Modern Socrates

Saul Williams is my modern Socrates. He is more than just a poet, I like to describe him as a painter. He has the ability to paint pictures with his words. He is the very essence of what it means to be an artist and philosopher. He dissects even the most simple of human behaviors in an effort to make us question why it is that we do what we do. The first time I sat down to listen to one of his poems, I found my beliefs shaken. The poem had beeen about victims of rape and completely transformed my view of them. He used his words to restore their innocence and virtue. Another of his pieces, "Five Senses", reminds me alot of Descartes because he tells you to questiion everything that is presented to you as fact as well as the things that you determine to be factual through the use of your senses. Saul suggests that there is no such thing as fact because of the differences brought on by perspective.
As a poet it is his job to ask questions, but what sets Saul apart from other poets is that he begins his line of questioning from the point of existence, then progresses to more complex ideas. This is why he has the ability to reach so many people, despite the fact that some of his messages are considered radical. Another reason that I look to Saul as a modern Socrates, is his belief in the importance of mans relationship with the universe as a whole. Saul recognizes that in order for us to come together, we must first connect to the Universe (or God), because it is where we all began.