I chose Socrates as my Philosopher. Aaron's downfall started with his willingness for greater good, he saw problems with certain aspects of Academia and the Government. I believe Socrates would have viewed Aaron Swartz case with disgust and disbelief. Aaron knew how corrupt the system was and he was always trying to cast it in front of the public eye. This quote backs my suspicions that Socrates would have sided with Aaron "Socrates believed the best way for people to live was to focus on the pursuit of virtue rather than the pursuit, for instance, of material wealth.[79] He always invited others to try to concentrate more on friendships and a sense of true community" Aaron was always trying to make the world more efficient and less hectic. He had political aspirations towards the end and I feel if Aaron was able to climb ranks he could have made a positive impact. Aaron and Socrates were both made examples of and were brought down by a higher power.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/31.45/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates
http://www.iep.utm.edu/socrates/
Hi Helion, this might pose some problems because Socrates didn't actually leave any written philosophical works to us (at least, not for sure). That might be why you are having trouble finding him in his own words. Remember that it is necessary to engage with the philosopher you are using in their own words, not just in summaries written by other people. Socrates' words were maybe recorded by people who knew him, like his student Plato, although we can't be sure that they weren't just "putting words in his mouth," using him as a character to say what they wanted him to say because it would look like this important and famous philosopher was endorsing it. Anyway, for this assignment you really need a philosopher who left written works. One way you could improve this is by refocusing on Plato. You could read Plato's dialogue, "The Apology" which features Socrates as a character interacting with the authorities. Perhaps in "The Apology" the character of Socrates said something that you could use to relate to Aaron Swartz.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to The Apology http://oisindeery.com/sites/default/files/Apology-1.PDF
Deleteokay thank you
ReplyDelete