Mike, with much appreciation, I support your case for the greatness of what Socrates contributed to the evolution of humanity – the Socratic method and how he stood and died for the right to question all, especially the powers that be.
In this context, I bring the following reference to someone else who also contributed greatly to the progress of human thought and may I add "consciousness" – Martin Luther, a German priest and theologian from 1483 to 1546. In light of your previous posting about “The Kingdom Within,” I thought the following quote would be appreciated:
“One of the most impressive scenes from the time when man awoke so powerfully to an awareness of interior space and actually entered it was that event during the Imperial Diet in Worms when Martin Luther...stood up and declared in the face of the Pope, the Council, the Bishops, the Emperor, the princes and everything else that until that moment had been regarded as an undisputed divinely established authority, “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise, so help me God. Amen!” (Even if these were not his exact words, as many have argued, they were still the content of his inspiration.)
...Today, we can hardly grasp what that must have meant. What an unheard-of risk it was for a single man to regard the voice within his own breast as weightier and more binding than the power of an entire time-honored tradition... that God no longer speaks outside of us in a community tradition that has been handed down; today He speaks in the inner self of man...”
– Excerpt from Art and Human Consciousness by Gottfried Richter; Chapter I: On the Meaning of History.
PERSONAL NOTE: I have never been affiliated with the Lutheran Church, but I do believe in the seed of the Cosmic Christ (beyond any denominational affiliation) that lives consciously and unconsciously within all of humanity as an inner spiritual reality for us to unfold.
Thank You Sir. The enlightening insight in this essay of yours, with regard to the current state of the world, brings tears into my eyes, because of the ongoing lack of critical thinking and decent human will (free of coercive corruption) in the world leadership, to face the unfortunate rise of gang mentality (including inherent habits of organized cruelties against human life) in the leadership of some dominant nations, such as United States (Trump), France (Macron), Russia (Putin), and so many others, which are dragging the existing rule-based (Post-Socratic) western civilization into its barbaric state of before Socrates.
The lawless, immoral and violent rule of these mobsters over dominant nations, is tearing down all virtues of humans's humanity and all elements of rule-based democratic culture, to stifle human potential and civilizational advancements.
It brings tears into my eyes, that, we are helplessly faltering into barbarism.
Besides the well-known acts of Trump and Putin and their consequences against rule-based democratic culture, here is a case regarding Macron of France:
I've been asking this question of parents, teachers, the church, bosses, etc. since I was probably 5. My dog, (a terrier) asks this of us a few times a day, a trait that I can't fault. (Our answer is that we have the cookies.)
Thank you for this I prefer Socratic to merely stubborn any day.
That line — “by what right do you rule?” — stood out.
It made me think of a parallel question that sits one level upstream:
**By what right do you procreate?**
We spend a lot of time interrogating the legitimacy of authority over existing people, but almost none questioning the legitimacy of bringing someone into a condition where authority, constraint, and suffering are inevitable.
If consent and autonomy matter, it’s an interesting asymmetry.
Not an answer — just a question that seems worth placing next to the one you raised.
I read just enough of "The Sovereign Individual" to think much of it at best misguided if not willfully delusional about the power of wealthy individuals to escape the state and exist beyond accountability to others. When the authors compared unions and governments to organized crime shaking down factory owners, I couldn't carry on in earnest. I feel the Great Firewall of China and the fate of various Russian oligarchs has proven the conceit wrong - they can't escape the state, and, as Elon Musk's climb down when he briefly turned on Trump shows, neither can American oligarchs. Their present impunity is a product of American culture and law and will not survive the destruction of the latter, if it ever truly existed.
Thank you, Mike. I look forward to reading your piece on Everett’s “many- worlds interpretation” theory of quantum mechanics, which piece I suspect will further shore up this fine essay on Socrates. That the observer and the observed are inextricably intertwined in a universal wave function that doesn’t collapse but undergoes decoherence, everywhere, in all “worlds,” all at once (sounds almost like a movie title). We (in the western world especially) need to rediscover, rebuild into our societal infrastructures, and live out our lives by this most fundamental truth about reality, a truth that Socrates intuitively knew and understood - that humans are inseparable from each other and from the natural world, that we are connected to all of creation…
But how are we connected? By what means or mechanisms? What is this “glue” that holds us together? Do we have any objective or empirical methods to discern it? Is consciousness itself this “glue”, this elusive Holy Grail to understanding why we’re even here?
I suspect you might have some thoughts on these questions…
What if humanity's history of expansion and collapse is best understood through network theory? What if Socrates had an appreciation for networks and network theory? Would he have realized that the flaw of humanity's networks (aka socio/economic and political institutional frameworks) is not emulating those found in nature? How can we modify our networks before everything spirals out of control in this world of digital networked ecosystems that began 60-70 years ago (and maybe 180 years ago if we go back to the telegraph and its morphing into the ticker tape 30-40 years later)? Perhaps a new approach called "equilibrism" might put us on the right path? What if it is neither capitalism nor socialism governing a market economy; rather a recognition of how to make the networks sustainable, generative, equitable and efficient? Read more here: https://infostack.substack.com/p/equilibrism-is-the-answer
Mike, I love that you are here, that you exist, that you are a force, that you are compelled, that you think, write and share.
Thank you. I am moved and enlightened by your contribution to my education. 😊♥️🙏🏻♥️
Mike, with much appreciation, I support your case for the greatness of what Socrates contributed to the evolution of humanity – the Socratic method and how he stood and died for the right to question all, especially the powers that be.
In this context, I bring the following reference to someone else who also contributed greatly to the progress of human thought and may I add "consciousness" – Martin Luther, a German priest and theologian from 1483 to 1546. In light of your previous posting about “The Kingdom Within,” I thought the following quote would be appreciated:
“One of the most impressive scenes from the time when man awoke so powerfully to an awareness of interior space and actually entered it was that event during the Imperial Diet in Worms when Martin Luther...stood up and declared in the face of the Pope, the Council, the Bishops, the Emperor, the princes and everything else that until that moment had been regarded as an undisputed divinely established authority, “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise, so help me God. Amen!” (Even if these were not his exact words, as many have argued, they were still the content of his inspiration.)
...Today, we can hardly grasp what that must have meant. What an unheard-of risk it was for a single man to regard the voice within his own breast as weightier and more binding than the power of an entire time-honored tradition... that God no longer speaks outside of us in a community tradition that has been handed down; today He speaks in the inner self of man...”
– Excerpt from Art and Human Consciousness by Gottfried Richter; Chapter I: On the Meaning of History.
PERSONAL NOTE: I have never been affiliated with the Lutheran Church, but I do believe in the seed of the Cosmic Christ (beyond any denominational affiliation) that lives consciously and unconsciously within all of humanity as an inner spiritual reality for us to unfold.
Thank You Sir. The enlightening insight in this essay of yours, with regard to the current state of the world, brings tears into my eyes, because of the ongoing lack of critical thinking and decent human will (free of coercive corruption) in the world leadership, to face the unfortunate rise of gang mentality (including inherent habits of organized cruelties against human life) in the leadership of some dominant nations, such as United States (Trump), France (Macron), Russia (Putin), and so many others, which are dragging the existing rule-based (Post-Socratic) western civilization into its barbaric state of before Socrates.
The lawless, immoral and violent rule of these mobsters over dominant nations, is tearing down all virtues of humans's humanity and all elements of rule-based democratic culture, to stifle human potential and civilizational advancements.
It brings tears into my eyes, that, we are helplessly faltering into barbarism.
Besides the well-known acts of Trump and Putin and their consequences against rule-based democratic culture, here is a case regarding Macron of France:
https://rodolphenogbou.substack.com/p/macron-is-frances-worst-president?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=jmsf3
Thank You Sir, For The Enlightenment.
I hope that, this piece of enlightenment will reach the conscientious rest of the world leadership.
Sincerely,
Rodolphe Nogbou
March 3, 2026
It's amusing that you write this on the same day that this was published: https://existentialcomics.com/comic/644
“by what right do you rule?”
I've been asking this question of parents, teachers, the church, bosses, etc. since I was probably 5. My dog, (a terrier) asks this of us a few times a day, a trait that I can't fault. (Our answer is that we have the cookies.)
Thank you for this I prefer Socratic to merely stubborn any day.
Thank you! This is brilliant work!
I think The Humanitarians Unite! Movement is meant to speak to this moment in time.
https://humanitariansunite.info
I would love to hear your thoughts!
That line — “by what right do you rule?” — stood out.
It made me think of a parallel question that sits one level upstream:
**By what right do you procreate?**
We spend a lot of time interrogating the legitimacy of authority over existing people, but almost none questioning the legitimacy of bringing someone into a condition where authority, constraint, and suffering are inevitable.
If consent and autonomy matter, it’s an interesting asymmetry.
Not an answer — just a question that seems worth placing next to the one you raised.
Thank you. This was exactly what I needed to read at this moment.
Tank man knew it. I pray, when my turn comes, and it will, I have the courage to stand.
I read just enough of "The Sovereign Individual" to think much of it at best misguided if not willfully delusional about the power of wealthy individuals to escape the state and exist beyond accountability to others. When the authors compared unions and governments to organized crime shaking down factory owners, I couldn't carry on in earnest. I feel the Great Firewall of China and the fate of various Russian oligarchs has proven the conceit wrong - they can't escape the state, and, as Elon Musk's climb down when he briefly turned on Trump shows, neither can American oligarchs. Their present impunity is a product of American culture and law and will not survive the destruction of the latter, if it ever truly existed.
Thank you, Mike. I look forward to reading your piece on Everett’s “many- worlds interpretation” theory of quantum mechanics, which piece I suspect will further shore up this fine essay on Socrates. That the observer and the observed are inextricably intertwined in a universal wave function that doesn’t collapse but undergoes decoherence, everywhere, in all “worlds,” all at once (sounds almost like a movie title). We (in the western world especially) need to rediscover, rebuild into our societal infrastructures, and live out our lives by this most fundamental truth about reality, a truth that Socrates intuitively knew and understood - that humans are inseparable from each other and from the natural world, that we are connected to all of creation…
But how are we connected? By what means or mechanisms? What is this “glue” that holds us together? Do we have any objective or empirical methods to discern it? Is consciousness itself this “glue”, this elusive Holy Grail to understanding why we’re even here?
I suspect you might have some thoughts on these questions…
"Yes! Like sands in the hourglass, so our the days of our lives."
Mike, here is one more comment related to the "kingdom within." Hopefully, for you, my last.
More radiant than the sun,
Purer than the snow,
Finer than the ether
Is the Self,
The Spirit in my heart.
This Self am I.
I am this Self.
- Rudolf Steiner
What if humanity's history of expansion and collapse is best understood through network theory? What if Socrates had an appreciation for networks and network theory? Would he have realized that the flaw of humanity's networks (aka socio/economic and political institutional frameworks) is not emulating those found in nature? How can we modify our networks before everything spirals out of control in this world of digital networked ecosystems that began 60-70 years ago (and maybe 180 years ago if we go back to the telegraph and its morphing into the ticker tape 30-40 years later)? Perhaps a new approach called "equilibrism" might put us on the right path? What if it is neither capitalism nor socialism governing a market economy; rather a recognition of how to make the networks sustainable, generative, equitable and efficient? Read more here: https://infostack.substack.com/p/equilibrism-is-the-answer
Thank you once again, Mike. You have an exceptional gift and I believe you are doing exactly what you are created to do. And we all benefit.