A full circle

"I know that I know nothing"  -Socrates

The inherent quality of the human species that makes it markedly different from the rest is its "curiosity". When other species are happy grazing the fields or  making treacherous hideouts to pounce on their prey or just soaring the heavens with full expanse of their wings- mankind(the more intelligent ones) used  their pastime to ponder about the events unfolding in nature and questioning their divine rights. Science was inadvertently formed when humans started having a tingle in their brain. The tingle took the shape of a curious  and ardent urge to  dive deeper into their thought process.

The Western Philosophy which are the thoughts of the Occidental world is the root of the subject which is today known as science. Perhaps his most important contribution to Western thought is his dialectic method of inquiry, known as the Socratic method or method of "elenchus", which he largely applied to the examination of key moral concepts such as the Good and Justice.To solve a problem, it would be broken down into a series of questions, the answers to which gradually distill the answer a person would seek. The influence of this approach is most strongly felt today in the use of the scientific method, in which hypothesis is the first stage. The development and practice of this method is one of Socrates' most enduring contributions, and is a key factor in earning his mantle as the father of political philosophy, ethics or moral philosophy, and as a figurehead of all the central themes in Western philosophy.To illustrate the use of the Socratic method; a series of questions are posed to help a person or group to determine their underlying beliefs and the extent of their knowledge. The Socratic method is a negative method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. It was designed to force one to examine one's own beliefs and the validity of such beliefs. In fact, Socrates once said, "I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others."

After Socrates , his students Plato, Xenophon expanded his work and laid the foundation of Western Science as we know it today.The  Western view of science was a fragmented view. Any problem was broken down into finitely numbered parts and was  worked  upon. After Plato, came Aristotle , who was is disciple . His views would have a lasting impression on western scientific thought. The church legitimized his teachings as it was in line with the views put forward by the Bible. Nicholas Copernicus had to face the ultimate fate of death for speaking out against deceptiveness of the church. Even Galileo was not spared as he had to live a part of his life in seclusion. But the Truth did prevail. After the Renaissance   a plethora of new ideas were introduced. Great minds like Newton, Laplace,Gauss,Darwin, Hegel,Smith,Marx etc  changed the way the world  was perceived .Then came the industrial revolution and the world was never the same again.A technological Boom had taken place and it was there to stay. People's lives became faster and more convenient. everyone started to celebrate the new dawn of Human civilization. Many said that it was the bridge between Man and superman. Human would evolve into a much superior species. Alas,,,,the events of August 6, 1945 and  August 9, 1945.  made people think about their progress. Was developing science and technology the real development? Or is progress signifies a much more essential quality which we have failed to recognize? It is time for us to address this questions. the very same ones that Socrates had asked some two thousand five hundred years ago. He inquired about life and its Truth .Socrates stressed that "virtue was the most valuable of all possessions; the ideal life was spent in search of the Good. Truth lies beneath the shadows of existence, and it is the job of the philosopher to show the rest how little they really know."

Standing in the aisle of the twenty first century, its time for us to look back at the start ....where it all started.

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As an end note I would like to say that this blog will not lead any one to a Higher metaphysical Truth . It will only provide a perspective which is there in front of everyone but which is clogged by the hazy shades of commercialism, political concealment , social  segregation , yellow journalism and other nonsense pieces of jingoistic ideals.  At this important junction of human timeline , its necessary to look back and learn the paths followed by man  in times of quandary and predicament. There will always be a path less trampled by. This blog will endeavour to find that path .