Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Oh My!

I've always been impressed by deep thinkers.

I remember learning about the triumvirate of Greek philosophers whose quotes collectively, have stood the test of time. I am speaking of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, of course!

I bet you didn't realize that these wise men and philosophers had already formed opinions about the future.

Were they soothsayers as well as philosophers?

You be the judge.


Let's start with the Granddaddy of Greek philosophers: Socrates.

On blogging:

"He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy."

He clearly talking about writing blog posts here. It does take courage to not run away from blogging at times and we must always fight that infernal enemy: Blooger (misspelling intentional: I don't want to get zapped by them).

On television:

"True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us."

And isn't that what television teaches us each and every day? FOX News channel, CNN, MSNBC, those news stations (although I've heard FOX isn't a legitimate news channel) teach us so much about just how little we understand the world around us. Who knew that balloons could get a boy into so much trouble. I always thought they were for birthdays. Who knew Octopodes and Mothers could possibly share so much in common. Who knew that Madonna wasn't a virgin when she sang her famous song? Who knew that there would be a medium for us to learn all of these useful and edifying facts? I'll tell you who knew. Socrates! Wise, wise man.

Let's turn to his prized pupil: Aristotle. He too, had some wise prophetic words.

On PC versus MACs.

"To PerCeive is to suffer."

You read it here first, to "PC" is to suffer. *sigh*

On the longest running crime drama: Law and Order.

"Law is order, and good law is good order."

How did he know what a great show that would turn out to be! That is why it is now in its 1000th season? Amazing!

And let us not forget Aristotle's prized pupil: Plato. Another great learner at the hands of his mentor.

On cell phones:

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something."

Isn't it hard to believe that just a couple decades ago, everyone got along just fine without cell phones. I mean people went on to live long and happy lives without a phone attached to their ear. I don't know how they managed not to report that they just moved fifty feet from where they were before. Or how did couples ever manage without knowing that their partner just ate, burped, and pooped. Yes, life is much more fulfilling these days because we ALL have something to say...all the time!

On the Internet:

"Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil."

Yes, we have the Internet to combat ignorance. Google anything! You are sure to get at least five billion hits. Guaranteed. Want to know about the sleep cycles of worms? There's a hit for that. Want to know what Pee Wee Herman is up to (no pun intended) these days? There's a hit for that. Want to know about Quirkyloons? There's even a hit for that! (Thank goodness!)

I'm so grateful for these wise men and their wise quotes. It makes me feel connected to them that they understood so much about world and the future. And let's not forget that we have modern day philosophers to turn to and admire.

Like dear, silly, and crabby Maxine:

On vampires:

"Why do weather forecasts include the precise time of sunrise and sunset? As a service to the vampire community?"

On bad days:

"Having a bad day? Well better you than me!"

On fruits and vegetables:

"I'd eat more fruits and vegetables if they tasted more like microwaved burritos."

On ovens:

"Life is like an oven. It burns my buns."

On life:

"In a hundred years this won't matter. It barely matters now."


Yes, we've come a long way since the days of the Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Thank goodness for Maxine and others like her (i.e., Happy Bunny) of our day. It is the likes of these modern day philosophical pioneers that give us wisdom fodder.

So we continue to ponder and soak up the wisdom.

Is it just me or is it getting deep in here?

A little too deep.




B.S. No philosophers were harmed during the production of this post...at least that is what they have pondered and thought and spoken.