Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Think Like A Greek Philosopher: Critical Thinking Skills, #2
    Think Like A Greek Philosopher: Critical Thinking Skills, #2
    Think Like A Greek Philosopher: Critical Thinking Skills, #2
    Ebook91 pages1 hour

    Think Like A Greek Philosopher: Critical Thinking Skills, #2

    By Steven Schuster

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Do you feel lost when it comes to asking witty, wise, or deep questions? Would you like to connect with people spontaneously and be more persuasive? 



    If you want to understand people better, be valued for your contribution in a conversation, or simply want to be genuinely more knowledgeable, keep reading.

    Think Like A Greek Philosopher doesn't go into boring details and endless philosophical methodology. It provides you with lessons from one of the wisest philosophers in human history, Socrates, and keeps you hooked as you explore the fascinating techniques of this genius.

    Socrates is often mentioned as the founder of Western philosophy. He was an honest thinker who endorsed his students to think for themselves, instead of having someone provide the solution. He stood true to his beliefs and methods to the end; instead of fleeing or pleading for his life, he accepted a death sentence. He is a human worth examining. 
     

    Learn the art of knowledge and persuasion through intentional inquiry; educate yourself; become an exceptional communicator. 


    -Learn to raise important questions, probe beneath the surface of problems, and pursue challenging areas of thought. 

    -Discover the structure of your own thoughts, develop sensitivity to clarity, accuracy, and relevance. 

    -Persuade people without being manipulative using reasoned inquiry. 

    -Learn to ask questions to transform your emotion-driven thinking patterns and avoid misunderstandings. 

    -Apply Socratic Questioning in your organization to deescalate conflict, gain a deeper understanding of problems, and find better solutions.


    In Think Like a Greek Philosopher you'll get a hint of philosophical theory, but walk away with real, practical advice to improve your life. Philosophy today shouldn't be an ambiguous thought exercise; this book makes it practical, life-enhancing, and useful. 


    Steven Schuster is a bestselling author, teacher, and entrepreneur. He writes using scientific research, academic experience, and real life experience.

     

    Are you ready for asking better questions in 2020? Then take a look at Think Like A Greek Philosopher today!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSteven Schuster
    Release dateJun 7, 2020
    ISBN9781393375227
    Think Like A Greek Philosopher: Critical Thinking Skills, #2

    Read more from Steven Schuster

    Related to Think Like A Greek Philosopher

    Titles in the series (1)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Science & Mathematics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Counting Ourselves Worthy

      Dec 5, 2022

      Counting Ourselves Worthy
      4 min read

    • Article

      From BR Ambedkar’s preface to The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables?

      Nov 9, 2019

      … what annoys one is the intolerance of the Brahmin scholar towards any attempt to expose the Brahmanic literature. He himself would not play the part of an iconoclast even where it is necessary. And he would not allow such non-Brahmins as have the c

      4 min read

    • Article

      Think Yourself Better: 10 Rules Of Philosophy To Live By

      Feb 4, 2023

      The thing that separates human beings from other animals is our extraordinary capacity for complex, abstract thought. This is what has given rise to our diverse cultures, our scientific achievements, our ability to envisage the future and, hopefully,

      9 min read

    • Article

      Rebel Greek Philosophers

      Mar 23, 2023

      Rebel Greek Philosophers
      6 min read

    • Article

      Change Maker

      Dec 3, 2021

      Change Maker
      4 min read

    • Article

      Uncertainty

      Jun 6, 2022

      Until philosophers are Kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to

      2 min read

    • Article

      Wonder And Doubt

      Aug 10, 2020

      Wonder And Doubt
      6 min read

    • Article

      Scientists Have No Defense Against Awe

      Jun 12, 2016

      Eileen Pollack, author of The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys’ Club, hinted at the complexity of the relationship between science and the soul in a recent essay: “We need scientists who recognize the reality of this illusion we st

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Conspiracy Museum

      May 13, 2020

      The Conspiracy Museum
      6 min read

    • Article

      Dogmatism Be Damned!

      Nov 5, 2020

      Dogmatism Be Damned!
      7 min read

    • Article

      Humans Are Wired for Goodness

      Aug 22, 2019

      Nicholas Christakis and I are on the same page: We would definitely sacrifice our lives to save a billion strangers, perhaps even several hundred million, plucked at random from Earth’s population. But, for sure, not a thousand strangers, or a millio

      15 min read

    • Article

      Is Knowledge Power?

      Jul 30, 2018

      Is Knowledge Power?
      4 min read

    • Article

      This Essentially Meaningless Conflict

      Sep 22, 2017

      MARILYNNE ROBINSON’S accomplishments are impressive by any standard: she has won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and the National Humanities Medal, among other honors. But perhaps a better measure o

      8 min read

    • Article

      In Praise Of Uncertainty

      Jun 6, 2022

      In Praise Of Uncertainty
      5 min read

    • Article

      Trust the Experts!

      Jun 27, 2020

      Trust the Experts!
      3 min read

    • Article

      They Want To Believe

      Mar 24, 2022

      SEND FORUM SUBMISSIONS TO THE EDITOR: DRSUTTON@FORTEANTIMES.COM As Matt Colborn writes in his article “Middle-Aged Mulder Syndrome” (FT415:58-59), we should not lose the sense of wonder that originally inspired us to take an interest in UFOs, the par

      4 min read

    • Article

      Loving THE ALIEN

      Aug 4, 2022

      Loving THE ALIEN
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Think Like A Greek Philosopher

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Think Like A Greek Philosopher - Steven Schuster

      Introduction

      HI, MY NAME IS SOCRATES and my thoughts changed the world. But that’s a very bold and conceited statement for an introduction so allow me to tell you my story. As I write this book now, I'm sitting in a jail cell at the outskirts of Athens. Within minutes, a guard is going to bring me a drink. It will be a cup of hem lock, which is poisonous. I shall empty the cup following which act I will become very sleepy and shut my eyes forever soon afterward. But before that happens, I wanted to share some of my ideas with you.

      I was born in Athens in ancient Greece. I was always a private person and I’d like to keep this habit in my last moments, too. Without too many personal details, I’m comfortable to confess that I have the reputation of a mysterious troublemaker in my homeland. People refer to me as the first Western philosopher but I don’t indulge in such self-polishing thoughts. Philosophers usually flatter themselves thinking they know a lot about the world. I really don't think I know that much at all.

      The Peloponnesian war left a mark on my mind and after returning to Athens, I isolated myself to think a bit. In my time wisdom was the coolest label you could possess. If someone gathered a large support group behind his ideas, he was proclaimed wise. I took such wisdom with a large grain of salt. I my experience a lot of people who seem to be or claim to be wise are not actually that wise. This naturally proposes a problem. Those who believe in the authority of this sage, will blindly follow him, often at the cost of severe consequences.

      Questioning wisdom helps you discover flaws in it. If you don’t question, knowledge stands still as a rock instead of flowing and carving new ground like a river. Following this realization I started asking questions more intentionally.

      I discovered that questioning a claim of something being true, tests its validity. If you question someone and they can prove that their claim is legit, great job. You made sure you’re not signing up for spreading false information and you also helped someone practice to defend their truth.

      For example, if someone claims that it is essential to worship the god Ares, I would ask, What is essentialism? What is worshipping? Are there other gods to worship? If they can’t articulate what essentialism is, how can they claim that it is essential to worship Ares? If they can’t explain what worship is, how can they know if they are really worshipping Ares, and therefore that they are doing an essential act?

      If someone making claims can’t answer the challenges imposed by questioning, then how can they state that their claim is true?

      Plato, a very bright young man used to follow me around Athens, learning my questioning style which he would eventually bestow upon his student – Aristotle. He became the teacher of Alexander the Great. Alexander spread these teachings in his large kingdom. Eventually, the Romans occupying Alexander's empire helped spread this questioning tradition even further. After the Roman Empire fell apart, this precious knowledge rested idle for centuries until the miracle of the Renaissance happened. People started reading again the works of Plato and Aristotle and re-discovered the power of methodical questioning, and testing of claims – the style you today know as Socratic Questioning. I feel honored by the label. 

      Questioning gets a bad reputation. Some mistakenly think that asking a question or many questions, means that the question maker is uneducated, or unwise. I think the opposite.

      True wisdom lies in the knowledge of acknowledging how little we actually know.

      When one gets to this realization, they can start asking questions and get to more accurate facts. This being said, I must warn you that asking questions can also be a quick way to make people resentful.

      I'm guilty of embarrassing a handful of very important men in Athens who took my questions very personally. If my questions highlighted their ignorance, they took it even worse. When these important people saw that others started to ask question like I did, I was arrested for corrupting the fine people of Athens. Plato wrote a noteworthy piece about my trial and how I fought to defend myself utilizing the same questioning style I was arrested for. Needless to say that this made my enemies even more bitter.

      I was convicted. The court made the mistake of asking me what I believed my punishment should be. I answered that they should feed me with a tasty meal every night at the sacred heart of the city to honor my achievement of opening up the eyes of the people of Athens to real wisdom. My enemies did not appreciate neither my wit nor my suggestion, they assessed that my insolence is beyond redemption so they sentenced me to death.

      I haven’t got much time left so I’ll leave you with this: remember, the only thing you know for certain is that you know nothing. But don't take my word for it for I know nothing as well.

      Chapter 1. Who Was Socrates?

      SOCRATES WAS A MAN shrouded in mystery. He bucked the typical Athenian standards of his time (c. 470-399 BCE), and yet what little we do know about him comes from secondhand sources with questionable reliability.(1)

      Surprisingly, for one of the world’s most well-known philosophers, Socrates wrote nothing himself, but over the passing centuries has almost become a character with differing personality traits depending on the era the author is writing in or traits the author believes to be important.(1)

      Much of what has been written about Socrates has been rejected as false and referring back to historical sources rather than more modern versions, which have taken certain liberties, tells us that Socrates stood out even among his contemporaries in Athens. In an age where good looks and maintaining a healthy body were viewed as directly tied to success, the historical sources all readily agree that Socrates was horribly unattractive in every way, including looking as if he’d skipped a significant number of meals rather than having the preferred aesthetic of a potbelly.(1) In fact, historical accounts as well as drawings and busts from this period look nothing like the later statues depicting Socrates with a more handsome visage.(1) These more attractive images are what is most commonly used on websites and dust jackets today.(1)

      Beyond being recognizable

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1