Socrates was one of the most influential thinkers in the West, even though he left no writings of himself, it was possible to reconstruct an accurate account of his life from the writings of his Greek students because he always engaged them. He was a man with a very strong conviction because he lived his life for the pursuit of knowledge, true wisdom, God’s will, and piety. Though he never wrote anything, his soul source of knowledge about him came from one of his students, Plato. Socrates was born in 469 B.C. in a village on the slopes of Mount Lycabettus, where his father was a sculptor and his mother a midwife. He soon became an apprentice and aid to his father and he continued it throughout a brief period of time until he volunteered to be a soldier in the Peloponnesian War. After his retirement of the army, most of his time and energy in his adult life was spent in pursuing wisdom. Plato was Socrates’ most famous student because of his devotion that he had with philosophy. “Philosophy, the love of wisdom, was for Socrates itself a sacred path, a holy quest -- not a game to be taken lightly. He believed -- or at least said he did in the dialog Meno -- in the reincarnation of an eternal soul, which contained all knowledge. We unfortunately lose touch with that knowledge at every birth, and so we need to be reminded of what we already know (rather than learning something new)” (Boeree, “The Ancient Greeks, Part Two: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle”). Socrates had discussions in a wide range of subjects, for example marriage, love, war, politics, religion, science, and morals. Most of his discussions were known as dialectic meaning they consisted of conversations at which it would bring the different point of vi... ... middle of paper ... ...scaping from prison, Socrates used his death as a final lesson for his pupils with his last words meaning that death is the cure and the freedom of the soul from the body. What he left was his teachings to his students and the achievements and beliefs that are still being used today. From building the tower of Harnesses to his different beliefs of always trying to expose ignorance because he always believed that the mind and soul was more important than the body because it was immortal. Works Cited Dr. C. George Boeree. “The Ancient Greeks, Part Two: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.” http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/athenians.html. Luis E. Navia. Socrates A Life Examined New York: Prometheus Books, 2007. Paul Strathern. Socrates In 90 Minutes Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1997. Shane Weller. The Trial And Death Of Socrates Canada: Dover Publications, 1992.
In Walter Mosley’s Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, the reader is introduced to Socrates Fortlow, an ex-convict who served twenty-seven years for murder and rape. Fortlow is plagued by guilt and, seeing the chaos in his town, feels a need to improve not only his own standards of living, but also those of others in Watts. He attempts this by teaching the people in Watts the lessons he feels will resolve the many challenges the neighbourhood faces. The lessons Fortlow teaches and the methods by which he teaches them are very similar to those of the ancient Greek philosopher for whom Fortlow was named: “‘We was poor and country. My mother couldn’t afford school so she figured that if she named me after somebody smart then maybe I’d get smart’” (Mosley, 44). Though the ancient Greek was born to be a philosopher and Fortlow assumed the philosopher role as a response to the poor state of his life and Watts, both resulted in the same required instruction to their populations. The two Socrates’ both utilize a form of teaching that requires their pupil to become engaged in the lesson. They emphasize ethics, logic, and knowledge in their instruction, and place importance on epistemology and definitions because they feel a problem cannot be solved if one does not first know what it is. Socrates was essential in first introducing these concepts to the world and seemed to be born with them inherent to his being, Fortlow has learned the ideals through life experience and is a real-world application in an area that needs the teachings to get on track. While the two men bear many similarities, their differences they are attributed primarily as a result of their circumstances provide the basis of Fortlow’s importance in Watts and as a modern-...
Socrates was wise men, who question everything, he was found to be the wise man in Athens by the oracle. Although he was consider of being the wises man alive in those days, Socrates never consider himself wise, therefore he question everything in order to learned more. Socrates lived a poor life, he used to go to the markets and preach in Athens he never harm anyone, or disobey any of the laws in Athens, yet he was found guilty of all charges and sentence to die.
Well-known for his significant impact on the philosophical world, Socrates was one of the first people to truly question individuals and take the average level of thinking to a much more elevated level. The Last Days of Socrates, specifically Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, written by Plato demonstrates Socrates’ great use of the Socratic method as well as rhetoric, the art of persuasion. Many people looked down upon Socrates because they viewed his calling, as told by the Oracle of Delphi, to be impious. Although Socrates was put to death for living a life such as his, he was very extremely successful during his time alive. Socrates was successful in both the realm of philosophical truth and in the outside world because humans used rhetorical ways of thinking to find purpose and make decisions without the influence of other members in society.
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 dies for the sake of his friends in order to show them that they should not fear death. He explains to his friends, throughout Phaedo that the soul is immortal, and he uses logical arguments to prove that it’s...
Socrates was a philosopher who taught his devoted pupils the importance and methods to obtain knowledge and ethics. He was an anti-democratic philosopher who disagreed with how society was run and turned many people in the city against him. He was sentenced to death by the Athenian court for being guilty of “corrupting the youth” and “refusing to recognize the gods recognized by
"Socrates Biography - Life, Name, Story, Death, History, School, Young, Son, Information, Born, Time." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Web. 05 July 2011. .
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.
The Golden age of Greece produced numerous philosophers, while also fostering traditional beliefs found within early Greek writings. One of the most proliferate philosophers during this time was Socrates, and because of his teachings he paid the ultimate price; his life. So, when asked who is Socrates, I believed him to be a martyr for his beliefs. The meaning behind his philosophies was to educate the people and inspire greater thoughts within them; causing him to be seen as a threat to Athens. So, while many may have seen Socrates as a simple philosopher and threat to the city of Athens, due to his teachings, I believe him to be a martyr for philosophical thought. I will support this idea by examining both the Apology and Clouds and how Socrates’
Death is the debt that all men pay. No matter who you are, how rich you are, or what you do for society; everyone dies. In the case of Socrates his death came from the ‘hand of justice’ from Athens. He should have been put to death after the trial, but Athens law prohibits execution on holidays, so Socrates waited in prison until a ship came into port. While there one of his friends, Crito, gave Socrates several reasons to stay alive and escape.
The Golden Age was the peak point of prosperity and wealth in the Greece’s history. This period has given us, mankind, the most remarkable architecture, literature, art, drama and philosophy which are the foundations of our modern civilization. In the Golden Age, Greece was very famous for its tragic dramas written by famous authors, such as Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides. The play that I like the most is “Oedipus the King” written by Sophocles. In this play, Oedipus, the mythical king of Thebes, had a prophecy tell him that he would kill his father and marry his own mother. Oedipus does everything he can to control his future, and his actions result in him doing that. In the end, the king of Thebes blinds himself to compensate for his crimes, which are murder and incest. What make this play so interesting is its message which tells the
Gregory Vlastos commented in his book Socrates: The Ironist and Moral Philosopher, “Such is his strangeness that you will search and search among those living now and among men of the past, and never come close to what he is himself and to the things he says.” (Vlastos). Gregory makes an important point; although studying Plato gives us a glimpse of Socrates, it only gives a glimpse of him through Plato’s eyes. We can study this text and others and never understand exactly who this man is. Even if we had writings of Socrates’s own hands it would be difficult to understand this complicated man. On the other hand the writings we do have, including the
How would you feel if someone called you a sophist? Before you answer, it's important to know how the meaning of this word has evolved. "During the fifth century, sophists were teachers, speakers, and philosophers who were paid to use rhetoric (Mardner 1)." But many people opposed their style of teaching. Socrates was a philosopher who disagreed with the Sophist's point-of-view. The main differences between the Sophist and Socrates were their views on absolute truth.
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