The Gadflies Of Society Analysis

The Gadflies of Society The progress of anything is due to the generation of new ideas pertaining to it and the introduction of new perspectives on that topic. This idea of how progress comes about can be applied to anything, but is most aptly applied to society and its constant innovation. One of the oldest examples of someone questioning the society they live in and forcing it to make significant progress during their lifetime is Socrates. His application of the Socratic Method to the common man and society helped to inspire change throughout Athenian life. Socrates said, “I was attached to this city by the god… as upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly”
First, in Plato’s Euthyphro, we see the Socratic Method of questioning being applied in a discussion between Socrates and Euthyphro. Plato writes, “Socrates: … Is the pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods? Euthyphro: I do not know what you mean, Socrates.” (Plato 11). This method of questioning and critical thinking is what Socrates applies to all the issues that he is faced with, which is why it’s referred to as the Socratic Method. This method does not only apply to words or ideas, it can be applied to anything to find the deeper reasoning behind every belief. The Socratic Method is one of the most important aspects of Socrates’ lifestyle that causes him to act as a gadfly to society. Second, Socrates’ strength in evaluating information was admitting his ignorance when it came to what he didn’t know, while others attempted to act as though they already knew the answer to the problem. In The Apology, Socrates writes, “… It is likely that neither of us knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know , neither do I think I know” (Plato 25). The acceptance of his ignorance allows for him to seek the truth and find it for himself rather than accepting what others tell him. He
First, Julian Assange’s creation of WikiLeaks informed the public about the possibility of transparent governments. This new perspective on the function of government revolutionized what people thought of information that was published and their desire for these leaks to know what was actually going on in their government. These ideas and desires were new to many people and Julian Assange was the gadfly that caused progress in this stagnant discipline. In addition, Julian Assange’s publication of classified U.S. government war documents from Bradley Manning also acted as a gadfly on a slightly different issue. The publication of these documents caused the public to desire more of something that before the publication they didn’t even know they wanted. These actions showed the world its need for whistleblowers in all governments to expose the dirty details of what they do without the public’s knowledge or approval. Julian Assange again acted as a gadfly to wake this dormant field and influenced both people to desire a greater flow of information and other citizens to become whistleblowers, to provide the public with this information. Lastly, Julian Assange’s biggest feat was not forcing some small level of transparency on large governments by taking matters into his own hands, but rather forcing the topic of free speech to