me from having any offspring myself. I myself therefore am quite devoid of
wisdom; my mind has never produced any idea that could be called clever. But as
for those who associate with me – well, although at first some of them give the
impression of being pretty stupid, yet later, as the association continues, all of
those to whom the god vouchsafes it improve marvellously, as is evident to
themselves as well as to others. And they make this progress, clearly, not because
they ever learn anything from me; the many fine ideas and offspring they produce
come from within themselves. But the god and I are responsible for the delivery.... When I ask a question, set about answering it to the best of your ability. And
if, on examination, I find that some thought of yours is illusory and untrue, and if I
then draw it out of you and discard it, don’t rant and rave at me, as a first-time
mother might if her baby were involved.... I do what I do because it is my moral
duty not to connive at falsehood and cover up truth.
(Theaetetus, 150c–151b)
The Socrates who is midwife to truth does not seek, like earlier philosophers, to impart
truth from without, nor does he seek merely to destroy old beliefs: his midwifery
serves a positive function in bringing new birth, as each individual mind becomes self-
aware and seeks the ground of its own conviction.
The doctrine that seems to have been the ground of Socrates’ actual beliefs is
expressed in the proposition that virtue (arete, excellence) is knowledge. The wise
man, who knows what is good and what conduces to human happiness, will do what
is good and conduces to human happiness. Wrong actions are a result of a faulty
perception of what conduces to true human good. It is possible to learn (and therefore
in a sense to teach, but the ‘teacher’ can only be midwife to truth) what conduces to
true human good and happiness, and, once learnt, the knowledge will be irresistible.
Hence it is possible to say that no one willingly does wrong. His ethical concern did
not of course lead Socrates to prescribe rules for good conduct, but was directed
towards the increase of self-awareness as a prerequisite to the health and well-being
of the psyche (spirit or soul, including the mind).
The enquiring method of Socrates is one of the first fruits of the great intellectual
change that manifested itself throughout the Greek-speaking world in the second half
of the fifth century, sometimes known as the Greek enlightenment. The same period
saw the growth of a new kind of professional teacher throughout Greece. These men
were called sophists, a name derived from the word for wisdom or skill, sophia. They
moved from city to city, giving lessons in such things as mathematics, politics and
the art of public speaking, designed to be useful for the rising political classes. The
name of Gorgias of Leontini, an Ionian colony in Sicily, is associated with the
development of rhetoric and examples survive of his highly antithetical style, which
is thought to have influenced Thucydides. Protagoras of Abdera in Ionia is accredited
PHILOSOPHY 191