When asked about the origins of the X account, the author, who simply wants to be identified as "21st Century Socrates," said that, in a way, it all goes back to his childhood. “As a kid, I read about Socrates and his incredible commitment to values and wisdom. My parents always used to say not to prefer money over values or integrity, and that’s how I grew up.”
“One day, I was searching for a Socrates-related account on X from my friend's account but to my surprise, there wasn't one dedicated to him. So I decided to create it myself.” At the moment, the account has over 4,000 followers.
For those unfamiliar with Socrates, here’s a brief rundown of his philosophy.
Socrates valued knowledge over everything else. For him, seeking out knowledge and wisdom was the prime reason to live. He also loved defining things and getting into discussions about it. What is good? What is evil? What is courageous?
These questions were also what got him in a lot of trouble. You see, to look for answers, he usually would go to knowledgeable people like politicians and poets and ask them about beauty and justice and other things that mattered to him.
His questions were clever and would often trip up these high-ranking people that wanted to appear smarter than everyone else. Socrates would often walk away from these conversations concluding that they knew nothing, humiliating them in the process.
In a way, it is no surprise that a child would be fascinated by something like that. It is also not a surprise that questioning authority led to Socrates' death. The higher-ups didn’t like the disruption that he was causing, so soon enough he was found guilty of blasphemy and corrupting the youth and was sentenced to die by poisoning.
The fact that Socrates valued knowledge so much and saw it as the greatest virtue impacted his perception of good and evil. He believed that whatever people did, it always came from good intentions. And if they ever committed any wrongdoings, it was purely out of ignorance or lack of knowledge.
In other words, if you steal, you don’t do it to rob the shop of their goods, you do it to so that you have something you need. You don’t lie because you enjoy tricking people, it is because it makes your life, at least in that moment, more convenient. You ignore the fact that you might get caught or that it may land you in more hot water in the future. It is benefiting you now, which means you have positive, albeit selfish, reasoning.
This explains why 21st Century Socrates uses his platform to amplify stories of both do-gooders and criminals. Both of those can be seen as sort of heroes, depending on how you look at it. Yet, the creator doesn’t even want to focus on the person themselves. He likes to emphasize the stories and actions of the people and how it highlights their values.
So, how does one find these types of stories? By doing a lot of reading. “A major source of my inspiration comes through X, documentaries, and online websites. When I see a great act, I just add them to my schedule of people to cover.”
“The thing I like in them is the courage to do a thing which maybe 99% of the humans would pass on. What gave them that courage? I am really fascinated by that aspect,” says 21st Century Socrates. He believes that the reason behind such acts of bravery is often strong character and values.
