Biographical Profile of Socrates
Who was Socrates?
Socrates was an ancient
Greek philosopher who became very influential in the development of Greek
philosophy and, thus, Western philosophy in general. The most extensive knowledge
we have of him comes from Plato's many dialogues, but there is a little
information about him in the historian Xenophon's Memorabilia, Apology and
Symposium, and in Aristophanes' The Clouds and The Wasps.
Socrates is best known
for the dictum that only the examined life is worth living.
Important Books by Socrates:
We have no works
written by Socrates, and it’s unclear whether he ever wrote anything down
himself. We do, however, have dialogues written by Plato which is supposed to
be the philosophical conversations between Socrates and others. The early
dialogues (Charmides, Lysis, and Euthyphro) are believed to be genuine; during
the middle period (Republic) Plato began to mix in his own views. By the Laws,
the ideas attributed to Socrates aren’t genuine.
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Did Socrates Really Exist?:
There has been some
question about whether Socrates really existed or was only ever a creation of
Plato. Just about everyone agrees that the Socrates in the later dialogues is a
creation, but what about the earlier ones? The differences between the two figures
is one reason to think that a real Socrates existed, There are also a few
references made by other authors.
If Socrates didn’t
exist, however, that wouldn’t affect the ideas attributed to him.
Famous Quotations by Socrates:
“The unexamined life is
not worth living for man.”
(Plato, Apology)
“Well, I am certainly
wiser than this man. It is only too likely that neither of us has any knowledge
to boast of; but he thinks that he knows something which he does not know,
whereas I am quite conscious of my ignorance.
At any rate, it seems
that I am wiser than he is to this small extent, that I do not think that I
know what I do not know.”
(Plato, Apology)
Socrates’
Specializations:
Socrates didn’t
specialize in any one field like metaphysics or political philosophy in the
manner that modern philosophers do. Socrates explored a wide range of
philosophical questions, but he focused on issues of most immediate need to
humans like how to be virtuous or live a good life. If there is any one topic
that occupied Socrates most, it would be ethics.
What is the Socratic Method?:
Socrates was well known
for engaging people in public deputations over things like the nature of
virtue. He would ask people to explain a concept, point out flaws that would
force them to alter their answer and continue like this until the person either
came up with a solid explanation or admit that they don’t understand the
concept.
Why was Socrates put on trial?:
Socrates was charged
with impiety and corrupting the youth, found guilty by a margin of 30 votes out
of the 501 jurors, and sentenced to death. Socrates was an opponent of
democracy in Athens and was closely connected with the Thirty Tyrants installed
by Sparta after Athens lost the recent war.
He was ordered to drink
hemlock, a poison, and refused to let his friends bribe the guards so he could
escape because he believed strongly in the principle of law — even bad laws.
Socrates and Philosophy:
Socrates’ influence
among his contemporaries was a result of his interest in engaging people in
discussions about all manner of important issues - often making them feel
uncomfortable by showing that what they believed or thought they knew was not
as justified as they had assumed. Although in the early dialogues he never came
to any firm conclusions about what constituted true piety or friendship, he did
reach a conclusion about a relationship between knowledge and action.
According to Socrates,
no one errs intentionally. This means that whenever we do something wrong -
including something morally wrong - it is out of ignorance rather than evil.
In his ethical
perspective, he added another crucial idea known as eudaemonism, according to
which the good life is the happy life.
Socrates’ later
influence was guaranteed by one of his students, Plato, who recorded many of
Socrates’ dialogues with others. Socrates attracted many young men because of
the quality of learning available, and many of them were members of Athens’
elite families. Eventually, his influence over the young was found by many in
power to be too dangerous because he encouraged them to question tradition and
authority.
source:
https://www.thoughtco.com/socrates-biography-biographical-profile-250522
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