Socrates Paradox Analysis

Any discussion in philosophy can never be complete without discussing the controversial philosopher Socrates. His main focus of thought was in Ethics where many of his ideas are still used today as the basis of Western philosophy. He richly fed into the idea of a code of morality that is still as powerful now as it was in Ancient Greece.

During his life, perhaps one of Socrates’ greatest battles was with the Sophists of 5th century B.C. ancient Greece. They were a group of thinker who believed in the critiquing all common beliefs, norm, and traditions. While they marked the onset of a period of free-thinking during which science bloomed. They had no specific philosophical leaning but rather were intellectuals who tried to better

The Socratic Paradox, for example, states that what one knows forms such a large part of them that it dictates their soul. He believed that true happiness could only be found by serving one’s true purpose and doing what is right. He stated that while we all seek good we fail to achieve it by ignorance or lack of knowledge on how to be good. Socrates was of the belief that no single person chooses to be evil or ignorant. Ignorance was a state he tried to thoroughly cure by gaining as much knowledge as possible through constant questioning. This particular trait of his led to his rather ironic death; on one hand he believed in questioning all, hence questioned even his people’s gods, and on the other hand, he was an ardent believer in human law and it absoluteness, therefore he couldn’t run away from the charges pressed against

Any straying from the set presets are considered illegal and punished as heavily as Socrates thought was right. This, however, did not mean that the government was always right. He believed in correcting them as much as possible in order to improve them. He taught us to also a life geared towards happiness above all else. “The unexamined life is not a life worth living for a human being”. A life that was orderly yet geared towards order was what separated humans from baser animals.

He introduced a newer concept of human virtues to overhaul the attitude of “an eye for an eye”. This was a belief in temperance, justice, piety, and courage that is not just a basis of many of the world’s religions but also of humanity as a whole. He was also a strong believer in the pursuit of well rather than wealth. This concept put that people would pursue a life of well was more fulfilling and led to better lives, a theory strongly supported by psychologists the world over.

Perhaps the most important of Socrates’ lessons that is still as important as it was in his day is for one to believe in themselves above all else. He lived and, perhaps more importantly, died for his belief. He was an immovable mountain in his time and stood for what he considered right regardless of long-standing