Socrates was known for engaging people in conversation and, through a series of probing follow-up questions, exposing flaws in their reasoning. Using what is now called Socratic questioning, he challenged their assumptions by prompting them to clarify their beliefs, examine their evidence, and explore logical consequences. This often led them to recognize contradictions in their thinking, leaving them unsettled about beliefs they once took for granted.
The philosopher Agnes Callard builds on this idea in her concept of “untimely questions.” For her, an untimely question is one that arises only after it has already been answered—so much so that it no longer appears as a question at all. It is difficult to ask oneself such a question because we assume we already have the answer. The reason for this assumption is that we are actively using that very answer to navigate our lives. As Callard puts it, “Such questions don’t show up to you as questions; by the time you get them in view, you find that they have hardened into the shape of answers. Untimely questions come too late.”
Questions like “What is the meaning of life?”, “Am I truly passionate about my job?”, “Am I living authentically?”, or “Why am I here?” are untimely because we are already living as if we know the answers to these. In such cases, a dose of Socratic questioning may be necessary—to unsettle our assumptions and reveal the deeper inquiries hiding beneath them.
In ‘Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life‘, Callard explores how Socrates can be of use to navigate the dilemmas of our modern life. In the field of Ethics, the three major schools are Utilitarianism, Kantianism and Virtue Ethics. The three schools can be summed up as:
- Utilitarianism: “What brings the most happiness?” (Results matter)
- Kantian Ethics: “What is the moral duty?” (Rules matter)
- Virtue Ethics: “What would a good person do?” (Character is everything)
Callard argues that, when compared to these three schools:
“Being like Socrates” just means being open-minded, and willing to admit when you are wrong, and unafraid to ask challenging questions. This is not an ethical theory. It is more like a critical-thinking “sauce” that can be poured over any ethical theory, or simply over common sense. Whereas “Kantian” or “Aristotelian” refers to a set of ideas about how to live, “Socratic” refers to a style.
Socrates was known for stating that the highest kind of love is not for people but for ideals. In her personal life, Callard took this to heart and radically altered her marriage in 2011. Callard, then 35 and a mother of two, fell in love with her 27-year-old student. On realizing that she was ‘living a lie’, she calmly explained her situation to her husband who was also a philosopher. They amicably divorced, after which she married her former student and had a third child. To ensure their children grew up together, she and her ex-husband chose to continue living under the same roof, embodying her commitment to reasoned, intentional living. (The entire saga was profiled in the New Yorker last year). Isn’t this what Socrates argued for 2000 years ago – that an unexamined life is simply not worth living?
Do check out Callard’s Twitter feed for links to multiple essays and podcasts on the subject. As one of the most popular philosophers alive in the world right now, she has been prolific with her output.
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