Socrates - Reason and Revelation

      For Socrates their seemed to be no boundary between the spiritual and the intellectual.  Reason and revelation seemed to co-exist peacefully in his universe.  He would reason from the basis of a spiritual experience with as much confidence as he would argue from a mundane observation or analogy-

 

           1)If his inner voice indicated that his line of reasoning was
             off, he would accept its verdict:

 

             "In other speeches of mine it [his prophetic voice] has
             often checked me while I was still speaking."
                                                Apology

 

           2)After his sentence of death he even reasoned from its
             absence:

 

             "My familiar prophetic voice of the spirit in all times past
             has always come to me frequently, opposing me even in very
             small things, if I was about to do something not right....
             yet...as I left home this morning, there was no opposition
             from the signal of God, nor when I entered this place of the
             court, nor anywhere in my speeches as I was about to say
             anything....it has not opposesed me anywhere, either in deed
             or in word.  Then what am I to conceive to be the cause?  I
             will tell you; really this that has happened to me is good,
             and it is impossible that any of us conceives it aright
             who thinks it is an evil thing to die.  A strong proof of this
             has been given to me; for my usual signal would certainly
             have opposed me, unless I was about to do something good."
                               Apology

 

           3)As we've already seen, an oracle from Delphi or a striking
             dream could provide a riddle that drew forth his full mental
             abilities in an effort to understand its meaning correctly.
             Do the instructions on revelation in D&C 9 strike a
             familiar chord here?

 

 Although there is no evidence he ever doubted his own spiritual experiences, he felt free to use reason and experience to test and prove those that came from others.

 

           4) For there, I thought, if anywhere, I should test the revelation
            and prove that the oracle was wrong."
                              Apology

 

 It seems that a certain kind of compelling argument, unopposed by his voice, and able to withstand the objections of his companions could assume the provisional character of divine truth.

 

           5)At the end of the Crito, Socrates sums up his arguments for
             staying and facing his punishment:

 

             "let us do in this way, since in this way God is leading us."
                               Crito

 

           6)Here however we are left with another possible instance of
             revelation, for a few lines earlier he sums up the arguments
             thus:

 

             "This...is what I seem to hear, as the mystic revelers think
             they hear pipes; so in my ears the sound of these words keep
             humming and makes me deaf to other things.  As far as I can
             see, you may be sure that whatever you say contrary to this,
             you will say in vain."

                               Crito

 

 Of all the logical arguments or proofs I encountered in the three dialogues, this one - a variation of the idea of the social contract - seems to best stand the test of time, and comes across as fresh and compelling.