Most ancient
Greek philosophers, Socrates included, were advocates
of a rational vision of the universe. As such they considered the intellectual
component of human nature to be the most important. Reason, therefore, was
a most powerful thing, with "the force of truth" being able to force people
to accept logical conclusions even if they wished to do otherwise.
In one ancient dialogue some of the participants even stopped up their ears
and refused to listen once they saw the flow of the argument was leading
in a direction which would compel them to abandon their beliefs. How different
this is from our current age where many are more than willing to embrace
their personal beliefs regardless of how inconsistent, illogical, or hypocritical
they may be!