62: How To Master Self Control - Socrates (Socratic Skepticism)

Philosophies for Life

Socrates - How To Master Self Control (Socratic Skepticism)
One fundamental teaching of Socrates refers to the theme of self control. According to Socrates, wisdom or philosophy allows people to adopt self-control and to do what is right in their life. To achieve self control, people must be free from their appetites for bodily pleasures, like food, drink, sex and other physical comforts. For example, Socrates was famous for going barefoot and dressing as simply as possible, managing to control his own passions, desires, and appetites. His asceticism - or severe self-discipline - is difficult to follow in our modern lives as for many of us such a lifestyle is neither practical nor desirable.
In spite of this, he can still teach us to enhance our self-control, and to help you better understand his teachings regarding the mastery of self-control and how best to implement them into your own life, here are 3 lessons from the wisdom of Socrates:
01. Be in control of your bodily desires
02. Be Just
03. Know yourself
I hope you enjoyed listening to this podcast and hope these 3 ways to master self-control will add value to your life.
Socrates lived between 469 and 399 B.C.E. and he is one of the most famous philosophers in the entire history of humankind. He is sometimes considered as the founder of the Western philosophy and his work reflects the philosophy of Skepticism, which has as its main base that knowledge can be obtained through systematic doubt and continual testing. Although Socrates hasn't written anything, he has forever changed philosophy itself. Most of the things we know today about his philosophy came from Plato, Aristophanes and Xenophon whose writings are in the form of dialogues between Socrates and other Athenians. These writings gave birth to a new literary genre called the Socratic dialogue. Unfortunately, he is also famous for his tragic life. In 399 BCE, he was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and of failing to acknowledge the city's official gods. After a trial that lasted just a single day, he was sentenced to death. He spent his last day in prison, refusing to escape. The way his life ended can be considered as the founding myth of philosophy as a discipline. For one to really practice philosophy, they have to go against societal norms, to question everything even at the risk of their own peril. Everything about Socrates was impressive: his appearance, personality, and behaviour, as well as in his views and methods. And this made many of the people around him to write about him, including Plato. It is unfortunate that Socrates did not write at all and all we have is indirect evidence. Also, it is said that each age produces a Socrates of its own, however there are some core fundamental teachings of the original Socrates that transcend the centuries.