Socrates on the Interwebz

Mike Flynn passes this gem along:

From Deogowulf’s now sadly silent The Joy of Curmudgeonry, a scenario familiar to many at various blogs:Thermippos — The Complete DialogueThe scene is the agora, outside the office of the magistrate. Socrates is on his way to answer charges of impiety. There he meets Thermippos holding forth confidently amidst a gathering of young men. Naturally, since death is on his mind, Socrates seizes the opportunity to discuss the subject with a man who seems certain of everything.

Socrates. You agree, Thermippos, that all men are mortal. Thermippos. I do. Socrates. And you agree furthermore that I am a man. Thermippos. I have no reason to doubt it, Socrates. Socrates. Surely then you agree that I am mortal. Thermippos. I didn’t say that. You did. Don’t put words in my mouth. Socrates. I beg your pardon, Thermippos, but I have simply drawn what follows. Thermippos. Strawman. Socrates. But no true reasoner could fail — Thermippos. Ah, the no-true-Macedonian fallacy. Socrates. But, Thermippos, given the logical form . . . Thermippos. Define “logical form”. Socrates. . . . you must either accept the conclusion or reject at least one of the premises. Thermippos. False dichotomy. Socrates. I see, Thermippos. You’re an idiot. Thermippos. And that’s an ad hominem.

Socrates ad-hominems Thermippos with a brick. The charges of impiety are dropped. 

Sadly, Socrates died 2500 year ago, so Thermippos was unable to compare him to Hitler and achieve the summit of Internet debate logic.(

On the bright side, this does give me a chance to show off the awesome Hitler emoticon I invented.  Use it in place of “You remind me of HITLER!” declaration and you will be super-cool.  Behold!  /:E(