Socrates vs. the Sophists on Ethics

In this lecture series, Dr. Peter Kreeft examines key ideas in philosophy by comparing and contrasting two representative philosophers in each episode.
In lecture 1, Dr. Kreeft examines the father of philosophy, Socrates, who paved the way for reason by defining terms clearly and proving conclusions logically. He discusses the importance of understanding Socrates in order to be able to respond to the philosophy of the Sophists, whose philosophy is marked more by cleverness than by wisdom, more by appearance than by truth, and more by emotion than by logic. Today, this philosophy has reemerged, and it has taken root in our current culture.
To learn more about these philosophers and the other major philosophers who helped shape the world, check out Dr. Kreeft's book series, "Socrates' Children: An Introduction to Philosophy from the 100 Greatest Philosophers": books.wordonfire.org/socrates...
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[@antoniomoyal]

Peter Kreeft speaking for WOF. What a treat!

[@tylerconrad453]

This can only be described as a masterful lecture.

[@gijoe508]

I could listen to Peter Kreeft talk all day, the man is never boring

[@8028rsj]

Dr. Kreeft is such a gift. Thank you for making such a complex subject seem so simple

[@hrabmv]

Thank you for this gem! After spending 10 minutes on linked in where people praise the knowledge of self-promotion and marketing as some great new wisdom or science, this makes me smile

[@michaelhaynes6172]

Absolutely brilliant! I liked the way Kreeft informed, contrasted, and related his teaching to our life and times. Thank you Dr. Kreeft, Bishop Barron, and Word on Fire.

[@lydiag8368]

Dr. Kreeft is incredible! Listening to him is such a treat, sitting at the feet of a genius.

[@greggoodrich5189]

What are your standards for genius status? Do you simply mean you really like listening to him?

[@dawncornwall6268]

You must be a rabbi.

[@cameronturner3108]

Why is Peter Kreeft so great ?! How can someone synthesize western history in such a masterful way?

[@thanksanyway.3330]

Bishop Barron is far better!

[@pheidipp]

@@thanksanyway.3330 Both are great; they partake of the most sublime tradition.

[@servantoftheexpander9688]

@Daniel Hudec Not just clueless reading. Philosophical reading. Reading for love, with love and by love.

[@user-hu4lv2ml4q]

Easy, claim to admire Socrates but in fact go back sophistry which is now called apologetics.

[@pheidipp]

@@user-hu4lv2ml4q Any who argue for a position are apologists. Witness Plato's Apology.

[@manuelzelaya7084]

Wow simply amazing!! Two heroes of mine, bishop Barron and Kreeft working together. May God bless you both and your works!

[@b.melakail]

Hope they give us a discussion one day

[@cristinaperez5081]

True enlightenment indeed. I cannot blink, I cannot stop listening. Thank you Dr. Kreeft.

[@kathleenodonnell-bustin8207]

FABULOUS. Thank you so much! Please, more talks like this to help us stiffen our resolve and give us the joy of seeking the Truth.

[@anthonypatafio8016]

Peter kfreek video socfrstescand childen

[@joancc]

Dr. Peter Kreeft, Word on Fire and Bishop Robert Barron give you TRUTH!

[@JullianRoman]

SUPREME! What an original thinker!!! 👏👏👏

[@stevecole3192]

Stunning. Dr. Kreeft had and kept my attention for 30 plus minutes. Thank you sir.

[@krystynapodwalnaabebe4758]

Thank you very much!

[@meandmysis2779]

Interesting. Looking forward for more. Thank you.

[@paysonmarosarioronquillo8229]

This is why I love philosophy simple and complex in the same time Thank you for this ❤

[@randallpeaslee1779]

I started watching this series last night. Word on Fire, once again you've hit a grand slam! Thank you so much for working with Dr. Kreeft on this.

[@themirrorflattersnot]

Wow. What a video essay. That was superb.

[@koshollekgregory7328]

Wow, I could listen to him lecture all day!!!

[@brianfreeland7716]

Dr. Kreeft as a history teacher of 18 years and a Christian for 24 years. I appreciate the wisdom, knowledge and understanding you have exposed that connects the value of philosophy as a vital aspect of universal education. Thank you

[@daveg7585]

Wow! Peter Kreeft is a treasure. That was amazing!

[@rshier8422]

WOW.. What a blessing to be able to listen this and learning philosophy. Thank you and God Bless.🙏📿✝

[@shadowfax4592]

This was incredibly compelling. I can't say thank you enough.

[@aleksandrablaszczyk5971]

Thank you ❤🙏

[@richardprice4714]

Thank you for making these lectures and placing them online for all, free access. They are terrific and I'm learning so much.

[@paperweight57]

Excellently done!

[@laurarosales6734]

This is a great series. I've been wanting my high school son to learn about philosophy but from great source I don't know what better source than Dr. Kreeft. Each summer we spend time learning about important subjects. This summer Socrates' Children will be our focus. Thank you!

[@DavidRodriguez-cm2qg]

Wise deciSion. Your son will literally earn an unofficial Bach degree if he reads "handbook Christian apologetics" and "socratic logic"

[@cristinamaiocco6245]

Very well done. This lecture was captivating.

[@enzocabrera4440]

The amount of knowledge and wisdom this man shows is incredible. It makes you really value the great minds that shape our world and push us at the same time to fight for the preservation of these ones.

[@rdc8089]

Brilliant!

[@arinzedike9693]

May God bless Dr. Kreeft for these gems of life and wisdom! I'm much richer and better after listening to these lectures.

[@stepheninderlied5091]

These are by far one of the best lecture series I have found on philosophy right next to "awakening from the meaning crisis" ... Maybe even better because it feels a little more in depth. My new favorite lecture series and I am so deeply grateful to the curators of this amazing channel. Thank you!

[@candelarialuque8372]

This is Great ! Thanks WOF! Thanks Dr Peter Kreeft!

[@onaleemcgraw4048]

Thank you, one of the best presentations ever to give us understanding and courage....

[@jess96154]

Amazing series! Thank you Dr. Kreeft and WoF for putting this together!

[@cameronshorkey843]

This may now be my favorite thing on the internet

[@PaoloGasparini-ux2kp]

So is for me

[@MarquesGoetsch]

Thank you Word on Fire and Dr. Kreeft! I love you both!

[@jimdingley565]

This is re- opening my mind and inspiring me to learn and relearn the classics and great philosophers. It also reaffirms my love of Jesus Christ. His message continues to blow my mind everyday. Put me upside down so I can experience being right side up.

[@MarlonSamir7]

What a wonderful material, I'd wished in college we'd be guided by these amazing propositions. Sadly that's a huge problem nowadays. Thank you guys you all.

[@alphamale3141]

Terrific lecture. Thank you. An approach to philosophy that I have never heard/read during my 36 years of reading the great works of western civilization.

[@iqgustavo]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:25 🧠 Socrates is considered the father of philosophy, practicing logic and wisdom to define truth and distinguish it from falsehood. 01:04 🏛️ The foundation of Western philosophy lies with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, with their influence shaping both philosophy and sciences. 02:12 🌍 Western history of philosophy and religion can be envisioned as two rivers emerging from mythology and merging in the Roman world, Christian culture being a product of this convergence. 02:49 🌌 Greek reason and Hebrew faith opposed the imaginative mythic thinking of their time, with reason focusing on logic and clear definitions, and faith emphasizing public revelations and moral writings. 05:10 ⚖️ The fusion of Socratic reason and Judeo-Christian faith led to the formation of Christian culture or Christendom, a spiritual order lasting for 1500 years until the Renaissance and Reformation. 06:08 🔀 The Reformation and Renaissance initiated a split culture, with the Reformation aiming to free religion from Greek rationalism, and the Renaissance aiming to restore classical glory while divorcing science and art from faith. 08:26 🌐 Post-modernism lacks consensus but generally emphasizes the collapse of objective reason and the rise of subjective feeling, leading to a fractured cultural landscape. 09:21 💡 Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, founders of modern existentialism, find their inspiration and opposition in Socrates and Jesus as central figures. 10:30 🧘 Socrates and Jesus, despite their profound differences, share significant similarities, such as their humility, martyrdom, monotheism, and profound impact on Western civilization. 13:05 📚 Both Socrates and Jesus didn't publish writings extensively, emphasizing oral teachings, and their lasting legacies impact the world in multiple ways. 14:47 🐸 Appearance-wise, Socrates and Jesus were unremarkable, but they stood out for their teachings and influence. 25:01 💬 The Sophists were itinerant teachers skilled in persuasion, selling their techniques for success in Athens' democracy and trial by jury system. 26:08 🕊️ Socrates challenged the Sophists by advocating for truth and justice over manipulation and emotional appeals, aiming to prioritize right over might. 27:34 📚 Socrates' dialogues, as recorded by Plato, provide an exceptional introduction to philosophy. 28:03 🎭 Socrates opposed moral relativism and subjectivism of the Sophists, emphasizing objective truth and moral goodness. 28:43 🤝 Socrates valued truth over power, fame, or wealth, practicing reasoning, defining terms, and logical argumentation. 29:25 🕊️ Sophists mastered fallacies, manipulation, and emotional appeal in their persuasive tactics. 30:23 🔍 Sophists like Gorgias denied objective truth, knowledge, and meaningful communication (logos). 31:06 🎭 Sophism led to moral relativism: Might makes right, and justice is a mask for power. 32:19 💡 The deconstructionist philosophy denies objective truth, emphasizes subjective power, and is a challenge to culture. 33:34 🙏 Socrates refuted relativism with the idea that God, not man, is the measure of all things. 34:02 🔒 Deconstructionism denies objective reality and meta-narratives, using words as weapons. 34:57 🔥 Deconstructionism's warfare is focused on race, class, gender, seeking power rather than truth. 35:38 🚫 Hitler's influence, Nietzsche's disciple, continues through deconstructionism, shaping modern ideologies. 36:20 🌐 Soft totalitarianism of deconstructionism weakens the West, while hard totalitarianism gains strength. Made with HARPA AI

[@alex.vgeorge125]

I have no words to appreciate you. Great insight in philosophy. Those who are understanding philosophy and reader of philosophy only know it,s value.

[@flappyturtlesnatch]

How I wish I could give you more than a mere thumbs up and share. This was amazing

[@veronicawong2584]

Thank you very much! By listening to you I’ve learned so much. I must listen to all of your lectures again and again 🙏🏻

[@June261975]

Could WOF post a playlist with all the lectures in this series?

[@June261975]

kzbin.info/aero/PLIy3OR_Ll4gT1YjHfw8mP1wQyURo-wJ_Z

[@joelmontero9439]

Amazing

[@winstonbarquez9538]

Socrates was mainly an ethicist; Plato an idealist; and Aristotle a realist.

[@thangtrantrung5876]

Amazing lecture!

[@kinnish5267]

excellent and I will watch the whole series

[@jeffsmith1798]

This is a brilliant lecture.

[@robertjarman4261]

Greetings from Russia 🇷🇺 Peter Kreefe is excellent. Look up the talk he gave on Alexander Solzhenisin.

[@Romeses33]

Thank you!

[@Romeses33]

Great video!

[@sonnyvarioni1654]

These are great, but could you put them in a playlist, please? Thanks!

[@HendrickAlbina]

This is nourishing 💯

[@maninironmask7925]

Incredible lecture

[@rajpoot99]

Felt blessed on finding this series and work by the respected Peter Kreeft. The whole debate boils down to the ability or otherwise to affirm divine Creator. Your endeavor is of the greatest or perhaps the only importance. It would be tragic to direct it mainly towards the cultural questions or a defence or denial of the historical injustices. As in here and hereafter Christ is and l be the refuge of the downtrodden.

[@tadjohnson7615]

Three requests. 1. Give this "lecture series" a title. 2. Make a playlist for this "lecture series". 3. Drop the background noise. Given Dr. Kreeft's deserved stature and the importance of what he is saying I think that these are reasonable requests. The background noise does interfere with his voice.

[@anniebanderet]

Wonderful!!!!

[@brandonkalarney]

Excellent

[@dynamic9016]

Very insightful.

[@petergreen8477]

This is brilliant, of course. A crucial component of Dr. Kreeft's argument is strongly supported by Iain McGilchrist - the neurological basis of what happens when we privilege our empirical mind from our imaginative mind.

[@michaelmccartin4035]

Genius and funny, too!

[@JaniceMLeCocq]

Fabulous!

[@juliank7408]

You should maybe add Dr. Peter Kreeft to the title or thumbnail, so more could find it 🙂

[@mrwhisk863]

I love these but why add the water sound in the background? I keep hitting pause to check if I’ve left the water tap open.

[@justforrfunnn]

“Advertising was I vented by the devil in the garden of Eden” 🤯 never thought of it 😂

[@antonifortis1084]

I would love to sit and discuss and debate philosophy with this guy, I very much enjoy his oratory

[@lauchlan7111]

Great content, but why do we have to listen to the muzak in the background? It is distracting and tends to lull you to sleep.

[@kithsirinonis7900]

very inspiring.

[@dbodde]

An exemplary piece of Whig History in describing the modern era.

[@rafaelaprende]

Para quitarse el sombrero.

[@lirich0]

I can feel the conservatism dripping from your refusal to differentiate epistemological relativism from diversity and democracy

[@PaoloGasparini-ux2kp]

A few years ago, I proposed to a leading European Catholic cultural site that Dr Kreeft should also be included among its epigones. I was very saddened by the lack of attribution. Today, I understand the profound reasons found in this lesson on Socrates. We are unable, as Catholics, either in politics, or in the cultural debate, to let the cat out of the bag, except perhaps I'd call hyper-traditionalists, who usually lack humility. On the other hand, modernists largely prevail, I think, either in theology and media. Europe, unlike the USA, has, in its political and cultural establishment, fully embraced moral relativism and abortion, the greatest enemy of peace. I quote Dr Kreeft (from: "A Refutation of Moral Relativism"): "Because these relativists turn out to be not relativistic at all about one thing: their relativism. That's their one non-negotiable absolute. There's usually one other one: abortion. I never heard of a pro-life relativist. All good "liberals" have to pass the litmus test and support their society's Holocaust. And that's another big lie: that it's somehow "liberal" (...) (the right to abort, my euphemism). Can't you see it? The very language shows the hypocrisy. Relativism's not just a philosophy, because philosophy is rational and open to reason. It's their creed, their faith, their religion. Or their love, or their lover." In the Ivory Coast, the bride and groom eat a nut at their wedding. If later the man usually wants to divorce, the elders get together and allow him, if he can vomit the nut first. Europe has divorced her husband, the Christ. His religion is overthrown. It asks as a condition for being admitted to its secular marriage, cultural debate and admission to public offices, to eat before the two relativistic axioms first, or at least not to be implicitly contrary to them. My hope is prayer and fast and faithfulness in the Church, the Pope, now ill. Let’s pray for him. Like today's saint, St. Leonardo Murialdo, and on the vigil of the Holy Week, I have experienced divine mercy since the years of my youthful crisis. Therefore I say that it is necessary to let ourselves be loved by the Lord Jesus. Saint Leonardo spoke of «three miracles of God's love. The Crib with the Child Jesus: He teaches us humility, poverty, resignation. Calvary with Jesus Crucified: it is the chair that teaches the great truths of God's love for men and of men's love for God. The Eucharist with Jesus in the Sacrament: it is the perfection of love; Jesus comes to us, he loves us, he joins us". Thank you very much indeed, Msgr. Robert Barron, and Dr Peter Kreeft.

[@marktichar1546]

The background noise is very bothering and takes from listening to Peter. Can it be removed?

[@kerwinbrown4180]

Hitler and Stalin were both collectivists. The former followed corporatism and the later adhered to socialism. Individualism is the sole remaining ideology and the closes it gets to collectivism is social contracts. I would like to hear Dr. Kraft's views on Natural Law theory from both it's pre-fall and post-fall humanity viewpoints.

[@anneturner2759]

Just WOW !

[@robinmiller4861]

Please get rid of the music/sfx under Dr Kreeft's words which need no embellishment

[@davemoore7808]

Truly, may God pray for us.

[@affiliatereviews4079]

I act, believe, feel, and think, therefore I am.

[@betauser6233]

Great examples of how Jesus and Socrates were similar.

[@nathanngumi8467]

Word!

[@darrellee8194]

I don’t necessarily agree with his Logos, but at least he has one, and it is what put the fire in his words and makes his ideas so cogent.

[@MacShrike]

Why do you say “we lost the vietnam war”? What was there to win? Was the war itself not the loss? I do not understand that in the context of socrates vs sophism.

[@user-px6vi9en6l]

Great lecture. Please turn off the running water....

[@user-yx5yv3vq9c]

Woody & Buzz are the best Toy Story characters

[@aninjathtpwndu]

I thought ignoring all the pre-Socratics was irresponsible, especially concerning the concept of Logos, also I found the invocation of modern culture’s Satan just as empty and eye rolling as always. But besides that this was really good and I look forward to the rest of the series

[@Calvaryscout]

interesting as electives in college i took sophistry, did alright... and hermes tristmagista... irrational kefluffle.... to my socratic Physics , business admin, and minor in neurology..... yet. lump Plato and Aristotle into sophist company which both begat Alexander, and thus severe Socrates from Alexander. and through those classes i see democrats are very sophisticated and thus i rarley support them and am often at odds with them. Thanks for the enlightenment.

[@CathDad4]

7:30 bookmark

[@caritamundo9316]

Christendom is also now being challenged in every front in Asia specially in a more Catholic country such as the Philippines on which people lacks catechism to understand and appreciate the truth which the Church is

[@Philip-uy3bx]

...and the effort to dramatize it and, hence, perpetuate it.

[@EnFuego79]

The title is completely misleading. This is "How Jesus and Socrates are similar" and this is far from a scholarly examination. Kreefts logic text is excellent, not sure what's going on here with the litany of logical fallacies being hurled.

[@aungthangshane4288]

37:05 "I welcome you back from your nice long vacation on some other planent" - those who use persuasion than truth...

[@halimk1777]

One striking resemblance between Socrates and Jesus is that their closest and most trusted disciple, Plato and Peter, were absent during their passions or deaths.

[@stephencotter538]

Nice hidden Red Sox reference at the very end.

[@stephencotter538]

"Reverse the curse."

[@kathleengleason8589]

A light in the dark😊

[@johnkalbert2014]

Praise the Lord

[@stephen5119]

A lovely talk ruined for me by the low-level , persistent , intrusive and wholly unnecessary background music. Is there a version of these talks (or an option) where I may listen to this engaging speaker and his pleasant delivery without this distracting cacophony?

[@eagleswings5693]

A wise man words will educate the ignorant and feed his soul .