Socrates, Metaphysics, and Philosophy as A Tool for Self Knowledge

How we move around in the everyday reflects our deeply held metaphysical commitments; examining our own hidden metaphysical commitments can help us live consciously.

Metaphysics is the study of what exists; it asks the “big questions.” Is there God, what is the world made of, what are we made of, what is the meaning of life? When people learn that I spent ten years studying questions like these I am sometimes met with genuine interest. However, I am just as often met with skepticism concerning the concrete value of such an inquiry. These questions have no final answers or practical value, these skeptics argue, and can distract us from projects that truly make a difference in the world. I don’t mean to downplay these critiques. I am no stranger to the paralysis philosophy can cause when one feels they have to find a final answer to the meaning of life or the nature of the universe before they actually start to live in a deliberate and conscious way. That being said, Socrates, considered one of the fathers of Western philosophy, never said that the aim of the “examined life,” in his own words, was to arrive at some final discursive statement, but rather to “know thyself.” 

Socrates was a philosophical pest in ancient Greece. Socrates did not argue for answers to big questions. In fact, he did the opposite. Socrates sought out the “experts'' on matters of knowledge, justice, morality, and other metaphysical topics. Upon meeting these individuals, Socrates encouraged them to clearly articulate their point of view and then relentlessly pointed out inconsistencies in that view until finally the conversation ended in frustration and uncertainty, or what was referred to as “Aporia” in Ancient Greece. Scholars debate to this day what exactly the “aporetic'' nature of Socrates’ philosophy means. I want to suggest one possible interpretation; Socrates was trying to point us to a way of doing philosophy and metaphysics that aims not at final answers, but at cultivating an awareness of the metaphysical assumptions that already condition our day-to-day actions and judgments.