Importance of Philosophers
Philosophers are known for the expression of their thoughts and this makes life enjoyable for numerous people in the world. Philosophers are generally referred das thinkers who search for the hidden meanings of hidden things and finally nurture the agenda using a systematic approach of views. Philosophers recognize the fragility of the society people stays and still contribute their thoughts and share with the rest of the world. They use their experiences to provide lessons for the whole world and try to save other vulnerable people from world immoralities (Marquez, 2011). Many philosophers worldwide are educated way beyond degree even though they assert that a degree cannot make a philosopher. It is comparative to not the beauty of philosophers as they are all different in relation to their contributions in the world. Philosophers are great people who live a hidden life between the habitats of a society. This research paper focuses on one great philosopher of the world called Socrates.
Socrates
There is no clear indication of the when Socrates was born. The existing contributions from his students conflict one another. However, he was married to Xanthippe and they had three sons namely; Sophroniscus, Lamprocles and Menexenus. While he was still active, he was accused of having radicalized youths by corrupting their minds. He is alleged to have died from poisoning which came as a result of his death sentence.
“As for me, all I know is that I know nothing," this is a famous quote that described Socrates, the great Greek philosopher. He is widely recognized for his dialogues and work of the students he taught. He had great followers as Xenophon and Plato. Socrates was the founding father of ...
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Plato, author of the Phaedo, was the second member of the brilliant philosophical flourish of ancient Athens that began with Socrates, continued through him and then culminated with Aristotle. Thou...
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Socrates put one’s quest for wisdom and the instruction of others above everything else in life. A simple man both in the way he talked and the wealth he owned, he believed that simplicity in whatever one did was the best way of acquiring knowledge and passing it unto others. He is famous for saying that “the unexplained life is not worth living.” He endeavored therefore to break down the arguments of those who talked with a flowery language and boasted of being experts in given subjects (Rhees 30). His aim was to show that the person making a claim on wisdom and knowledge was in fact a confused one whose clarity about a given subject was far from what they claimed. Socrates, in all his simplicity never advanced any theories of his own but rather aimed at bringing out the worst in his interlocutors.
By studying a variety of events and people involved in the Peloponnesian War and the Theban play Antigone, it becomes noticeable that many of these events and people can be explained through Platonic terms. Throughout the Republic, Plato conveys his philosophical thoughts about democracy, justice, and education in a society through his main character Socrates. As Socrates encounters many enlightened people of his time, he questions them on rhetorical issues dealing with society and human nature. As these issues begin to unfold, events and people in the past seem to illustrate many of the main concepts in the Republic. After looking at Socrates' discussions throughout books I, IV, VI, and VII we will notice that they relate to many events that happened prior to the writing of the Republic such as the Sicilian Expedition, the debate at Sparta in 432, and Creon's implementation of justice in the Theban play Antigone by Sophacles.
Thrasymachus was a rhetorician whose orator skill were praised by Dionysus of Halicarnassus as “pure, subtle, and able, to speak either with terseness or with an abundance of words” (Guthrie, 1969, p. 167). Thrasymachus believed, as most Sophists do, that justice was a hindrance to an individual’s genuine interest: wealth, power, and pleasure. Thrasymachus conveys that justice is the interest and advantage of the stronger or “might makes right” (Plato, The Republic, 380 B.C, pp. 338d-339a). Thrasymachus felt that conventional morality be worn as a garment to conceal the egoist and self-centered motives underneath. Justice is nothing more than convention that serves the interests of lawmakers and if one wants justice, gaining power instead of appealing to an absolute standard of morality is the way. It is here that Plato’s theory and Thrasymachus’s demurring seemingly reach an
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Socrates a classical Greek philosopher and character of Plato’s book Phaedo, defines a philosopher as one who has the greatest desire of acquiring knowledge and does not fear death or the separation of the body from the soul but should welcome it. Even in his last days Socrates was in pursuit of knowledge, he presents theories to strengthen his argument that the soul is immortal. His attempts to argue his point can’t necessarily be considered as convincing evidence to support the existence of an immortal soul.
Whether Socrates is portrayed correctly or not, he certainly was a great man. His contribution to western thought cannot be denied. For even if his teachings were different from what they are known to be at present, his influence on Plato is immense. And so, it is no small matter to describe the tragic passing of such a man as Socrates was and remains for philosophy today. Yet in all the indignation which is expected to arise at the death of Socrates, the panache with which he departs is captured excellently in Plato's “Apology.” Specifically, at the end of the "Apology," Socrates makes a very important statement that has had great impact on philosophy ever since its original proclamation. The Stoics in particular have taken this to be the cornerstone of their ideology. The statement made is that "you must regard one thing at least as certain—that no harm can come to a good man either in his life or after his death,” (Plato 100). The following examination focuses therefore on a brief explanation of the circumstances which lead to this statement being made by Socrates, as well as a closer look at why he thinks this to be the case. It is assumed that this statement is true, and validation for that assumption is to be sought as well.
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Among the most revered philosophers of all time was Socrates. Living around the 5th century B.C.,