tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9118409153657833547.post3833698355258407864..comments2024-02-10T02:53:47.545-06:00Comments on Do You Ever Think About Things You Do Think About?: The Socratic Problem: HJA (28)Vinnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08955726889682177434noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9118409153657833547.post-22500237919915542822013-07-25T18:37:51.232-05:002013-07-25T18:37:51.232-05:00If you are interested Paul, you could google "...If you are interested Paul, you could google "the Socratic problem." You will find plenty of articles, many of which appear to be written by people with the relevant credentials. I couldn't find any that expressed any optimism about isolating the genuine Socrates. VinnyJH57https://www.blogger.com/profile/17954441753543764706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9118409153657833547.post-42207167518021000492013-07-25T06:18:55.143-05:002013-07-25T06:18:55.143-05:00It's not nit picking Vinny, it's attemptin...It's not nit picking Vinny, it's attempting to clarify the nature of the comparison you're trying to make, which seems a fair thing to do in a discussion. It seemed to me that you might be thinking of classicists in quite a broad sense, and NT scholars in quite a specific sense.<br /><br />To be clear, I think it's perfectly fair to compare the methodology of HJ scholars with those interested in Socrates, and NT scholars should either be able to show that their methodology is as good, or that they are capable of learning from classicists. From what I've seen, some of the criteria used to find the "real" Socrates look pretty similar to those used by HJ scholars, and suffer from similar problems. <br /><br />However, I'm interested to know what evidence you have to support your claim that scholars who study the historical Socrates are as a whole more agnostic about what Socrates did and said than is the case for historical Jesus scholars, because it seems a pretty vague assertion. It *might* well be true (and again, if it is, HJ scholars may need to learn a thing or two), I just don't see that you've provided any evidence to justify your claim.Mr Regnierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01111869149091924130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9118409153657833547.post-24412277640213711742013-07-24T17:25:40.629-05:002013-07-24T17:25:40.629-05:00It seems to me that you are looking for nits to pi...It seems to me that you are looking for nits to pick.<br /><br />I am aware that there are many New Testament scholars whose specialty is not the historical Jesus. By the same token, I am sure that there are many classicists whose concentration doesn't include Socrates or Plato. Nevertheless, I think those are reasonably accurate terms for the general fields of study in which scholars are found who do examine those topics.<br /><br />If I were to say "Economists have have found a relationship between income levels and longevity," I wouldn't be suggesting that this is a topic that more than a few economists had examined. VinnyJH57https://www.blogger.com/profile/17954441753543764706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9118409153657833547.post-62702723256547002552013-07-24T08:18:24.886-05:002013-07-24T08:18:24.886-05:00It seems to me that you're using "Classic...It seems to me that you're using "Classicists" in quite a broad sense, whereas New Testament Scholars in a very limited sense, i.e. as equivalent to "Historical Jesus Scholars".<br /><br />It's worth remembering that there are an awful lot of NT scholars who have relatively little interest in the Historical Jesus, being more concerned with e.g. textual criticism, Paul, the NT apocrypha, Biblical languages, the wider historical/religious background of the NT etc.<br /><br />A more valid comparison would be "do people who write books and articles about the historical Jesus express more certainty than those who write books an articles about the historical Socrates?". It's quite possible, and would make an interesting study, but I don't think you could just assume that they do, and proving it either way would be difficult. <br /><br />PS: It's taken a while, but I've finally had time to respond to your most recent comment on my blog. Mr Regnierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01111869149091924130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9118409153657833547.post-1552288062069443982013-05-14T22:30:02.868-05:002013-05-14T22:30:02.868-05:00Good points, arghhhhGood points, arghhhhAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com