Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life

the reason we fight over certain questions is not that they are “subjective,” but because our answers to them are in use.

there is a reason we do not describe ourselves, in any of these scenarios, as being “sad at” anyone. Unlike sadness, anger is motivating: the angry person thinks that there is something to be done

Our load-bearing answers to untimely questions tend to give rise to predictions that specify what needs to be true in the future in order for my answer to guide my action in the present.

The ultimate form of respect is being seen in terms of one’s power to help others figure out how to live.

Where do the philosophers get their ideas? The answer is, other philosophers. Bentham

At one point, Socrates’ interlocutor Alcibiades makes the claim that “the just differs from the advantageous.”

Part two explains the Socratic approach to untimely questions: don’t rely on the default answers, not even on tamed versions of them. Instead, inquire into them, with an open mind, pursuing truth, and avoiding falsity.

Error does not tend to survive introspective awareness of itself:

The Socratic method is inquisitive refutation, refutation cures normative self-blindness, inquiry allows us to ask questions (as opposed to solving problems).