Who Was Socrates?
When we speak of Socrates, we must differentiate between the historical Socrates and the figurative Socrates, i.e., the Socrates of Plato. Either way, Socrates perhaps can be considered the father of western philosophy. His influence can be found in virtually all philosophical works, and his views are still discussed and debated today. The historical Socrates lived in ancient Athens from 470-399 BCE. He was a very well known philosopher during his lifetime, but made his living as a stonemason. As a philosopher, it is peculiar that Socrates never wrote down any of his views. For this reason, what is known of Socrates and his philosophy must be surmised from the works of other ancient philosophers such as Xenophon, Aristotle and especially Plato, all of whom wrote of him after his death. The only known work produced about Socrates during his lifetime was a fictional play called Clouds. It is widely accepted that Socrates lived an honorable and virtuous life. Socrates lived meticulously a
I. Socrates’ Life The period in which Socrates lived was called the Golden Age of Athens. In 480 B.C. the Greeks had decisively defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis, and the peace and prosperity that ensued ushered in a period of incredible artistic and cultural achievement, the likes of which the world has not seen since. Socrates himself was born in Athens around 470 B.C. He was the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and Phaenarete, a midwife. During the early part of his life, he seems to have followed in his father’s footsteps, working as a sculptor. He was married to Xanthippe (who is often depicted as something of a shrew) and she bore him three sons, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus and Menexenus. Socrates was hardly an ideal husband or father; he was so preoccupied with his search for wisdom that he often neglected his family and was not overly concerned with supporting them financially. As for his education, it is said that he was a student of Anaxagoras, one of the famous ear
Most of what we do know about Socrates comes from the writings of another very important person in Greek history, Plato. Both Socrates and Plato were very important Greek philosophers of ancient Greece. Socrates was a Greek philosopher who is to this day, widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. Socrates’ most important philosophy, from what we know gathered from Plato’s writings, were: the necessity of doing what one thinks is right even in the face of universal opposition, and the need to pursue knowledge even when opposed. Socrates’ main mission was to educate the citizens of Athens. Socrates actually wrote nothing, because he felt that knowledge was something to be gained by living and interacting in the world. He had several dialogues with the people of that time, and his philosophical inquiries of the people consisted of questioning them on the positions they held on certain ideas, to the point of having them contradict themselves, therefore showing them
Socrates, 469-399 B.C., Greek philosopher of Athens, is generally regarded as one of the wisest people of all time. Socrates himself left no writings, and most of our knowledge of him and his teachings comes from the dialogues of his most famous pupil, Plato (427-347 B.C.), and from the memoirs of Xenophon. Socrates is described as having neglected his own affairs, instead spending his time discussing virtue, justice, and piety wherever his fellow citizens congregated, seeking wisdom about right conduct so that he might guide the moral and intellectual improvement of Athens. Using a method now known as the Socratic dialogue, or dialectic, he drew forth knowledge from his students by pursuing a series of questions and examining the implications of their answers. Socrates equated virtue with the knowledge of one’s true self, holding that no one knowingly does wrong. He looked upon the soul as the seat of both waking consciousness and moral character, and held the universe to be purposive
