The Complicated Life of Socrates

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Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher that was born in Athens, Greece around 470/469 BC. He served in the Athenian army and fought in many battles. When Socrates retired from fighting in the army, he began focusing on expressing his beliefs. He wasn’t the typical “teacher” or “preacher”; he was a very critical and analytical thinker that helped guide his students and the Athenians during his time. Through his teachings and beliefs, Socrates had positive and negative influence on the people during his time and modern time. Although he is credited as one of the founders of Western Philosophy, Political Philosophy, and Ethics, his teachings was in disagreement with the teachings of the democracy of Athens, which led to him being put to death. Along with his philosophical beliefs, Socrates’ great thinking led to the creation of the Socratic Method and the Socratic Paradoxes. Socrates’ philosophical beliefs and life isn’t accurately represented in the modern world. Since there aren’t any writings from Socrates himself, his life, beliefs, and philosophy has to be depicted through the writings of Plato, Aristophanes, Aristotle and Xenophon, with Plato being the most informational and dependable source. These writers that do mention Socrates in their writings aren’t always accurate and are sometimes very contradicting and inconsistent. In Plato’s writing, it is difficult to distinguish the ideas and beliefs of Socrates from Plato’s. Some historians believe that the beliefs of Plato were based upon Socrates. Some believe that the beliefs of Socrates were interpreted by Plato in his writings. Others believe Socrates didn’t have any ideas of his own. This unclear representation of Socrates is known as the Socratic Problem. Due to the S... ... middle of paper ... ...s are inaccurate and deceptive, the philosopher’s search for knowledge is most successful when the soul is most by itself” (Connolly). Throughout Socrates’ life and after his heroic death, Socrates had great influence over many of his students. Some of his students included Alcibiades, Critias, Plato, Aristotle, and Antisthenes. These students began writing literature contributing to the Socratic Dialogue. Works Cited Connolly, Tim. "Plato: Phaedo." n.d. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. Jowett, Benjamin, trans. Protagoras. By Plato. 1999. EBook Kern, Andrew. "What is Socratic Dialogue?" 24 March 2011. Circe Institution . Web. 24 March 2011. Nails, Debra. "Socrates." 16 September 2005. The Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 16 September 2005. Taylor, A.E. "The Thought of Socrates ." Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism 1998: 138-183. Web.

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