In: Psychology
• Review the article “What is a philosopher?” from the New York Times by the contemporary philosopher Simon Critchley. Based on this reading and the others, how and why does the philosopher differ from the lawyer in the philosophical writing of Plato? Do you agree with the distinction? What makes them so different and which one can you relate to the best
The definitions of philosophy, just as multifaceted as it is, brings in the definition of philosopher, with similar variations. The "theaetetus" seems o be an important aspect that would be determining what a philosopher is. And what is the work of philosophy. This article has gone through various accounts, looking into the views of Plato and that of Socrates, which would be leading us to understand the roles that a philosopher has to play.
a philosopher is a person, whose ideas are such that they make a person think about their very existence. The philosopher does not have a particular line of thinking or direction of thoughts, but the philosopher knows the direction from where his light is coming from. The thoughts of the philosopher go deeper than what appear shallow to an ignorant person. The philosopher, knows not only his ideals, but also the ones that guide the individual towards his morality.
in the given article, Socrates has been able to distinguish between a person who is a lawyer and a person who is a Philosopher. He states that for a lawyer it is important to present a case in the court. For the lawyer, the time provided to him is extremely important and that is limited. There is a constant pressure that the lawyer has to deal with, and this pressure is time. He gets constantly threatened by this flow of time.
whereas, for the philosopher, the
pressure exerted by time does not exist. He is unmoved by the
constant flow of time, as he moves with it, constantly. He flows
freely from one topic to the other, or he might simply end up
spending years on one particular topic without being psyched by the
complexity of time. He might do this out of sheer curiousity and
fascination.
inmy opinion, the distinction is absolutely accurate.