SOCRATES

Once Socrates was walking along the Athenian market place. On the way, he came across young Xenophon who was a just a few walks ahead of him. He stopped Xenophon with his walking stick and then asked him whether he knew where good vegetables and fish were available. Xenophon showed him the way. Socrates was less than interested at that and then he asked him pointblank whether he could tell him where good men could be found. Xenophon could not help feeling ashamed at his odd query. Then Socrates told him that if he did not know, he should come with him.

That was Socrates. He struggled all through his life to find goodness of human beings. Goodness of human nature was the summum bonum of his life-long quest through thick and thin. And that was the essence of his philosophy which he carried through the last cup of hemlock of his life. He lived for the conquest of his philosophy and he laid down his life for the conquest of his philosophy. His soul-searching odyssey into human life was the epitome of a true philosopher practicing philosophy as a paramount mission of life - he lived larger than a life to pursue the philosophy of goodness.

The abiding truth of human existence is to think, know and exist. This has essentially been the ecology of philosophy through the ages. But before philosophy was reborn as philosophy, philosophy had been the carpetbagger of natural science. It would not be far from the historical truth if it is said that Socrates (470 BC - 399 AD) acted the midwifery to liberate philosophy from the reins of pseudo-science. That was why Cicero said that Socrates "brought down philosophy from the heaven to the earth". That is, he turned the upside down by turning away from the speculative nature of Ionian cosmology to delve deep into the essence of human nature and soul.