Socrates Beliefs

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us." Socrates said. Socrates was one of the worlds biggest influence on ethics and ways of thinking. He taught all his students to question everything and to never settle for one answer. He was a Greek philosopher in the city of Athens who mainly focused on ethics, western philosophy and his own methods, like the Socrates method and Socratic irony. He later influenced many philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and Aristippus. Socrates was a classical writer who's methods and views and ethics are highly debated and talked about in schools today.

When Socrates was a teacher, he encouraged his students to question everything.

He had very strong opinions on Athens' society and politics. He objected the democracy and all of the Athens government. He was posed as a threat to all young men because he taught them to question and really wonder if Athens democracy worked and was effective to society or if it was slowly destroying everything. He had very different views on how life should be lived and what you should live for. He strongly believed that society should focus on the pursuit of virtue rather then the pursuit of popularity and wealth. He concentrated more on friendships and sense of true communities in order for people to grow and work together. That war, isn't necessary and it just breaks communities apart. The many people of Athens didn't agree with his teachings and thought he was crazy. The number one goal in life is to be wealthy and he apart of history based on wealth according to Athenians. Socrates wanted to live his life in truth and happiness. He was in pursuit of truth and all that truth was.
Socrates wrote his excerpt, "The Apology" to explain his reasonings behind his teachings and apologize for the things he has supposedly done. He had to defend himself because the people of Athens accused him of corrupting the youth, not believing in the gods and creating new deities. He wrote to the jury and the people of Athens, he wrote to tell them why he did the things he did. He tried to persuade them with reason rather than pleading with mercy and begging for forgiveness. He believed in what he taught and felt he had no reason to forgive. in the speech, he doesn't show emotions, he states what he thinks and his pure knowledge. In his speech he says, "and if I say again that daily to discourse about virtue, and of those other things about which you hear me examining myself and others, is the greatest good of man, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, you are still less likely to believe me." He's trying to convince the people that his teachings are for the greater good of man. That they are going to help, and everyone should question everything. That you should find out everything and examine every inch of everything, or your life will be worth nothing. But he tells this knowing that no one will believe him or follow his teachings. Socrates was later in fact found guilty of corrupting the youth and was killed.
In my opinion, I believe this speech and all of Socrates teachings were an extremely influential part of history and should be forever recognized.

I chose this speech, to show that Socrates had a remarkable way of thinking. He thought like no one had before. He had huge impacts on Plato and Aristotle as well. They studied Socrates and built most of their ideas off him. He is considered the beginning of philosophy, he discovered a new way of being. He taught us not to live based on wealth, but based off our own happiness. That not everything is about money, and that friendships are very important. He's relevant today, because he teaches everyone to think for themselves, and to discover better and higher things. By reading some of his articles and reading some of both Plato's and Aristotle's passages, Socrates really made me think of being my own person, and to not be afraid to question everything I am and all that I stand for but in a good way. To make sure I'm living my life, examining every single part of the world, and to live and do things because I want too. Don't get lost in the shuffle, but to be your own person, no matter what anyone else thinks. That's what Socrates did, he was his won persons and got heavily judged for it. But he stuck to what he believed in and that was what made him

happy.