SOCRATES

Socrates was a classical Athenian philosopher considered as one the founders of Western Philosophy and has been the first moral philosopher of the western ethical tradition and thought.   A mysterious figure who did not write his philosophical thoughts, but became famous through the writings of others, posthumously.


Classical writers like Plato and Xenophon, who were also his students, wrote about him.  Also, Aristophanes had written plays satirising him, during his lifetime.   Platos' dialogues are among the most extensive accounts of Socrates that survived from antiquity and which made the philosopher famous, for his "contribution to the fields of ethics and epistemology".   Plato also mentions  "Socratic irony" and the "Socratic methods of elenchus".


However, questions remain regarding the difference between the authentic Socrates and Plato's depiction of the philosopher in his dialogues.  Socrates applied a strong influence on philosophy in late antiquity up to contemporary times.  The illustration of Socrates in art, literature and culture, in general, have made him one of the most famous figures in the Western philosophical tradition.  Naturally, the accounts about him were extremely varied, either triumphant or biased.
 


Socrates was ugly, wore torn clothes and went barefoot.  His character is difficult to understand. Some experts believe that he was over-embellished by Plato while Xenophon, being a historian, is a more reliable source of the historic figure of Socrates.  So, is he a fiction of just a mere philosopher? British philosopher Martin Cohen describes him "Plato the idealist offers an idol, a master figure of philosophy, a saint, a prophet  of the Sun God a teacher that was condemned for his teaching as a heretic."


The most important contribution to Western thought is Socrates' dialectic method of inquiry known as the Socratic method of elenchus, which he largely applied to the examination of moral concepts as good and justice.   It was first described by Plato in the Socratic Dialogues. To solve the problem,  it would be broken down into a series of questions, the answers of which, gradually, would clarify the answer that people searched.


Socrates was occasionally doubted as a philosopher because of his frequent contradictions that caused suspicions about his actual philosophical doctrines, within his milieu and also by other individuals.


In 399 BC Socrates went on trial and was subsequently found guilty of corrupting the minds of the Athenian youth and asevia (impiety) and as a punishment was sentenced to death by drinking konion (hemlock). He refused to escape as it would show fear of death, which he believed no true philosopher should have.  If he fled from Athens, he would be criticised for whatever he considered wrong. Being an Athenian he placed himself to the possibility of being accused of crimes and judged guilty. To do otherwise would have made him break the "sound contact" with the state and thus harm the state, which was considered by all Greeks as an immoral act.


Socrates was morally, intellectually and politically challenged by many of his compatriots.  When he was on trial for heresy and corrupting the minds of the young, he used his method of elenchus (control) by demonstrating to the jurors that their moral values were wrong. He told them that they were only concerned with their families, careers and political responsibilities when they ought to be worried about the "welfare of their state".   Socrates' declaration that the gods had chosen him as divine emissary provoked irritation if not ridicule. Socrates also doubted the sophistic doctrine that arete (virtue) can be taught. Socrates insisted that ethical excellence was more a matter of divine heritage than parental upbringing.  According to Xenophon, he steadily believed that god arranges everything for the best.


Many of the beliefs contributed to Socrates have been characterised as "paradoxical"  because they clash with common sense.   The following are among the so-called Socratic paradoxes:

No one desires evil, no one does evil willingly, virtue is knowledge and virtue supplies happiness.


The term "Socratic paradox" can also refer to self-referential paradox originating in Socrates' words,  "En oida oti ouden oida" (the one thing I know is that I know nothing).


The one thing that Socrates insisted to have knowledge of is "the art of love" (ta erotika) this declaration seems to be associated with the verb erotan which means to ask questions.  Therefore Socrates is claiming to know about the art of love, as long as he knows how to ask questions.


It is disputed that Socrates believed that "ideals belong in a world only wise men can understand" making the philosopher the only person suitable to govern others.    Socrates openly objected the democracy that governed Athens during his life.  During the last years of Socrates' life, Athens was in continuous upheaval due to the political situation and war with Sparta.  Democracy was finally overthrown by a junta known as the Thirty Tyrants, who ruled Athens for about one year before democracy was, fortunately, reinstalled.


Unfortunately, Socrates was unjustly sentenced to death and killed by his arch enemies who were envious of his profound philosophical thought.



(I wish to thank Gregory Vlastos for SOCRATES, John Couper for FIVE DIALOGUES, Aristophanes for CLOUDS and Wikipedia for the valuable information for this post)   

Socrates

Plato

Xenophon