I'm sure you can already begin to see how this connects to Meno. In Plato's condemnation of Gorgias' and his disciples' teaching for supposing that they could conceive an answer for the question, "what is virtue?", he instills self-doubt in Anytus through carefully-structured argumentation that virtue is not a readily-defined term.
In terms of the overarching theme of revolution, the implications of this effect are profound. An intelligent person is able to rationalize just about anything. Indecision, self-reflection, deep thinking, communication: these become the defining actions a thinker might take when tackling a philosophical or morally ambiguous problem. I would say that simple and straightforward action is almost unheard of in this type of setting. That revolution among thinkers is accomplished, perhaps, on a much different timescale than those among the "layman" (for lack of a better term). What do you think? Does this seem to conflict with your idea of a revolution, like it does for me? Does this seem to hint towards the common factor between "effective" revolutions (i.e. those that accomplish the goals they worked to achieve)?
I think that this can be related to the concept that there are two "separate" beginnings to a revolution : the igniting thought, and the first actions taken. I believe that many times, the "thinker" behind the revolutionary concept is not the first to make a definitive action, because of the Dunning-Kruger Effect. He or she knows how dangerous ideas can be if not thoroughly thought out, or correctly implemented, and so they take the time to wait and continue to develop their idea. Hence, there is no simple and straightforward action. Once the idea spreads however, especially if it is not yet fully developed, if it takes hold in the hearts of the masses, action will be taken. It is when the masses take action on an incomplete idea or concept that the "ineffective" revolutions occur simply because the people are acting on a foundation they think they understand, but in reality may not.
ReplyDeleteA thinker's realm can extend beyond philosophy and morals, there are profound thinkers in the math and sciences, we just tend to call them by a different name.
ReplyDeleteWhile I originally would have agreed with you that "revolution among thinkers is accomplished, perhaps, on a much different timescale than those among the "layman" (for lack of a better term)", after class this week I now disagree. Einstein thought a lot about time-- he just thought about it in a very concentrated way over a reasonably short amount of time.
Technical papers that require minimal research can be written in as little as a few months. These papers, such as Eintstein's "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" (aka his special relativity paper), have the potential to introduce huge revolutionary impacts on society. And while ideas in papers are not always absolutely correct, getting an idea out in the public domain may spark the imagination of others who can take the incomplete idea and make the revolution more correct, more "effective,"