The main elements of Orphism differed from popular ancient Greek religion in the following ways:
- by characterizing human souls as divine and immortal but doomed to live (for a period) in a "grievous circle" of successive bodily lives through metempsychosis or the transmigration of souls.
- by prescribing an ascetic way of life which, together with secret initiation rites, was supposed to guarantee not only eventual release from the "grievous circle" but also communion with god(s).
- by warning of postmortem punishment for certain transgressions committed during life.
- by being founded upon sacred writings about the origin of gods and human beings.
Ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into Hades and returned. Orphics also reveredPersephone (who annually descended into Hades for a season and then returned) and Dionysus or Bacchus (who also descended into Hades and returned). Orpheus was said to have invented the Mysteries of Dionysus.[4] Poetry containing distinctly Orphic beliefs has been traced back to the 6th century BC[5] or at least 5th century BC, and graffiti of the 5th century BC apparently refers to "Orphics"
Maieutics is a pedagogical method based on the idea that truth is latent in the mind of every human being due to innate reason but has to be "given birth" by answering intelligently proposed questions (or problems). As to maieutics, it is based on Plato's theory of recollection (anamnesis), so that it holds that knowledge is latent in the conscious mind, awaiting discovery. This discovery is sought through dialectic and in contrast to Plato's theory, through inductive reasoning rather than deductive.
Socrates demonstrates his method of questioning and recollection by interrogating a slave boy who works in Meno's house. This house slave is ignorant of geometry. The subsequent discussion shows the slave capable of learning a complicated geometry problem. In this way, Socrates shows Meno that learning is possible. Indeed, the dialogue earlier demonstrated Meno's failure to benefit from Socratic teaching.
By drawing geometric figures in the ground Socrates demonstrates that the slave is initially unaware of how to find twice the area of a square. Socrates then said that before he got hold of him the slave, who had been picked haphazardly from Meno's entourage, had spoken "well and fluently" on the subject of a square double the size of a given square.[1] Socrates comments that this "numbing" he caused in the slave did him no harm.[2] Socrates then draws a second square figure on the diagonal so that the slave can see that by adding vertical and horizontal lines touching the corners of the square, the double of its area is created. He gets the slave to agree that this is twice the size of the original square and says that he has "spontaneously recovered" knowledge he knew from a past life[3] without having been taught. Socrates is satisfied that new beliefs were "newly aroused" in the slave.
Meno's paradox[edit]
Socrates brings Meno to aporia (puzzlement) on the question of what virtue is. Meno responds by accusing Socrates of being like a torpedo ray, which stuns its victims with electricity. Socrates responds that the reason for this comparison is that Meno, a "handsome" man, is inviting counter-comparisons because of his own vanity, and Socrates tells Meno that he only resembles a torpedo fish if it numbs itself in making others numb,[9] and Socrates is himself ignorant of what virtue is.
Meno then proffers a paradox: "And how will you inquire into a thing when you are wholly ignorant of what it is? Even if you happen to bump right into it, how will you know it is the thing you didn't know?"[10] Socrates rephrases the question, which has come to be the canonical statement of the paradox: "[A] man cannot search either for what he knows or for what he does not know[.] He cannot search for what he knows--since he knows it, there is no need to search--nor for what he does not know, for he does not know what to look for."
Maieutics (/meɪˈjuːtɨks/ or /maɪˈjuːtɨks/) is a pedagogical method based on the idea that truth is latent in the mind of every human being due to innate reason but has to be "given birth" by answering intelligently proposed questions (or problems).[citation needed]
Contents
[show]Etymology[edit]
Possible origin[edit]
The idea is reminiscent of the 4th century BC philosopher Plato. In the Symposium and Theaetetus dialogues, Plato discusses the Socratic method, a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. It is a dialectical method, often involving an oppositional discussion in which the defense of one point of view is pitted against the defense of another; one interlocutor may lead another to contradict himself in some way, strengthening the inquirer's own point. As to maieutics, it is based on Plato's theory of recollection (anamnesis), so that it holds that knowledge is latent in the conscious mind, awaiting discovery. This discovery is sought through dialectic and in contrast to Plato's theory, through inductive reasoning rather than deductive.
In Theaetetus, the basic question is "What is knowledge?". Theaetetus is a young student of mathematics who proposed three definitions that are refuted by Socrates, according to whom, knowledge cannot be defined as a perception, nor as a true opinion, nor as an explanation besides a true opinion. Socrates debates these arguments from a critical point of view by posing more questions, but never poses a conclusion on the matter of knowledge itself.
As presented by Plato
Main articles: Anamnesis (philosophy) and Platonic epistemology
In philosophy, maieutic concepts historically have their origin in Plato's dialogues of Socrates.
In The Symposium, Socrates repeats the words of the priestess or wise woman Diotima of Mantinea who suggested that the soul is pregnant and wants to give birth, but the delivery requires assistance. Thus according to Plato, the role of the philosopher is to assist in this delivery, as would a midwife. From this dialogue comes the word "maieutics", the "spiritual midwife."
In Theaetetus, Socrates is presented as a "spiritual midwife" and in Meno, by posing questions to a slave who never learned geometry, Socrates leads him to “remember” how a square is doubled.
Orphism
Maieutics is an evolution of the technical methods of Orphism. They were based on the idea of reminiscence and the practice of Catharsis especially developed by Pythagoras.
Maieutics consists in the belief that there is somehow a knowledge that is stored in the mind by tradition and the experience of past generations. Therefore, maieutics invites the individual to discover the truth that is latent in a person.
A Pythagorean cup (also known as a Pythagoras cup, a Greedy Cup or a Tantalus cup) is a form of drinking cup which forces its user to imbibe only in moderation. Credited to Pythagoras of Samos, it allows the user to fill the cup with wine up to a certain level. If the user fills the cup only up to that level he may enjoy his drink in peace. If he exhibits gluttony, however, the cup spills its contents out the bottom (the intention being: onto the lap of the immodest drinker)