01 - Socrates on Self-Confidence - Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness

[@GabrielaaCOLOMBIANA]

What a brilliant man. He TRULY changed HUMANITY. May there be more men like Socrates, and our world will surely be a better place to live. Socrates passed his beliefs to us, let us now pass it to this and many more generations to come. Never forget this man and may he Rest In Piece.

[@SeanPIStewart]

wow just finished watching this, i started to cry so much respect for him, can you image the courage of a man who has a wife who he loves and he stood for what he believed even to his death. thats just incredible. thank you for posting this

[@GrumpyOldMan9]

Love the metaphore in the end, with the philosopher driving the sheep apart with his bike.

[@DLKUNATHIII]

You can never stamp out truth or free spirit, many have tried and yet most of us know who Socrates is even to this day, the truth will never die

[@critic1643]

Alain De Botton is close in his line of thinking to the ancient Greeks and we can see the clarity of his ideas in his wonderful videos. He is another light in this dark world of man. He sees the large picture not just certain truths that may be common, nice proverbs on the wall people hardly actually follow practically. He came from a wealthy family but didn't follow in a path of decadence and indulgence as many celebrities today do. He could be born anywhere and stand out. I feel humbled.

[@TheGildedStar]

REAL TALK: I'm basically a total loser with no friends, I spend all day on the computer. I haven't had the faintest idea of how I'm ever supposed to get out of this, as it seems impossible to make friends when you don't have any. Watching this has given me an idea: go up to strangers, and literally just ask them questions as done in this video. Who cares if some look at you odd? If they think you're weird? You're guaranteed to meet interesting people.

[@oddgerman3775]

did you do it

[@alergames147]

did you do it

[@tedoymisojos]

Im so thankfull for these videos. They help me so much with my mental life, with my perspective of things.

[@raymondlai5]

Hi spookybuk =), Thank you for taking the time and effort to both upload and share this video with the youtube family. I hope you have a nice day! =).

[@Marauder1981]

I studied sociology and my lecturer always added enough of philosophical content, to train us this way of thinking and the kind of texts. I really had to reread it multiple times to get to the core of many texts because I had never read such texts in school. My lecturer comes from Vienna they already read those texts in school. Thats a major advantage. Children really should be trained in reading this from an early age.

[@UkeGirl100]

It is good to recognize when the impulse to do something is YOURS and when it is SOMEONE ELSE'S. There is, however, more to being truly happy. In addition to the great suggestions made by the next couple videos (I haven't seen the whole series), I would state that seeing people with worse problems than you has been valuable to me. It really helps me to realize that I'm not the WORST OFF person in the world! (Not that I get a kick out of other peoples' misfortunes! It just helps.)

[@bartdikken7618]

I agree with you on that. It are not the written and spoken words that form someones way of thinking, but the actions people(here it includes spoken words too in some cases) around you undertake which lead to certain experiences. Written and spoken words can broaden the perspective when people are open to new ideas and possibly willing to accept them if they are reasonable.

[@bizzwoofer]

This is great, and I wish everyone in the world would watch this. When the swaths of people go on not challenging their beliefs and opinions, we all end up paying severely in the end for it. We need more thinkers like Socrates, and not only that but a society responsive to those beliefs as well. The cult of personality is far too prevalent I'm afraid.

[@philsmith206]

This gave me so much to think about. Maybe many of those who have watched this and commented on it missed the true meaning of what Socrates was saying. But then, maybe they are not being sheep and believing this as I did. Hail to the freedom of speech and opinions.

[@peterdavila3045]

Philosophy is the light that points the way for our mind to find its way out of the darkness that is perceived reality.

[@dnaisinmybody]

True. I find out quite often that what I read is what I've already learnt. For me, instead of learning from it I confirm what I already know. When you experience things first hand, you actually mean what you say and believe in it too. No amount of reading will ever be enough to replace real life experiences.

[@danielcarneiro1908]

Our opinions are unreliable, they change all the time, because of the impermanence of things, eliminating our ego, we will notice that we dont need to be right all the time.

[@mrgoldirocks]

Really Excellent! The message that I took away: We can each stop being a sheep and become a thinking person.

[@eunnikins]

I felt so gratified when the lady said she didn't understand english and he started talking to her in french. I want to learn languages

[@ovni4036]

The best quote I ever read: " If you are so smart, why are you so poor?" Those great and wise people were broke and lived very miserable lives. One classic example was Da Vinci; he was almost naked, no money, no power, no friends. You have the obligation to know what kind of information and knowledge is sellable, practical and profitable. Work without rewards is STUPID.

[@meinungabundance7696]

+ovni4036 because some people prefer to think and to know than to run after money, you dummy! For philosophers and artists, the work itself is rewarding. you just cannot grasp it.

[@reihayashilim3362]

Just because the majority supported an opinion does it make it right.

[@BarthelemyLesaint]

When asked "What does justice mean?" the french tourist answered : "I'm not from here,I'm in holiday".... I'm ashamed to be French, from now on I'm Swiss.

[@rhearamjohn4792]

💀💀💀

[@xerox2610]

👌👍😅😂🤣

[@bluePearlMike]

I am debating on whether when I return to college, choosing Philosophy as a second major. I love the subjects and being able to not conform blindly but to truly us my mind for understanding/finding certain truths. The difficulty I have about choosing this major is getting lost in thoughts without purpose or getting caught into rants that go nowhere but to just point how little we all know and understand. I am believer in the Christian philosophy, it's living purpose. I believe that this major will help me understand this faith deeper. I am not afraid to let my mind explore other beliefs BUT I have seen many who get lost not satisfied with unanswered thought/truths. From my honors philosophy course, it seems as though this is the goal of professors is to put someone in this lost state as a goal (rite of passage perhaps) so one can think more diverse which I think would be important to better construct thought but not a destination. However, I am not about to abandon my beliefs through this process. I have felt the most peace and true happiness from it. My religion teaches that truth can be found everywhere and are invited to gain this truth and bring it into our lives. I am LDS. Any feedback is good.

[@jonaseriksen3885]

Well, i will answer the best that i can, or what i think might be the best. While you walk on this path that you choose, you might learn, and, well, from what i understand, learning is the thing you search for. Meanwhile, what you learn might not always be what you want to hear, and it might challenge you to question beliefs, and many other things. I may not be a christian, and that might affect my statements, but whatever that you choose to believe, or not believe in, think hard, very hard on it, as you may never know what is right, maybe, god isn't there? Well, of course, you are allowed to believe, in anything that you do want to. But personally, i found that... I live my life as i want to, i dont believe in god, neither do i disbelief in him, i wont worship him either, as i don't know him, really, all in all, i just want to live free from the rules that religion gives me, yet, i wont strictly say there is no higher power, maybe there is maybe not, maybe one day i will find out. But, even if you don't believe in christianity, i do have to say there are many pieces of gold found within it, now, that might be tied to it's philosophy that you spoke about. I make a recommendation on just taking a bit of each, and think hard on it.

[@Defnotdoge]

Go for it! School Philosophy is much more controlled and rants tend to end once they get "too deep."

[@shelleywinters6763]

christian philosophy oxymoron. Do you seek truth or true belief? Faith is not truth

[@AtCw593]

Australia man. It's the new center of philosophy. They take it pretty seriously down there; it's in the education system and everything. I know it's a small sample, but the Aussies here were giving the most adequate answers

[@shelleywinters6763]

I live in Australia and took an introduction course in philosophy at uni and that put me off philosophy because our tutor didn't first teach us about Logical Fallacies. With my interactions with people, including discussion groups, I found them to be superficial. So I'd really like to know where these people are in Australia? Maybe you are in Sydney

[@lolaribalta8551]

Alain de bottom you rock!

[@TheRealSandorClegane]

Lola Ribalta botton*

[@donluchitti]

Love this when our guide starts engaging people on the street in conversation. It validates my own favorite past time of hollering at cute ladies in public, chit chat. If one trods this trail too capriciously, they find it's very easy to tred into being percieved as creepy, confrontational or an ass-hole! It's truly for the bold, but there's no other rush quite like it because if you talk as if everything is accessible to you, it's very cathartic.

[@stephenkirby1455]

‘Most of us stand poised at the edge of brilliance, haunted by the knowledge of our proximity, yet still demonstrably on the wrong side of the line.’ Alain de Botton, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009) Most of us stand poised at the edge of understanding the truth, not quite grasping that the daily accessing of the genius, and more, capabilities of the intelligence we each received at the moment of our creation is the process for accessing knowledge which proximates our empirically perspectivized knowledge with the truth that we feel our perception elucidates. ‘...our dealings with reality undermined by a range of minor yet critical psychological flaws (a little too much optimism, an unprocessed rebelliousness, a fatal impatience or sentimentality).’ Alain de Botton, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009) Our dealings with the reality of our perception are undermined by a range of moderate, yet overcomable, perspective flaws (vested-ness in information only masquerading as the truth, which both reside as clutter within our subconscious mind, and as a daily bombardment of biases and undue influences from the culture which surrounds each one of us.) ‘We are like an exquisite high-speed aircraft which for lack of a tiny part is left stranded beside the runway, rendered slower than a tractor or bicycle.’ Alain de Botton, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009) We humans possess genius, and more, capabilities of intelligence, which for lack of a tiny piece of individual understanding, leaves us stranded beside the highway of life, rendered stupider and slower by our free will choices to only meet the ‘average’ to ‘stupid’ levels of the norms and expectations of the culture in which we are compelled to exist to survive. Seek Truth. Seek Your Truth. Experience the happier-ness of accessing the Whole Truth. And then you’ll know. That is the truth. I am an everyman, if I can do it, anyone can.

[@oedrogonzalez7056]

what an inspiring video; thanks

[@radermachera8204]

Watching in 2020... still interesting!

[@judithcorstjens2650]

How can he ride that motorbike without a helmet - that valuable brain!!!

[@socalrocks9082]

Judith Corstjens That’s not a motorbike. That’s a scooter! Scooters are like fat chicks, they’re fun to ride until your friends find out. Lol. Only difference from a scooter and a motorcycle is that you can feel the wind blow in your vagina on a scooter.

[@rhearamjohn4792]

@@socalrocks9082 tf🤣🤣🤣🤣💀💀💀

[@xolclint]

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Studying about something doesn't make anyone happy unless they find the answers to the problems. I believe it will actually make one less happy. Unless someone is willing to change their beliefs, values, & reasons for existence, then they shouldn't pursue this field. Those changes can be very painful if one isn't honest enough to allow the changes to take place.

[@jeadte]

Lets actually get the definition of philosophy: Philo is a lover or seeker of Sophia which is knowledge, wisdom or truth. It does not regard opinion. It only embraces truth. I, for one, find tremendous joy and happiness from an enhanced ability to discern this from that over opinion and belief systems that blind one as a slave chained in the cave. If one is not willing to challenge their own beliefs or actually examine them, when an opportunity arises to do so, they remain in a state of un-enlightenment and a condition which may be likened to a mental disease, therefore ALL should pursue this field of study, it is, after all, the most important of thing to study and the critical thinking fostered at an early age to avoid the dark ages of the mind, which seem to be still here to some degree in various facets.

[@xolclint]

jeadte Pilate made an interesting statement to Jesus Christ when he said, "What is truth?" I would say that the truth that you embrace is fleeting and subject to change rather than absolute as you elude to. Do you still believe the truths that you embraced when you were 5 years old? Your dark ages statement is interesting & says many things to me. First off, it means that you are claiming chronological snobbishness. That man has evolved into an 'enlightened' being over the course of many years. I believe man is as he has always been. Selfish & full of pride by default. Challenging one's own beliefs is an excellent exercise, as long as one has an unselfish plumb line to judge oneself by. If you are using your own standard as the plumb line, Then I believe that that would get you nowhere except back to where you started. Selfish....Shalom

[@jeadte]

"Pilate made an interesting statement to Jesus..." what is your point here? How is it, tell me oh enlightened one, how are the truths that I embrace fleeting and subject to change? Is the Pythagorean Theorem fleeting, in your point of view? I have had many paradigm shifts in my life, and am not a closed minded individual (this has been proven to be a good strategy to prevent the brain from atrophy and remain plasticity in its ability to continue to absorb new ideas, you may choose otherwise), I recognize the difference, though, between belief and truth or knowledge. You ask if I still believe in truths I embraced when I was 5. Firstly that sentence makes no sense. I did not believe a truth, a truth simply is. Beliefs I may have held, however, and these are as you stated only beliefs so they cannot be truth and belong only to opinion, have changed and I have become quick to determine opinion from fact, which is a goal of philosophy as it fosters critical thinking. Chronological snobbishness? You miss understood the context. The dark ages, if you were not aware, were a time in our history that information had been withheld from the people at large. We were dumbed down due to an oppressive system of rule and information was destroyed, therefore a darkness, not light, was the order of the day. So, your comment about man becoming an enlightened being is erroneous. Plato himself is a prime example of this fact that we have been enlightened much longer than many would suggest, you have to choose to become so, however. Your final comments are simply a handful of statements which is simply belief and therefore belong simply to the realm of opinion, which is below truth and knowledge, one could easily say they see around them good, kind and giving people. Mans selfishness seems to have come about by the socio-economic model we embrace-hey, but thats just my opinion.

[@xolclint]

jeadte I see your point & apologize for my misinterpretation. Of course the absolute truths such as mathematics don't change. My point was that our interpretations of truth perceptions changes. You are welcome to your opinion, but I believe that man is basically a selfish pig. I am by no means dogmatic in my beliefs. I have had to change them too many times to think otherwise.

[@Michaelprimeau]

Johanon Zimmerman man is a selfish pig? You never studied native American culture I see

[@kennethkennething4495]

Beauty is deceptive wisdom is a tree of life

[@bigfletch8]

Nice sentiment.May I suggest you have a re look. This place is a school, and Soc was a professor. He was (is) part of an unbroken line of such professors. The "better place to live", is not as a result of the school changing its purpose, but one's developing the potential of their own consciousness. "Rest in peace" ..he would love that. No rest for such masters..just a continual growing source of love.;

[@sarai6618]

Congrats. Just be yourself- that alone is a great achievement.

[@1voluntaryist]

I did not choose to be a philosopher because I believed it would make me happy. I wanted to think about what was important. That appealed to me more than anything else since I was about 10 or 11. I did not question that choice. It seemed self evident that both thinking and serious matters were all that really mattered. At seventy, I have not changed my mind.

[@GabrielaaCOLOMBIANA]

Beautifully said, my friend.Yes,you are right, however I guess I was aiming for a more general meaning. But,logically its not very accurate. He contributed such extraordinaire.Sometimes I wonder, if there would be another man who would have Socrates's ambition and attributes,but then I return to reality and realize such thoughts can never be. The saying, One in a Million,is sheerly dedicated to this genius. Our humble world wouldn't be the same,without his existence. Thank you for your reply!

[@lalah7272]

I am taking this class about Philosophy .

[@choipnugget]

This reminds me of an episode of Malcolm in the Middle where there's like a 7 year old genius boy who comes into the Krelboyne classroom, and Malcolm gets tutored by him later. Malcolm: "I mean for me it's like when I'm thinking really hard my brain starts making connections and those connections make other connections and it feels like a bomb going off. Is your brain like that?" Barton: "It's more like a beehive and every bee has a brain like yours."

[@ShivaShaktification]

if you want to make friends, try to find people with common interests and pursuits who you can (be of service to/benefit) by helping THEM achieve their interests/goals, if, in the process, you also benefit, even better.

[@rungsat1]

Your right, Alexander Hamilton was the one most fearful of mob rule. Although misquoted and mis-associated, it is a good and accurate quote, even if the accurate source can't be agreed upon.

[@irishman2985]

I'd agree with you that life experience is the best way to learn. But, comparing your personal experiences against others similar experiences (feelings, solutions, conclusions) gives you some perspective on your own experiences and the conclusions you've made.It's not always easy to go up to someone and ask such personal questions however, with libraries and book stores we have access to many people throughout our world's history who were willing to share. In my opinion. Cheers!

[@burnsport1]

Beautiful succinct little work

[@dnaisinmybody]

This was pretty much implied into what I said but it's also very true.

[@gary12xxx]

I love this video!

[@dandygrow]

What music is playing at 00:22 ? The riff is so cool, just like the video itself.

[@vadimtsykynovsky6784]

Very good film!!! Thanks!

[@timmymorris91]

The bass in my earphones at the beginning of this video was sick!

[@area52consultants20]

Thanks ! Very detailed.

[@Matthew93er]

What is the outro music for this video, roughly starting at 21:20? Would love to listen to it.

[@chottopakhi]

good one...

[@phanuwatsukit1791]

Hey everybody, I want theme music in this video in 0.20-0.41 what or where i can get it ? thank.

[@EmpiricalMonkey]

That pottery is mesmerizing..

[@garyjohnson9037]

thank you, now I understand, I must be related to Socrates, people do not like people who reveal their shallowness and hypocrisy, especially vain and arrogant wealthy power people who uses their intelligent for their own self interest regardless of who they trample, it is always easy to prevail when one is prepared to do what ever it takes to win. might makes right. makes a person wish that there was a God, but because there isn't one, powerful people will exploit peoples beliefs to get what they want, and what do people want but more wealth, power and fame. vanity is vanity. it is what motivates some to achieve some status of respect thru materialism.

[@writetothepoint1960]

Happiness is being able to think and live a healthy life.

[@oDUQIo]

I take Socrates as a critic of ideology.

[@bizzwoofer]

isn't he a proponent of it, though? He certainly does not promote NOT thinking, now wouldn't you agree? Having an ideology is better than not having one at all - and having a genuine or HONEST one, is most important.

[@JohnWilliams-km4hx]

Even if the sociological paradigm he loathed was of an ideological construction; he would not have confronted that ideal...rather, he'd have confronted its sheep: Exactly as he did. ...he was a critic of the conscious unresponsiveness and overall ignorance of those around him... and, most importantly to my mind, the philosophical implications that arise from contemplating the position of not claiming to 'have any answers'...and instead criticize those who never ask questions.

[@TheAvidBanana]

Beings smart enough to observe other beings from space on a planet that is not 'their own' suggests that they would understand that we simply are creatures, whatever name they give us is irrelevant, as is the one we give ourselves.

[@shabbarsuterwala]

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

[@ovni4036]

+Shabbar Suterwala That's no wisdom; that is stupidity and arrogance mixed and at the same time: A bad combination. In real life you will be considered some sort of a fool to say that about yourself.

[@soulreaperichig0]

+ovni4036 How is it arrogance?

[@colto2312]

One can connect the dots, however *thought* always comes before action. If all things exist in the mind (which is often illusory and wrong) then certainty is impossible. In this regard Des Carte is wrong in saying I think therefore I am. One should perceive the statement as: I am therefore I think?

[@ashdw2721]

+ovni4036 Clearly you haven't been watching the video. It's a quote. From Socrates by Plato.

[@ThymeFromti]

+Shabbar Suterwala that assertion is illogical because it implies you know something and that you don't know anything. If we can not know the truth what is the value in the truth? If the truth has no value what value is there in honesty or integrity? What is the point in valuing anything? How can you value your argument if you are indifferent to whether it is true or false?

[@DeSantiagoDavid]

This is so awesome

[@anonymous243124]

Education and Intelligence are two very different things. Since there is so much that goes into psychologically determining the make up of an individuals thought process, you can't rightly say there are stupid or smart people, generally speaking of course. There are only those whose decision of what to question, what to think on, and what to act on, all differ.

[@Rackatiakka]

YES! Nice, thanks buddy.

[@thewalrusx]

I ask people questions constantly, and get many of the same sorts of reactions. I don't fully understand why anyone would be very offended by a question, especially when i try to make it as open ended as possible.

[@bigfletch8]

There is a level of "group" consciousness that searches for wisdom (philosophy), and a level whereby the individual discovers it. Socrates was not searching (he knew), and was facilitating others search.

[@africanexplorermagazine]

5:40 His comment reminds me of the movie "12 Angry Men"

[@mentored1]

Great stuff... thanks for showing it.

[@hippiesmokes]

Exactly, you don't have to have logic and commen sense to win.. just the will of the majority.. just gotta convince them ur right

[@LaosilThePandaren]

Ignoring the amount of negative votes I have received, I shall tell you that it is because he related science with philosophy. He was an amazing mathematician and scientist, and a very smart person nonetheless, but he was not a philosopher. At the time though, such studies seemed extravagant and like philosophy. Thank you for acknowledging my opinion in a non-angry way though. :)

[@NewZealandWild]

Socrates was the original filthy punk rocker, lol.

[@andrewl14190]

Diogenes imo

[@JP-rf8rr]

12:39 can someone tell me where secrets said this? I don't remember hearing it in Apology.

[@islandplace7235]

我喜欢耶稣JP Hello, he often would give this example, refer to Socrates thoughts on democracy, he refers to this before. Often times he'd use the socratic method, quite often

[@JKwingfan]

There's a difference between fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. The latter is much easier to improve. Fluid intelligence can be increased to an extent through various exercises, but you're basically stuck with what you're born with. No amount of work is going to enable an ordinary person to make theoretical innovations like Einstein, compose like Beethoven, or write like Shakespeare.

[@TheSharice63]

Thank you for sharing:)

[@lovetownsend]

23:30 OMFG ROFL im legit crying that is the funniest ending credits iv ever seen

[@jacobbolado1853]

Lmaooo

[@bigfletch8]

Wisdom is subject to the law of confirmation, as opposed to the intellect, which accumulates information.

[@ChesterAsucka]

Pardon me, at first I thought your last statement made sense, but are there possible exceptions? Could reading material be even more valuable than life experiences? I think it could and often is, especially if it is derivative of much life experience and scientific proof. Did you consider that reading itself is also a life experience? With those thoughts I'd stress how important it is to find the correct reading material. What might be a better question: How do we find the best reading material?

[@DanialAlHakeem]

12:21 praanjili is in the video

[@jordanhowlett8284]

Did this guy do a TED talk?

[@Efilzeo]

well said!

[@ChesterAsucka]

How does this statement encourage the philosopher in us all? I like him, because he seems to genuinely care about raising awareness of our own perceptive capacities; hence, the video.

[@dnaisinmybody]

Maybe in your life experience books where more significant to you. As much as you can learn from a book, first hand experience is your own personal experience. My own principal back in high school told me there was around 70% of people who learnt from first hand better than by theory. I still accept books as a major form of influence but I personally start understanding things deeply after I can shape them from my own experiences.

[@metalphoenix09]

im12 and understood most of this... wow

[@sk1_nelly]

MetalPhoenix so you’re 18 now

[@NELSONG12]

11 days sober and I'm going to learn philosophy so i can build cottage to say and do what i mean.

[@the813butcher]

I agree with you very much!You know whats funny we have the same last name.

[@tommiaddict]

i feel you! because were the same...

[@jekyll7110]

What's that music in the end?

[@craigime]

supposed to discuss this in class.. not sure if the teacher's the uploader

[@rogerabbott8611]

Essence : 3:04

[@bigfletch8]

Well spotted t/g. :-). One aspect of wisdom, is to know the limit of the intellect.(yet another example of that of a great servant but a bad master)

[@metalphoenix09]

this is true...

[@TheLancer9]

what is the back gound score sax at 9.00

[@sudirc]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKbPdX6elJWsnZI

[@DisasterPhase]

best part is the music at the start

[@mattbarling6653]

As an ugly person, I have found this video strangely reaffirming.

[@bigfletch8]

What is justice? It just is.

[@paulmarathon5301]

12:30 socrates test

[@bkoolryn]

Is this a video adaptation of his Consolations of Philosophy?

[@DEEPGNOSTIC]

Well when describing color we are talking about people who are able to see the color spectrum. Obviously blind people can't see, but that doesn't mean the moon is not white.

[@Tritalas]

But what is color after all? How would you describe it to someone who never saw anything?

[@meivis1000]

I love it

[@ladu2104]

Прикольное видео! мне понравилось, молодец!) Вообще уважаю труд тех кто делает видео, и ведет свои каналы. Я сама веду канал и знаю, как это непросто - записывать ролики. Не останавливайся, продолжай!

[@DEEPGNOSTIC]

What would be a popular statement of common sense?

[@matthewpendleton7628]

Aristotle actually left Athens. This was because he was afraid that the people of Athens would "sin twice against philosophy."

[@rigofernandez830]

...in other words..that dude Socrates ,didn't give a crap what other people thought .

[@xoppa09]

this guy has dual accents , french and british ;)