The integrity of learning and the search for truth

Socrates believed that the search for truth was the highest aspiration of human\udlearning. And by truth he meant something more inclusive than the factual accuracy\udof propositions about the natural world. Much closer to his heart, and to his\udever-renewed practical efforts, was the venturesome question of the truth about\udthe right way to live. Yet, in the course of his encounters with the most accomplished\udintellects of his age, he came to see, as Plato showed him declaring frankly\udin the Apology, that there was something enigmatic about this question, something\udthat resisted resolution in conclusive terms.1 This is not to deny that there\udare notable advances made in the lively debates of the early dialogues of Plato,\udwhich show Socrates at his philosophical and educational best. But those advances\udare of a curious and frequently chastening kind. Characteristically, they reveal to\udparticipants in the dialogues some undetected biases, often crucial ones, in their\udown starting points. In doing this, however, they also gradually disclose to the participant\ud(or indeed the reader) who remains alert to the tenor of Socrates’ thinking\udsomething that is both sobering and challenging