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“Unlike the pre-Socratic thinkers, Socrates came to believe that understanding the cosmos was an esoteric diversion from something far more important.”

Studying the secrets of the stars was all very well, but human affairs have far greater urgency. So Socrates did something truly ground-breaking -- he turned rational thought inward to solve the mortal dilemmas we all face.

“He threw all his energies into resolving the fundamental questions of human existence: What kind of life should be lead? What sort of people do we want to be? He’s first the individual in the west to put ethics at the very heart of his philosophy.”

Socrates’ starting point was simple. Everyone yearns for a full and flourishing life. But it wasn’t to be found in the transitory pleasures and distractions of the material world.

“Socrates believed we can only realize our human potential when we nurture the most precious, the most permanent part of our beings -- our souls. When we do right, we protect our soul. When we do wrong, we harm it.”