Socrates vs. Barone: Gadfly as gift or “covert enemy”

Wikipedia describes Gadfly as “a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or attempt to stimulate innovation by proving an irritant.” According to this definition, it can be argued that Gadfly can be both a gift or according to Barone, “a covert enemy”, based on the intentions the upsetting or novel questions are asked with. The first part of the conclusion (Gadfly as a gift) can be argued based on Socratic philosophy, and the second part (Gadfly as a “covert enemy”) can be argued based on both Socratic philosophy as derived from Plato’s “Apology” and “Crito” as well as Barone’s stance in the article ““Our covert enemies”.

Socrates’ philosophy is based upon his ideal that the unexamined life is not worth living and the role of philosophy is to help one lead a fulfilling life. Challenging traditional faiths and beliefs can be considered part of the Socratic Method. Although, from Plato’s records, Socrates seems to have faith in the existence of Greek Gods, he still seems to challenge accepted ideas and superstitions through the process of inquiry. When Socrates is tried in court for charges of corrupting the youth by his philosophizing, Socrates states that he, Socrates, is an invaluable gift from the Gods to the Athenians because his constant questioning forces the Athenians to engage in the most fundamental question, namely, what it means to be a good life. This seems to hint at our commitment to something greater than the human law. However, Socrates also refuses to escape from prison, stating that it would be unjust to the people and the city of Athens, and as a citizen of Athens, he has some commitments and duties to abide by the city laws or accept the punishment. Although Socrates defends his philosophizing in court, he also agrees that exposing people to philosophy can be harmful and destructive.

“I don’t suppose that it has escaped your notice that, when young people get their first taste of arguments, they misuse it by treating it as a kind of game of contradiction. They imitate those who’ve refuted them by refuting others themselves, and like puppies, they enjoy dragging and tearing those around them with their arguments . . . . Then, when they’ve refuted many and been refuted by them in turn, they forcefully and quickly fall into disbelieving what they believed before. And, as a result, they themselves and the whole of philosophy are discredited in the eyes of others” (Rep. 539a-c).”

This quotation seems to indicate that while following the method of inquisition, the intention is very important. Since Socrates’ whole philosophy is with a fulfilling life as the intended end, being a Gadfly would be a gift according to Socrates, but only if the intention of the Gadfly is noble, not just breaking the opponent’s article and making a weak argument strong. However, if the Gadfly’s questioning leads to civil unrest (although unintentional), and if the polis thinks he is accountable according to law, one must be ready to take the punishment too. Although one might say that accepting punishment for something that one considers “unjust” is wrong, one must keep in mind that the Gadfly was aware of what he was doing (responding to his higher beliefs or moral code) and must be ready to accept the consequences of his actions. Thus, if the intent is right and if the Gadfly is able to persuade the polis to side with him, he can really bring change in a stagnant society and prove to be a gift.

However at the same time, if the intent is wrong, a gadfly can be classified as a “covert enemy”. Barone defines “covert enemy” as someone who does not consciously harms the society, but questions traditions and established systems to undermine faith in one’s society and confidence in its goodness. He claims that most of these covert enemies are “elites” who think they know more than the masses. Although Barone does not necessarily give a clear cut definition of the term “elite” in his article, but it is evident that these are the people who question established beliefs and try to push new ideas in just because they think that their ideas are superior to the existing ones. According to Barone, this kind of attack on a society’s beliefs and ideals undermines people’s faith in the working of the system and leads to civil unrest. Barone might agree with the claim that such kind of questioning creates a false sense of insecurity in the mind of the masses and weakens the foundations of a society. So, keeping Barone’s views in mind, it seems as if Barone would see a Gadfly as a “covert enemy”. From the above paragraph, we can see that even Socrates considers people who use the Socratic method of inquiry to just make weak arguments strong and try to humiliate one’s opponent as disgrace to philosophy. But, again intention in this case matters. Earlier, it was showed that a Gadfly can be a gift, but given the wrong intentions, a Gadfly can be a “covert enemy”. For example, if in court the congress tries to pass a bill, but one lobby does not like the bill, not because the bill is unjust, they just don’t like it. One Gadfly questions the legitimacy of the bill and stalls the bill and thus halting the progress of the society. Here, the action was not intended for a just end. Although the method used was clever and innovative, but achieving a wrong end through a right action does not make the end right. Thus, we can say that given the intentions are flawed, a Gadfly can be a “covert enemy”

Finally, it seems like it all comes down to one’s intentions. A Gadfly can be a gift if he has a noble intention for the betterment of society, but at the same time should be ready to accept the consequences if something goes wrong. This action can be classified under fighting the system from within, a lot less messy than its opposite number. At the same time, given the intentions are immoral, a Gadfly can be a “covert enemy” and parasitic to a society.
Works Cited

Barone, Michael. "Our Covert enemies." 21 August 2006. www.townhall.com.