Socrates is known in todays world as one of the greatest philosophers in history. He brought many revolutionary ideas to ancient Athens during his life and even after his death. He had many followers that beloved him even till death. His tragic death only led him to become a martyr for philosophy. Socrates never wrote anything down so what we know of his life is the from the records left by his followers, mainly Plato.
Socrates was born around 470 B.C. in Athens to a family with moderate wealth. His father was a mason and his mother was a midwife. He followed his father’s footsteps and became a stone mason as his first job. He was a mason for a few years before he decided to become a philosopher. Because of his family’s wealth, he was able to become a foot soldier for the Greek army. He served during the Peloponnesian War. During the war he served campaigns in Delium, Amphipolis, and Potidea. During his time in the army, he also saved Alcibiades, a famous and important general of the Greek army. After he served his time in the army, he married a woman named Xanthippe and had three sons with her. Unfortunately he had a very rocky marriage as Socrates spent more time teaching the youth of Athens then spending time with his own sons. His wife was also angry with him for his current job. Philosophy does not always pay the bills.
Socrates was the “Hipster” of his time. He walked around the streets of Athens barefoot, with long hair, and unwashed in a city that had a high regard for beauty. Socrates was also known to be physically ugly which did not help his standing in Athenian culture. It was because of this that Socrates emphasized the importance of the mind over the relative unimportance of the human body(Biography.com) He opp...
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... to be true. Socrates did not fear death as stated earlier, and that might have also stemmed from his belief in an all mighty creator. The records that Plato recorded of Socrates say that he did not acknowledge the many gods of Athens and many times referred to one God. It may seem that one of the reasons that Socrates did not try to refuse his own death was that he knew that he would go to a better place after his time here was through. Socrates was truly a man that helped Athens through his philosophy. He encouraged the people to practice correct conduct and behavior and to closely examine the differences between right and wrong.
Works Cited
“Socrates.” 2013. History.com. Dec 12 2013
“Socrates.” 2013. Biography.com. Dec 12 2013
Sproul,R.C. The Consequences of Ideas. Illinois: Crossway, 2000.
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“Socrates: Philosophical Life” Philosophypages.com. Dec 12 2013
Socrates spent his life wandering the streets of Athens questioning the citizens he encountered about their ideas and ideals. Because he questioned the ideas of the elders, and because some of his acquaintances had warred against Athens he was not liked by city powers, who brought him to trial"
Socrates lived such a private life that it lead to the most important revelation of his entire life. He would go about his life doing nothing but self-examination. In examining his life so strenuously others would come to him to be taught, or to have their children be taught by Socrates. They would offer him money and he would refuse. They would do whatever they could to learn anything Socrates had to teach. What they did not know is that Socrates was not teaching anyone he was simply going about his usual life and people just happened to learn from it. This was also why Socrates was put on trial. He was brought up on two charges, one of impiety and the other of corrupting the youth. These two charges set the course for the last month of his life.
Socrates: A Gift To The Athenians As Socrates said in Apology by Plato, “...the envy and detraction of the world, which has been the death of many good men, and will probably be the death of many more…”(Philosophical Texts, 34) Throughout history, many leaders have been put to death for their knowledge. In Apology, Socrates- soon to be put to death- says he was placed in Athens by a god to render a service to the city and its citizens. Yet he will not venture out to come forward and advise the state and says this abstention is a condition on his usefulness to the city.
Nails, Debra. “Socrates”. Stanford University. Jan 29, 2014. Web. Feb 16, 2014. Retrieved from: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/#SocStr
Socrates was a revolutionary thinker. He brought new ideas and processes of thought to Athenian society and his work still has its place in the world today. However during his time, his ideas were not always thought of as a good thing. Many viewed him as a corrupting influence on other people and accused him of forcing his ideas upon others. Perhaps most frequently the center of controversy was his thoughts on theocracy and piety as seen in the Plato’s Euthyphro. Socrates also appears at the butt end of Aristophanes’ comedy Clouds, where he is satirically ridiculed and seemingly corrupting the youth of Athens in his school, the Thinkery. Although virtually completely seen as a positive influence now, in ancient times, Socrates may have done more harm than good for his society.
The people of Athens used Socrates as a scapegoat for the wrongs that had befallen them in regards to plagues as well as him upsetting the higher ups. It was believed by the people that he had upset the Gods and was the cause of the misfortune. Socrates knew this and saw this as a last service to his country and people, which is why he was content with his death.
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...
“Love is difficult to define, and there maybe different definitions. But one definition of love, is an utter, absolute, and unqualified wish for the other’s happiness” (). One of the most important Greek philosophers in Western history, Socrates contributed to many theories, and impacted the field of ethics throughout his life. He was well known in Athens for his knowledge and teachings to the youth. He was the creator of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, both used to convey his lessons to the Athenians. Socrates had many disciples throughout his life including Plato, one of the more popular students. Plato is the author of many philosophical writings, many of which are about Socrates. He questioned the idea of virtue and studied the
Socrates argues that he could not have intentionally corrupted Athenian youth through two premises: The first being that he would certainly not want to live amongst ...
About the year of 470 B.C, a man was born in Athens and his name was Socrates. He was a son of a working sculptor and a midwife. Socrates lived in the greatest and most exciting period of his country's history, when Athens developed from a mere city-state to be the head of an empire. He studied problems of Physics, Biology, and other sciences, and learned the art of making the worse argument appear the better. He could easily be involved in public decisions but he did not enjoy politics so he stuck to his interests and life that consisted the qualities of a thinker. He would constantly be thinking about the "ordinary man" and the interests of an "ordinary man". He had many companions, men of all ages and from all parts of the Greek world. This already tells us that he is very pre-occupied with how other people's minds worked and if he could figure out how to teach them rational thinking. Easily most of his ideas would come from talking to other people
Socrates discusses that people should not fear death because we do not know the qualities of death. Even though we do not know what death is, he makes some suggestions for the possibilities after death. He suggests that maybe death is just an endless sleep without dreaming, it is where we can finally come to peace with ourselves. He also suggest that maybe in the afterlife he will be able to meet heroic people in the past, where he can share his experience and question people to see whether they are wise. Even in death Socrates is still going to practice philosophy even if the place is bad. Even if he did not live a just life that he thought he did, he can examine what he did wrong and fix the problems in the after life. I agree with Socrates
Socrates describes his role in Athens as being a gadfly, an individual who challenges the status quo through posing novel questions. The prevailing situation in Athens then was people being involved in public affairs and politics, but Socrates decides to challenge this state of affairs by remaining largely aloof from the political arena and public affair. Instead, he prefers to interact with other people at a more individual level than being public. His actions, he notes, arise from a supernatural sign or an inner voice dissuading him from being involved on public issues (Plato). He claims at two occasions he almost died for being brave when he challenged public authorities over justice. He makes sense that an unexamined life is not worth living since one may not survive for long with such a life.
Socrates was a very important philosopher. He usually questioned a lot about traditions, religion and government. One of his ideas, now used at school, is the Socratic Method. This is that a person asks questions to the pupil, and while the pupil responds, the answer is becoming clearer. Socrates did not like to write any books. He always preferred staying at the market talking and questioning people, than staying at home writing books. He was very controversial, an...
Socrates was an insightful philosopher who had an opinion on all the basic fundamental questions. He had very strong beliefs that he willed others into believing through questioning and proving ignorance in others beliefs. He has particular views on every fundamental question and particular views on how people should live their lives. He says God has spoken to him about philosophy and says that it is his destiny and it is his calling in life. Through philosophy he searches for answers to the fundamental questions and gains wisdom and knowledge. The fundamental question of condition is the question of what, if anything, has gone wrong with the world? The question of solution is what can fix the problem? Then there is Death which asks what happens
While he was growing up he received a very typical education, no different than any other average child living in Athens at the time. As he got older he became very muscular, although was quite short according to Plato’s, Symposium. After his education he went on to become a hoplite, an Athenian soldier (Twardowski, 353). Following his career as a hoplite, he started his philosophical journey and never worked for money again (“Socrates”). Socrates would go around and help people develop their ideas. Instead of telling people what to think, which is what their government and elders did, he challenged the people to think for themselves. He would question people as to why they believe what they did in more of a dialect than a teaching or lecturing (Twardowski, 354). This is where the Method of Elenchus originated, more commonly known as the Socratic method, and is still well known thanks to a text written by a student of Socrates named Plato. The Socratic method eventually led the young adults to change the way they see the world. Instead of having the same thoughts as their parents and government, they began to think for themselves (“Socrates”). As one can imagine the older Athenian people were furious. The younger generation was now questioning their beliefs and thinking in a way people had never considered before. People speculated that Socrates was a sophist. The