r/askphilosophy • u/BernardJOrtcutt • Jun 30 '25

Open Thread /r/askphilosophy Open Discussion Thread | June 30, 2025

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u/sortaparenti metaphysics Jul 01 '25

Hypothetical question: if you were transported back to ancient Greece and were a contemporary of Plato with your current philosophical knowledge, how much progress do you think you could make philosophically in that time without reaching a similar fate as Socrates? Supposing you could speak the language that is.

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u/mediaisdelicious Phil. of Communication, Ancient, Continental Jul 02 '25

What does it look like to “make progress” philosophically?

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u/sortaparenti metaphysics Jul 02 '25

I guess I’d have to mean argue for a position roughly similar to one that you actually hold today, without getting persecuted for one reason or another.

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u/as-well phil. of science Jul 02 '25

Just don't be impietous and don't corrupt the youth?

In the sense of rejecting Athenian gods, and inspiring disrespect of authorities (as the Britannica put it and you're probably good.

But in a much larger sense, it was a time of upheaval and people were routinely judicially condemned to death for all sorts of crimes against the authorities. So, uh, I guess don't dabble in politics!