An open letter to Socrates

I stumbled across this letter below, and it made me laugh. Sometimes things just hit me funny.

But it reminded me of the quote, "Life is a tragedy to those who feel, and a comedy to those who think." I had to look up the author of the quote - some fellow named Jean de la Bruyere - which I think rhymes with the cheese.

I am a thinker. I overthink. I rethink. I dethink. I love to think about things. I would stay on the mountain top and think if I could. But life will not allow me that pleasure.

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"Dear Socrates,

I hate you. I know why they killed you. You believe you are a gadfly for the good of society, whose sting serves a greater good, but in fact you introduced a way of thinking into the world that has made life unlivable. 'What did I do?' you might innocently inquire; 'all I do is ask questions.' Oh yes, but those questions are intended to expose the assumptions upon which all human knowledge is built, and you know full well that once that happens, there can be revolutionary consequences. 'That too is for the better,' you might reply; 'if the foundation is rotted out, replace it with a sounder one to secure the future.' But the problem is that there is no such thing as a sound foundation. According to you there must always be assumptions; hence the questioning never stops. The only thing that has been 'secured', therefore, is your profession!"

Philosophy Now Magazine (November 2005).

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Do you think sometimes we think too much?

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