The Complicated Life of Socrates - 1183 Words

Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher that was born in Athens, Greece around 470/469 BC. He served in the Athenian army and fought in many battles. When Socrates retired from fighting in the army, he began focusing on expressing his beliefs. He wasn’t the typical â€Å"teacher† or â€Å"preacher†; he was a very critical and analytical thinker that helped guide his students and the Athenians during his time. Through his teachings and beliefs, Socrates had positive and negative influence on the people during his time and modern time. Although he is credited as one of the founders of Western Philosophy, Political Philosophy, and Ethics, his teachings was in disagreement with the teachings of the democracy of Athens, which led to him being put to†¦show more content†¦The whole of his conduct will be the exhibition of one excellence, steady and assured certainty of the true scale of good† (Taylor). Also important to Socrates’ teachings was his way of analyzing, which became known as the Socratic Method. The Socratic Method was an experiment to figure out the truth and beliefs of people by examining with a series of questions. Kern says, â€Å"Socrates was aware that people were not open to the truth and that they had many barriers to reaching it. He knew that we all spend most of our time living in error. So he developed a procedure by which he was able to rise from error himself and to raise others from error as well† (Kern).By the use of critical thinking and analyzing, Socrates’ students were able to figure out their extent of knowledge, truth, justice, and belief. To answer problems, the students would break the problem down into questions, and with contradiction, the answer or better solutions could be found. The Socrates Method can be related to the modern Scientific Method, starting with a hypothesis, and testing the hypothesis until achieving consistent results. This method was mainly used to display how people should act in society, justice, and moral. The Socratic Method led him toShow MoreRelatedFalse Facts About False Beliefs1075 Words   |  5 Pagesmaterialize. If the hypothesis does not appear to materialize, it is considered wrong. Therefore, if the hypothesis were true, the expected implications would not have followed. A quote from Socrates states: If I could only find a man wiser than myself then I might go to the god with a refutation in my hand. Socrates found that he was more knowledgeable then these men and never did he presume to be more knowledgeable than he was. He recognized that he was more knowledgeable but realized the point whenRead MoreFate Or Free Will?882 Words   |  4 Pagesyears now. This is a tremendously complicated dialogue and conceivably even inexplicable. Philosophically, there is an extremely diaphanous line separating free will and fate. Free will resides within one’s individuality; it has to do with the present. The how and when experiences that are within our controls that is free will. On the other hand, human beings do not have immortality, so one will never be capable enough to circumvent dying that is fate. Socrates was one of the most distinguishedRead MoreSocrates s View Of Philosophical Thought983 Words   |  4 Pages Socrates was a novel philosopher who challenged the limitations of philosophical thought during his lifetime. More specifically, Socrates was a key proponent for the idea known as ‘Dualism’, in which the mind (Soul) and the body are not mutually exclusive entices, bur rather interact in a tangible manner in which they come to have a reciprocated relationship. Throughout many religions and spiritual movements, Socrates view of a interaction between the immortal soul and the physical body is evidentRead MoreThe Apology Of Plato s Apology982 Words   |  4 Pages In the â€Å"Apology,† Socrates seems disobedient, disrespectful and even boastful as he speaks to the magistracy. In â€Å"Crito,† however, Socrates is found sleeping soundly as he patiently awaits his punishment – death. It seems that Plato’s works paint two entirely contradicting portraits of his mentor. Yet, it was not a contradiction for Socrates to refuse Crito’s help to leave Athens and avoid punishment, because the alternative penalties or escape would compromise Socrates lifestyle, and since he failedRead MoreEssay about Plato’s Apology933 Words   |  4 Pages Plato’s Apology Socrates was a very simple man who did not have many material possessions and spoke in a plain, conversational manner. Acknowledging his own ignorance, he engaged in conversations with people claiming to be experts, usually in ethical matters. By asking simple questions, Socrates gradually revealed that these people were in fact very confused and did not actually know anything about the matters about which they claimed to be an expert. Socrates felt that the quest for wisdom andRead MoreSocrates Views On Socrates729 Words   |  3 PagesTo question what no man has questioned before, that is what we praise Socrates for. Socrates’ Philosophies grew out of his questioning of the social norm. Using this technique, he seems to always focus on three main aspects: justice, virtue, and morality. Socrates claims that he has no wisdom. He states, â€Å"I know I have no wisdom, great or small.† The world has an infinite number of possibilities and anything he declares understand ing, is extremely minimal compared to the possibilities that existRead Moreâ€Å"A Truly Just City?† Essay701 Words   |  3 PagesIn the book â€Å"The Republic,† by Plato, Socrates constructs a utopia of a pure aristocracy to channel his visions of what he constitutes to be a just city. Socrates’ ideal of justice, is of a virtue that can be developed out of reason and knowledge, and when tuned correctly can be the justified way of governing a city. Fundamentally, the rulers are driven by specific appetites and virtues, that develop a cycle of ruling between the stages of aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and eventuallyRead MoreThe Father Of Modern Physics1414 Words   |  6 Pagespeople as prodigies or fathers of their field, but what really defines somebody as knowledgeable? I believe that Socrates even today is still thought of as one of the greatest philosophers of our time, taking up multiple students who became just as famous as himself th rough his teachings. Yet many people argue if he actually knew anything. To decide if the people who believe if Socrates is actually knowledgeable we first have to define knowledge. Knowledge is experience you have gained about a subjectRead MoreThe Dilemma Of The Euthyphro Dilemma952 Words   |  4 PagesThe Euthyphro Dilemma gives the readers many good points to understand relativism about morality and connect with religion. Also, this is these dialogues between Euthyphro and Socrates, and it find out in the Plato’s dialogue. In the Euthyphro, Socrates asks whether a thing is pious (or good or right) because it is loved by the Gods (or, in its secular form, ‘loved by someone’), or is a thing loved by the Gods (or someone) because it is pious (or good) (Plato, 1981, 10a); it can be considered oneRead MoreWhat Is Right And Wrong?958 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"What is Truth?† Life is characterized by many situations that require decision making, especially on ethical and moral grounds. The issue of what makes an action right and wrong has been studied for a very long time and several theories developed to address this issue. Socrates and Aristotle are some of the early philosophers who came up with theories about the rightness or wrongness of our actions. As noted by Warnek (2005), Socrates considered self-knowledge as necessity of life and also, an important