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Good life of Socrates
strengtth and weaknesses of socrates
strengtth and weaknesses of socrates
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Inspiring. Enigmatic. Stubborn. Insightful. Truly one of the greatest minds the world has ever known was the philosopher, Socrates. Yet next to nothing is known for certain about him. This is because he didn’t bother to write any of his musings or teachings. However, most of what we know about Socrates today comes to us from the works of Socrates’ student, Plato. It is through many of his works that the ethical theories of Socrates can be learned and his methods known. WHO WAS HE? Socrates was a devoted student of human nature and human motives. As such, he was a passionate political commentator. The problem with this, of course, was that during that time, it could land one in jail, or worse, yet, dead. “The States are as the men are; they grow out of human characters (Plato, 543a). This philosophy of Socrates is what presumably had him arrested, tried and executed. Socrates, according to Plato, analyzed the various types of governments that were attempted during a very chaotic time in Athens. As such, corruption was widespread and Socrates spoke out against it. In Book Eight of Plato’s Republic, Socrates explains the four types of corrupt governments, the kind of men that make each type of government run and says that as the individual’s personality is, so there to, is the government’s personality. In other words, if the person is corrupt or possesses some sort of graft then the government will also. Socrates, if one reads any of Plato’s works, seems to be a man of intense and never satisfied curiosity. He employed the same logical actions developed by the Sophists to a new purpose, the pursuit of truth. Many credit Socrates with the birth of critical philosophy in that he would accept nothing less than a full account of h... ... middle of paper ... ...l of philosophers. That mankind is a constant source of amazement and discovery, none would have argued. And in the end, the soul of mankind is the last great frontier, is it not? This largely undiscovered frontier was a source of constant contemplation by Socrates, and in turn, those future philosophers who would come after him. Works Cited The Death of Socrates (2002, November 25) Citro (online) Available: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/phaedo.html Plato, Lee, Desmond (Translator) Plato : The Republic 1979 Plato, Five Dialogues, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, Hackett Publishing Company, 1981, pp. 6-22 Plato (2002, November 25) (online) Available: http://plato-dialogues.org/plato.htm Socrates: The Examiner (2002, November 25) (online) Available: http://www.creatorix.com.au/philosophy/03/03f05.html
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.
Socrates, the father of Philosophy, is perhaps one of the best examples of the importance of questioning human constructs. In Meno, ...
`Why on what lines will you look, Socrates, for a thing of whose nature you know nothing at all? Pray, what sort of a thing, amongst those things that you know will you treat us to as the object of your search? Or even supposing, at the best that you it upon it, how will you know it is the thing you did not know?'
Rather than accepting the conventional belief that education is defined as the mind receiving knowledge to obtain wisdom, Socrates believed that the soul already contains all possible knowledge, however it is through seeking knowledge through debate and questioning that wisdom is revealed. Plato echoes this belief within the allegory by proposing that “‘certain professors of education must be wrong when they say that they can put knowledge into the soul which was not there before, like sight into blind eyes . . . [for] the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already.’” (Plato 551). By creating a philosophical narrative through almost the entire use of dialogue, Plato demonstrates how questioning through conversation can lead to philosophical understanding just as it lead to Socrates’ understanding in the allegory. Furthermore, nothing Socrates states within the allegory is ever stated as a perfect fact, but rather stated as an idea or a question. Likewise, Glaucon also never confirms Socrates’ ideas as actuality, but only answers with phrases such as, “that is fairly put” or “so it seems” to encourage his theories, but not to ratify his proposal as a fact. This use of Socratic dialogue reiterates Plato’s main purpose in primarily using inquisitive dialogue within the narrative
The portrayal of Socrates by his student Plato creates one of the most controversial characters of all time. There are few other personalities in history that have drawn criticism and praise from the furthest ends of each spectrum. Socrates has been called the inventor of reason and logic, and at the same time has been condemned as a corruptor and a flake. Perhaps he was all of these. Despite this disagreement, one is a certainty: Socrates had a very interesting and active sense of humor.
So, first, why does Socrates make such a bold statement? Verily it is nothing short of his own death sentence. The people who accused and voted against Socrates, have decreed it that he is to die for impiety toward the gods and of corrupting the youth (Plato), in addition, it is known that Socrates has as a companion of sorts a "prophetic voice" to keep his philosophical endeavors regulated. Socrates himself states that this presence has not opposed him at an...
Through Plato’s writing, we are able to learn quite a lot about Socrates, who is considered the father of western philosophy. Socrates never recorded any of his own ideas so we must always see him through the eyes of Plato. In the book, we learn that
Throughout much of fifth-century Athens, there were two distinct types of philosophers, ones that followed the teachings of the Sophists or ones that followed the ideals of Socrates. In this essay, I will first portray the Sophistry and their values. Then I will further depict Socrates as the Sophistry’s opposite. Furthermore, I will demonstrate the countless differences and the limited common interests between the Sophists and Socrates.
After the death of Socrates Plato started t write his most famous book “Plato’s Republic”. The purpose of the book was to give a more accurate picture of Socrates than that presented by his detractors and also, as in the case of Plato, to use these re-created conversations as a vehicle for philosophic investigation. Plato
Philosophy can be defined as the pursuit of wisdom or the love of knowledge. It is the product of education and experience, but more than the accumulation of information. Socrates, one of the most well-known of the early philosophers, epitomizes the concept of what is necessary of a true pursuer of wisdom: devoting his entire life to introspection, discussion and travel in search of the true meaning of the word. Divulged through Plato’s writings, Socrates is recognized for developing meanings of previously undefined concepts, such as truth, wisdom, and beauty. Due to Socrates’ role as a mouthpiece for his student’s ideas about the world, the creator of certain theories and concepts are not always distinguishable. That being said, both Socrates
Plato is one of the most iconic authors in the history of philosophy. Even today, his words live strong in modern thinking and society. He was a highly spoken citizen of Athens (Kraut, 2013). His input in the politics and the society of Athenian life made him a major player in the success of democracy in ancient civilization (Kraut, 2013). Being one of the first real “philosophers” in history, Plato was looked up to by scholars of that time, as well as current philosophers of our time. His most influential work of writing is The Republic where he makes many assumptions while also including ideas and conversations with other thinkers of the time like Socrates and Thrasymachus (Kraut, 2013). Current and future thinkers will forever interpret Plato’s work for centuries to come.
Debates of this sort continue to take place over the course of history today, through the challenges of the adaptive nature of race, gender, and religion. Henceforth, Socrates’ principles as shown through his conversation with Euthyphro, hold true over the tests and adaptations that associate with time. Socrates’ ideas and practices has proven to transcend through multiple generations through the adaptation of the Socratic method as an effective means for educational instruction in the world today. The Trials of Socrates encompasses the themes expressed thus far, of one of transcendence of knowledge and wisdom, and the application of such to challenge cultural and spiritual norms to help gage understanding as to why people think how they do, the early frameworks for future intellectuals of various sectors to arise and implement their knowledge into the world. Among these impacted include Sappho, who used her intellect about the human desire and sexuality to express in writings, the naturalist perspective of love beyond cultural normatives and boundaries. Socrates’ impact on the development of intellectuals such as future Enlightenment thinkers, Civil Rights leaders and peace activists, is quite evident through his teachings and he proves why he continues to remain a prominent figure of great intellectuals of
By Characterizing himself –Socrates- as both ignorant and wise, he presents us with one of the most striking paradoxes. Like so many of the other philosophers, is provocative in that its apparent self-contradiction hides an important idea for us readers to discover. Though out this text Socrates ignorance results from his belief that he has no knowledge of moral idea, or moral properties, such as justice, virtue, piety, and beauty. He asserts that, if only he knew the relevant definitions, he would be a moral expert who could answer philosophical questions about moral properties- questions such as is a certain action just? Or is it truly good for a man to be virtuous? Socrates believes that only someone that is “truly wise” would know these essential definitions and be able to provide such expert answers. It is important to determine whether Socrates does, in fact, accept priority of definition principle and, if he does, whether he is committed to a false and problematic principle that subjects him to catastrophic results. A textual analysis will be a philosophic inquiry into Socrates’ conception of knowledge, considering what he believes knowledge to be, how the knowledge of definitions fits into his epistemology, and whether or not his conception of knowledge is philosophical compelling.
Most knowledge proclaimed by historians about Socrates are collected from Plato’s (Socrates’ student) writings, for Socrates’ teaching were never recorded/ written. Plato was one of Socrates’ most famous students, who was very inspired by Socrates’ enforcement of the significance of morals and continued to spread wisdom, Plato gained as a pupil. Aristotle, student of Plato and a well-known philosopher, respected and accept Plato’s and Socrates’ beliefs, despite disagreeing with some ideas. Now apparent, Socrates influenced some of the most famous and impactful philosophers as of today.
...ns. Why would he do this if he did not see the laws of Athens as just? In order to fulfill the agreement he has made with Athenian law, Socrates must accept the punishment he is given, though he feels that his being punished is Athens wronging him. It would be wrong, by his view, to escape from prison, though he would not be pursued, because he would be breaking his agreement to obey Athenian law. Since he and Crito previously agreed that one must never do wrong, he simply must stay in jail until his death. This is merely one example of the way in which Socrates uses a method of logical dialogue in order to make his point. He appears to be unmatched in his skills of deduction and consistently demonstrates his love of knowledge and truth. Socrates exemplifies all that is philosophy, both as a student and a teacher, because of his constant, active pursuit of wisdom.