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Socrates (/ ˈ s ɒ k r ə t iː z /; Greek: Σωκράτης; c. 470 – 399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought.
- Socratic Method
The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus or...
- Socratic Problem
Xenophon. There are four works of Xenophon that deal with...
- Socratic Irony
Socrates (c. 470BCE – 399BCE) has been central to...
- Trial of Socrates
The Trial of Socrates (399 BC) was held to determine the...
- Plato's Dialogues
Plato (/ ˈ p l eɪ t oʊ / PLAY-toe; Greek: Πλάτων), born...
- Socrates (Disambiguation)
Socrates was an Athenian philosopher. Socrates, Sócrates,...
- The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living
"The unexamined life is not worth living" is a famous dictum...
- Athens
The city of Athens (Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athênai...
- Socratic Dialogue
Socratic dialogue (Ancient Greek: Σωκρατικὸς λόγος) is a...
- Socratic Method
- Enemies
- Socrates and Plato
- Reputation
- The Life of Socrates
- The Death of Socrates
- The Ideas of Socrates
- Legacy
Socrates made enemies, three of whom brought charges against him. Socrates was tried for his life in 399 BC, found guilty, and put to death by drinking common hemlock (a herbal poison). The story of his trial and death is described by Plato in a book called the Apologia.
Most of what we know about Socrates comes from the works of Plato, who was his student. Socrates lived in the Greek city of Athens. His method of teaching was to have a dialogue with individual students. They would propose some point of view, and Socrates would question them, asking what they meant. He would pretend "I don't know anything; I'm just...
Socrates is sometimes called the "father of Western philosophy". This is because in the discussions he uncovered some of the most basic questions in philosophy, questions which are still discussed today. Some of the people he taught came to be important and successful, like Plato, Xenophon, and Alcibiades.
Socrates never wrote anything. All of what we know about Socrates is from what other people wrote about him. Our main source of what we know about Socrates is from the writings of his student, Plato. Some of Plato's dialogues, such as the Crito and the Phaedo, are loosely based on fact. They are not written records, but artistic re-creation of Socr...
The accusations
In 399 BC, when Socrates was an old man, three citizens—Meletus, Anytus and Lycon—brought charges against Socrates. A trial was held. In ancient Athens the procedure was quite different from the present day. There was a jury of 500 men drawn from the citizens. Both the accusers and the defendant had to make speeches in person to the jury. Guilt or innocence was by majority vote. There was no preset penalty if the verdict was 'guilty'. Both the accuser and the defendant would make speeches pro...
The trial
Crito, a friend of Socrates, illegally paid the prisonguards to allow Socrates to escape. Socrates, however, decided not to escape. When Socrates was put on trial, he gave a long speech to defend himself against the claims made by the Athens government. We have Plato's version of how Socrates defended himself, in the Apologia. It starts: 1. "I do not know what effect my accusers have had upon you, gentlemen, but for my own part I was carried away by them; their arguments were so convincing. O...
The sentence
When Socrates was asked to propose his punishment, Socrates said that the government should give him free dinners for the rest of his life for all the good that he did for society. The court held a vote between giving Socrates a fine to pay or putting him to death. The verdict was that Socrates was to be put to death.
Socrates helped people to see what was wrong with their ideas. Sometimes they liked this, sometimes they were not happy or grateful. He said that he, Socrates, was not wise, but that he "knew that he knew nothing." Since other people think they know something, but no one really knows anything, Socrates claimed he knew more than anyone else. He said...
Socrates is seen by some people as a martyr, since he willingly died to support the idea that knowledge and wisdom are very important to our lives. Socrates is known as one of the most important philosophers in history. He is often described as the father of Western philosophy. He did not start Western philosophy, but he had a big influence on it. ...
May 27, 2024 · Socrates (born c. 470 bce, Athens [Greece]—died 399 bce, Athens) was an ancient Greek philosopher whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence on Classical antiquity and Western philosophy. Socrates was a widely recognized and controversial figure in his native Athens, so much so that he was frequently mocked in the ...
- Richard Kraut
- Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher, one of the three greatest figures of the ancient period of Western philosophy (the others were Plato and...
- Socrates professed not to teach anything (and indeed not to know anything important) but only to seek answers to urgent human questions (e.g., “Wha...
- Socrates wrote nothing. All that is known about him has been inferred from accounts by members of his circle—primarily Plato and Xenophon—as well a...
- Socrates was widely hated in Athens, mainly because he regularly embarrassed people by making them appear ignorant and foolish. He was also an outs...
- Socrates could have saved himself. He chose to go to trial rather than enter voluntary exile. In his defense speech, he rebutted some but not all e...
Sep 16, 2005 · The philosopher Socrates remains, as he was in his lifetime (469–399 B.C.E.), an enigma, an inscrutable individual who, despite having written nothing, is considered one of the handful of philosophers who forever changed how philosophy itself was to be conceived. All our information about him is second-hand and most of it vigorously disputed ...
Sep 16, 2005 · Socrates. The philosopher Socrates remains, as he was in his lifetime (469–399 B.C.E.), [ 1] an enigma, an inscrutable individual who, despite having written nothing, is considered one of the handful of philosophers who forever changed how philosophy itself was to be conceived.
Nov 9, 2009 · Viewed by many as the founding figure of Western philosophy, Socrates (469-399 B.C.) is at once the most exemplary and the strangest of the Greek philosophers. He grew up during the golden...
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