involving emotion, what each can feel is most uniquely precious about him or herself. (This sentence needs to be understood in the context of the above paragraphs. By itself it might not convey all it needs to convey.)
This proposal could be further developed by describing how further words on my list relate to each other and to this essence as a common core.
*****
What makes this better than other possible descriptions? The main test as to whether this is a good description of an "essence" of Romantic Love:
Unlike other descriptions, you can't have this kind of deep personal meeting without having admirable romantic love.
Unlike other descriptions, any increase in this deep personal meeting will result in an increase in the quality of romantic love.
Limitations:
1. I cannot know that this description is absolute and final, that no "counterexamples" will ever reveal weaknesses in it. But I am confident (a) that it is an improvement over other more familiar concepts I had when I began, and (b) that every counterexample will reveal a particular weakness that can be remedied by a particular refinement in this definition. I can know that I am making progress -- I cannot know that I have reached a point where no further progress is possible (this of course is true of theories in the physical sciences as well.)
2. I cannot know that this is the only "essence" of Romantic Love, the only valid Platonic Form of Romantic Love. Knowing that this definition can withstand Socratic questioning very well does not prove that there are no other definitions that can also withstand Socratic questioning very well. Technically, then, I should not claim that this is "the" essence of Romantic Love only "an" essence of Romantic Love.
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[I encourage students for whom English is a second language, to take a virtue-word or concept from their own language as a topic for Socratic discussion. The following paper is by a student raised in Russia. This student is discussing a Russian word, and Russian is written in a Cyrillic alphabet, different from the Roman alphabet we use. I asked her to give me romanized spellings:
- душа = Dusha (a noun meaning "soul")
- Душевный = Dushevnii (the adjectival form of Dusha, which means literally "soulful"
This paper also illustrates the way in which words in different languages have different connotations. A discussion based on Russian associations with Dushevnii will probably lead the inquiry in directions different from discussions based on similar words in other languages]
Buddha, Jesus, & Plato, RELSTY 204 G, Spring 2008
by Olga Levin
In this essay I will present a Socratic discussion of a virtue of my choice. Virtue is “an internal habit of mind” (in this essay the words and phrases in parenthesis come from class notes and readings); the virtue manifests itself in concrete visible behaviors which are ambiguous in their nature. The purpose of Socratic reasoning is to formulate virtue ideas that are precise descriptions of each virtue in its most perfect form. Socratic reasoning is characterized by “midwife” principle, the aim of which is to help individuals articulate their own intuitive perceptions, “delivering their intellectual babies”. The principle relies on perceptions that are “subjective” and “culturally conditioned”. The fact that I was brought up in Russia determined my choice to discuss a virtue from my native culture because this virtue is a more meaningful concept for me than any other concept represented by an English word; it represents a variety of associations that have been acquired throughout my lifetime.
The admirable Virtue of my choice is Душевный, “Dushevnii” (adjective). “Dushevnii” is a Russian word which is translated by a Russian-English dictionary as “sincere”, “hearty”, and “cordial”. The English equivalents do not fully convey the complex meaning of the concept “Dushevnii”. The root of this word is “душа” ["dusha"] (noun) which is directly translated into English as “soul”; so the literal translation of the word “Dushevnii” is “soulful”. The problem of defining this Virtue is two-folded: first of all, the virtue is defined by a Russian word; secondly I will try to “refine” the V using English words.
After thorough thinking about my V, I came to conclusion that the admirable “Dushevnii” is represented by three aspects that are deeply connected between each other: otherworldly characteristics, worldly characteristics, and emotionality & wisdom.
| Negative opposites (“Dushevnii” is a remedy for) | Positive “Dushevnii” by contrast | Resembles “Dushevnii”, but not admirable |
| Superficial/shallow | Deep-thinking | |
| Materialistic | Spiritual | Religious, blindly following the scripture |
| Concrete/present moment interests | Universal/worldly interests | Preoccupied by theoretical knowledge |
| Ambitious | Self-sufficient | Un-motivated/stagnant/passive |
| Stingy | Kind | Carelessly giving out |
| Selfish | Unselfish | Vagrant |
| Boring | Interesting/pleasure to be with | Clown/entertaining |
| Materially-minded | Inner world-minded | Self-preoccupied/recluse |
| Distant from others | Close to others | Nosy (minding other people’s business |
| Cold | Warm | |
| Unwelcoming | Welcoming | |
| Non-inspiring | Inspiring | Overwhelming/tiresome |
| Anxious | Calm/content/satisfied | Indifferent |
| Callous/hard-hearted | Empathic | Social/outgoing |
| Hypocritical | Sincere | Bluntly telling the truth (whatever comes to one’s head) |
| Non-emotional | Emotional/deep-feeling | Overemotional/lost in one’s emotions |
| Guided by rational mind | Guided by inner feelings | Educated/knowledgeable |
Otherworldly characteristics:
1. A. The first word which is connected to “Dushevnii” [soulful] is “non-materialistic”.
B. I am going to test the W by using a counterexample that shows that someone have some kind of W without having admirable V.
Counterexample: A homeless person who lives in the slums and doesn’t have any motivation to move out of the degenerative conditions is “non-materialistic”. He does not care about material benefits and he is not motivated to work for better conditions.
C. The above mentioned counterexample shows that the W is vague and ambiguous with respect to the admirable V. To remedy this ambiguity, here is a corrective clarification: “Non-materialistic” characteristics are related to admirable “Dushevnii” in a sense that a person can strive for material benefits, such as a nice house or a nice car, but “materialistic” pursuits are not regarded as of paramount importance. One has to ponder the philosophical questions, but it doesn’t have to prevent him from getting pleasures from material benefits.
2. A. Let’s take the phrase “philosophically oriented”.
B. Counterexample: A professor of philosophy achieved great mastery in presenting the works of great philosophers to his students. Philosophy is his profession and means to earn money. Thus, once he leaves classroom, he does no longer need or feel like entertaining philosophical questions for its own sake. He is a great theoretician and experienced professor of philosophy.
C. Refinement: The phrase “philosophically oriented” is connected to the admirable V in a sense that a person has philosophical perspective on the world that urges him/her to search for general understanding of values and reality. His or her inner-world mindedness prompts him or her to think over philosophical questions for its own sake. For admirably “Dushevnii” person this quest is natural and involuntary.
3. A. One can say that to be admirably “Dushevnii”, one has to be “inner-world minded”.
B. Counterexample: a monk living in isolation on the top of the mountain is inner-world minded. His life is characterized by asceticism in which he is abstinent from various sorts of worldly pleasures and aims at pursuing religious goals.
C. Thus, we have inner-world minded person who is not “Dushevnii”. We may conclude that only a particular kind of inner-world mindedness is related to admirable “Dushevnii”: the one that coexists with connectedness to the worldly affairs. A “Dushevnii” person is inner-world minded not for religious purposes, but rather for spiritual ones. He or she thinks of one’s true self rather than of an identity that was imposed by a religious doctrine. A person concentrates on one’s own soul, as opposed to material and physical things.
Unifying the first part… Being admirably “Dushevnii” is to be inner-world minded meaning that one is preoccupied by one’s soul as opposed to material things. However, philosophical quest does not have to prevent a person from engaging in worldly affairs or desiring for material benefits. For admirably “Dushevnii” person contemplating over universal issues is of paramount importance and of a great need. Materialistic pursuits play a secondary role and do not deserve any worry or concern.
Worldly characteristics
4. A. In order to refine “Dushevnii” in the worldly context, let’s take the word “social”.
B. Counterexample: Lisa is a very sociable person. She sincerely enjoys being with large crowds of people all the time. Lisa hates time when there is no one around; she feels lost and bored during those times. Guided by the sincere desire to be around people, Lisa lives in a huge apartment with a dozen of roommates, works as a salesperson and spends her evenings in the bars.
C. Refinement: In the above mentioned case, Lisa is social but not admirably “Dushevnii”. The aspect of being social that is related to my V is experiencing a sincere desire to be around people is a result of self-sufficiency, rather than dependency on people around. A“Dushevnii” person feels deep connection to some people, not to random people around; he or she further enriches one’s inner world through meaningful relationships with people which are considered his/her soul-mates.
5. A. The next word is “self-sufficient”.
B. Counterexample: Bob is self-sufficient person. He lives by himself in a huge apartment in Downtown Boston. He hasn’t seen his parents for 15 years and he also doesn’t have any friends because he doesn’t need them. He earns enough money as an accountant and doesn’t need any support from anyone else.
C. Refinement: A kind of self-sufficiency that is related to admirable “Dushevnii” is characterized by enriched inner world, and not the abundance of material wealth.
6. A. Let’s take the word “empathic”
B. Counterexample: A politician is donating a huge some of money to a local children’s hospital. Voters might think that he is empathic to the needs of others; however, his true intentions were to gain support of his voters. It’s not his inner motivation that guides him, but rather a desire to become famous.
C. What kind of empathy is always related to admirable “Dushevnii”? Only sincere desire to help others and inner motivation to care for people around oneself is related to admirable “Dushevnii”. Feeling another’s pain as one’s own is something what motivates a person and manifests itself in acts of kindness. Empathy is inner state that guides a person to feel for other people for its own sake and not for any material rewards.
Unifying the second part… Being admirably “Dushevnii” is to have an enriched inner world that motivates a person to be around a selected group of people, not because of boredom, but because he or she feels deeply connected to them and further enriches one’s inner world through communication with these people. An enriched inner world gives “Dushevnii” person an ability to feel for others and motivates to be responsive to the needs of others.
Emotionality and wisdom
7. A. Let’s take the word “Emotional”.
B. Counterexample: Richard is very emotional. His feelings overwhelm him and he can’t control them. Once on his way to work he got into an accident which was the other driver’s fault. As a result Richard became so angry at the driver that he started screaming and when he completely lost control of his emotions he became physical with the other person.
C. So we have emotional person who is not “Dushevnii”. Perhaps, the part of being emotional that is necessary for admirable “Dushevnii” is the aspect of emotionality that allows a person to deeply feel one’s emotions and to be guided by inner feelings in difficult situations but in a way that is considered of other people’s needs. One is wisely guided by one’s feelings.
8. A. Let’s take the phrase “wisely guided by one’s feelings”.
B. Counterexample: Erica’s feelings tell her to donate $1000 to a children’s hospital. However, she decides that it would be more rational at the moment to renovate her house.
C. It seems that Erica is not “Dushevnii”. An admirably “Dushevnii” person is guided by one’s feelings that come from an enriched inner-world. Otherworldly and worldly characteristics discussed above will guide one’s actions in a way to ensure that only fair decisions will be made. Empathic attitudes, deep understanding, keen discernment and a capacity for sound judgment will guide a “Dushevnii” person in his decision-making.
Unifying the third part… An admirably “Dushevnii” person deeply feels one’s emotions and is guided in his actions by his inner feelings and wisdom.
Unifying all that have been said about being admirably “Dushevnii”…
I propose that the essence of the virtue “Dushevnii” is an enriched inner world. How are other concepts related to the essence? Enriched inner world allows a person not to be bored when being alone, so that “Dushevnii” person seeks relationships only with people whom he/she feels deeply connected (so called soul-mates). Enriched inner world urges a person to ponder the universal issues rather than worry about materialistic problems. However, admirably “Dushevnii” person doesn’t feel disconnected from worldly affairs; he/she enjoys material benefits (i.e. excited to move up a professional ladder, have a nice apartment and a nice car). An enriched inner world allows a person to establish deep connections with others and gives a person an ability to feel for other people and help when needed. An enriched inner world stipulates for having an enriched emotional life and be guided by wisdom in one’s actions.
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More Sample Socratic Discussions by Former Students. (These give some general idea about the elements of a good Socratic discussion. Some are written following a somewhat different set of instructions.)
responsible, loyal, diligent, disciplined, orderly
altruistic, caring, thoughtful, polite, courteous, gracious,
kind, compassionate, empathic, sympathetic,
understanding, tolerant, non-judgmental, affable, friendly,
gentle
creative, spontaneous, in touch with feelings, natural,
genuine, open, sincere,
unique, being oneself, authenticity, proud, self-confident,
independent, self-assertive,
self-aware, unpretentious, down-to-earth
respectful, obedient, law-abiding, cooperative, modest,
humble
ambitious, energetic, serious, driven, hard-working, tough,
inner strength, self-assertive,
brave, willing to take risks
optimistic, looking on the bright side, cheerful, sense of
humor
sensual, enjoys life, loves nature, cares for the planet,
capable of great intimacy and deep friendship,
appreciates art and music, savoir
faire, self-actualized, devoted to self-fulfillment
pure, calm, self-possessed, chaste, unmaterialistic,
otherworldly
integrity, intellectual honesty, rational autonomy,
willingness to question, truth-seeking
wise, experienced, thoughtful, prudent,
cautious, careful, broad knowledge
balanced, moderate, sober