Socrates the Gym Bro

In the past six months, I have lost 20kg. It is true that in the few months prior to that I had put on 10kg and, already chonky, that was not healthy. For context, I was spending a lot of time with a rather fabulous woman, and various culinary and other hedonistic indulgences took the better of me. A flip-side to my driven dysthymia is that if I am feeling happy, I can become a bit lazy, at least by my standards, and that's something I have to be aware of. Anyway, I realised what was going on, so I started being a lot more attentive to exercise (weights, running, cycling) and diet (vegetables, fibre, protein), which really amped up a level in October when I decided to seriously really pull back on the drink. Since September 31st, I've had but one boozy night (hosting a cocktail party on November 1st). For what it's worth, my summary is that exercise is for fitness and musculature, and diet is for nutrition and weight control. To lose weight successfully, your total energy expenditure has to be greater than the input, and the only regimens in both fields that will succeed are those which are sustainable. This is about lifestyle changes, not short-term solutions.

In addition to this, following my Sinologist interests, I have taken up sanda at the Melbourne University Club, the Chinese equivalent of mixed-martial arts. With the caveat of operating from an absolute rank beginner (the only thing I've done close to this is a little bit of foil fencing), my instructor seems satisfied with my beginner's strikes, grapples, and escapes. However, my throws are middling, and my kicks could do with a lot of improvement; I'm pretty strong, endurance is good, but need to work on flexibility. The club and its members are very supportive of having this almost-grey-fur in their midst. Last Saturday, my sparring partner (whom I hadn't met before) raised a quizzical eyebrow in conversation: "How old are you?" "Fifty-six" "That's the same age as my father! But you have the body of a thirty-year-old!". Those are very kind words, my friend, but you didn't see me six months ago, and I still think I need to shed another 10kg. At least, that's the plan for next year.

So what the devil does this have to do with Socrates? Well, because the philosopher refused to write anything down (on the grounds that he would forget how to remember), we're not sure which Socrates is the real one, although we do have three major contemporaries writing about him: Plato, Aristophanes, and Xenophon. Plato's version is the one we know the best: Socrates the ethicist and epistemologist, who developed the "elenchus" method of questioning, Socrates the ironist, Socrates who was put to death for "bringing strange Gods into the city" (a daimon, i.e., his conscience) and "corrupting the youth". In Aristophanes, we see a caricature version of Socrates that is impractical and has questionable intent. However, it is in Xenophon that we see Socrates portrayed as an intelligent and brave warrior, but also with an aesthetic approach to health. In Xenophon's "Memorabilia" Socrates says:

"For in everything that men do the body is useful; and in all uses of the body it is of great importance to be in as high a state of physical efficiency as possible. Why, even in the process of thinking, in which the use of the body seems to be reduced to a minimum, it is matter of common knowledge that grave mistakes may often be traced to bad health. And because the body is in a bad condition, loss of memory, depression, discontent, insanity often assail the mind so violently as to drive whatever knowledge it contains clean out of it... it is a disgrace to grow old through sheer carelessness before seeing what manner of man you may become by developing your bodily strength and beauty to their highest limit."

In the same spirit, there is a popular meme that's making the rounds which correctly identifies Plato as meaning "broad" (as in broad-shouldered, broad-chested) and that he was a wrestler in the Isthmian Games, a precursor of the Olympics. Where the meme is speculative is the suggestion that stood up and flexed to win intellectual debates. That is, of course, almost certainly untrue, even if it makes for an amusing story. But as we've seen from Xenophon's quotation of Socrates, there is an element of truth to the idea. The ancient Hellenes advocated the idea that a person should be balanced in their pursuits of truth, justice, and beauty (to use the Socratic triad) and identified being the best physically health with mental acumen, a position for which modern medical evidence is quite overwhelming. It serves as a counter to the truncated view among many economists who emphasise the importance of a division of labour for productivity. Whilst it is certainly true that specialisation does lead to increased productivity and the material wealth we enjoy today, the evidence is clear that too much of it leads to a working class that is mentally exhausted, excluded from aesthetic and public engagement, and unable to fully appreciate the fruit of their own labour. Cynics will justly suggest that this is very convenient for those who benefit from the work of others.

People have different abilities to engage in physical activity, whether it is due to injury or circumstances of their birth. Chronological age does not determine the relative ability, either, although increasing biological decrepitude and frailty is ultimately inevitable. Regardless, there are benefits for all people of all ages to engage in physical activity to the best of their ability, balanced by their cognitive and interpersonal pursuits. One of the tragic complements of specialisation is that we have too many in advanced societies whose physical activities are increasingly low which is correlated with a rise in obesity and related health problems, whilst at the same time we have a small group of hyper-athletic individuals who smash their way through various records year after year. A more sensible society, one which is dedicated to the general health and happiness of the population in aggregate, would be more concerned with a more widespread and community focus on physical health. Until we have a social system that recognises that need, however, it is regrettably up to individuals to take their own initiative on such matters.