Describe Socrates

Socrates was a Greek philosopher who stood for knowledge and virtue. He believed that in order for people to live their best lives, it is necessary for them to do what is right. “It is wicked and shameful to do wrong, to disobey ones superior, be he god or man (Cooper, 29b).” Socrates represents self-knowledge which is evident through his quest for finding someone who was wiser than he was. After his run ins with the likes of the local politicians, craftsmen and poets, Socrates comes to the realization that although these individuals had mastered their craft and were knowledgeable in their field of work, they were clueless in many other important aspects of life. Through this awareness, he accepts the fact that

Through several dialogues Plato gives readers accounts of Socrates’ interactions with other Athenians. While some may think of him as a teacher of sorts, Socrates is adamant in rejecting any such claim (Plato, Apology 33a-b). He insists that he is not a teacher because he is not transferring any knowledge from himself to others, but rather assisting those he interacts with in reaching the truth. This assistance is the reason Socrates walks around Athens, engaging in conversation with anyone that he can convince to converse with him. An assertion he makes at his trial in Plato’s Apology is at the center of what drives Socrates in his abnormal ways, “the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being” (38a). Socrates, through aporia, looks to lead an examined life to perfect his soul and live as the best person he can be. This paper looks to examine the ‘unexamined life’ and the implications rooted in living a life like Socrates’.

The portrayal of Socrates, through the book “the trial and death of Socrates” is one that has created a fairly controversial character in Western history. In many ways, Socrates changed the idea of common philosophy in ancient Greece; he transformed their view on philosophy from a study of why the way things are, into a consideration man. Specifically, he analyzed the virtue and health of the human soul. Along side commending Socrates for his strong beliefs, and having the courage to stand by those convictions, Socrates can be commended for many other desirable characteristics. Some of those can include being the first martyr to die for his philosophical beliefs and having the courage to challenge indoctrinated cultural norms is part of

Socrates put one’s quest for wisdom and the instruction of others above everything else in life. A simple man both in the way he talked and the wealth he owned, he believed that simplicity in whatever one did was the best way of acquiring knowledge and passing it unto others. He is famous for saying that “the unexplained life is not worth living.” He endeavored therefore to break down the arguments of those who talked with a flowery language and boasted of being experts in given subjects (Rhees 30). His aim was to show that the person making a claim on wisdom and knowledge was in fact a confused one whose clarity about a given subject was far from what they claimed. Socrates, in all his simplicity never advanced any theories of his own

In life the one thing that mattered the most to Socrates was education and virtue, for he spends most of his time educating the youth and helping the citizens of Athens write their wrong.

In 469 B.C. a man by the name of Socrates was born. Socrates was a very wise man that cared about doing the right thing. He believed that the best ways to develop ideas was in the give and take of conversation, and that the best way to educate people was to ask them a series of questions leading in a particular direction (now named “Socrates method). Socrates had been quick to identify the drawbacks of democracy, and he had also been the teacher of two men who in different ways harmed Athens: Alcibiades and Critias. Which made the parents of the children that Socrates had taught very upset and angry. Granting all this, it lead to the Trial of Socrates 399 B.C. During this trial Socrates expressed his view of death by using his question-and-answer method, for which he was famous for and what seemed to have gotten him in trouble. Socrates did not write so we have to depend on on what others wrote, and by doing that we now get to see the diverse ways people read and understand what was written about his speech. My chosen primary source, Socrates View on Death, is important, because it gives one view of Socrates speech while my outside source, Ancient Greece, gives a slightly more in depth view.

In the Symposium, Alcibiades says that Socrates is the only man who has made him feel shame. Alcibiades’ shame seems to indicate that he has reflected on his actions, thus has learned something from Socrates. However, I believe that he is not ascending towards the beautiful nor has he learn anything from Socrates as his desire takes precedent over love for Beauty. This essay will first analyze the role of shame as self-awareness in the Ladder of Love. Next, through two accounts recalled by Alcibiades in the Symposium, they will emphasize the importance of shame in the Ladder of Love. Lastly, the essay will conclude with how shame does not indicate that Alcibiades is ascending towards the beautiful or has learned anything based on the aforementioned

Socrates was the most radical thinker of his time. “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is only because they only know their own side of the question.” (Mills) His radical l ideas were what eventually caused his death, but they are also the reason that we still remember him today. Socrates was put on trial because the people of his time thought that he was poisoning the minds of their youth. The young men of that time would go to Socrates to learn things, and when they shared the knowledge that they learned with their parents they were angry and for this reason he was put on trial. His trial is

In Socrates’ mind education is not simply an information exchange; rather it is a painful experience, since all that one had previously believed is typically wrong. This painful experience can be seen as the “philosopher” turns around and stares into the light and eventually learning that everything he had experienced in life were just shadows.

In addition to a strategic approach to his teaching, Socrates also had very high expectations for successful students of his, and their thought processes. Not only were his questions intentional, he had specific expectations from each of his students. “Socrates wasn't after brainless disciples. He was trying to create a new breed of thinkers, ones who explored the world with their mind,” (MythologyTeacher.com). Socrates expected students to pick up on his teaching approach and be courageous enough to propel his discussions forward with their own questions. An example of a model student,

Socrates is a widely renowned teacher, who has taught and demonstrated a variety of lessons that regard how he views the world. Socrates has described his view on morality, purpose, death, and the ultimate. He has spoken about these views through multiple texts including The Last Days of Socrates and they have been interpreted through the text Socrates by George Rudebusch. Through these worldviews, Socrates has given people the opportunity to expand their wisdom and question the world around them.

In the Meno, Socrates and Meno discuss the nature of virtue, the process of acquiring knowledge, and also the concept of the teachability of virtue. Throughout the text, Meno suggests many varying definitions for virtue, all of which Socrates is able to dismantle. The point is also raised that it may be impossible to know about something that was not previously understood, because the searcher would have no idea what to be looking for. To dispute this, Socrates makes a point that all knowledge is innate, and the process of “learning” is really just recollecting knowledge that is buried deeply within the human mind. The issue of the teachability of virtue is an important theme in this dialogue because it raises points about whether virtue is knowledge, which then leads to the issue of knowledge in general.

Socrates was after the pursuit of truth. Because of this he called everything into question(Philosophypages.com). He believed that ultimate wisdom came from understanding oneself. He believed that the perfect government would come about if it was led by people that had a complete understanding of themselves because they would be able to make the best choices. He believed that knowledge and virtue were inseparable. He said that you could define virtue as right knowledge, and that right thinking and right doing can be distinguished from each other, but they can not be separated.(Sproul 31) Socrates also developed the Socratic Method which is still used to this day. The Socratic Method is the method in which you ask provocative questions in order to try to get your opponent and your audience to think through the problem and to develop their own conclusion(Biography.com). He searched for specific definitions by asking people around the city, from the common to the richest of nobles. Socrates also created ethics based on human reasons. He was deemed the wisest man in Athens by an oracle, but after much thought he realized that he was ignorant but unlike the common man, was wiser for accepting his ignorance and he came to the conclusion that ignorance was the beginning of knowledge. He believed that logic was what was left when the facts are exhausted.

Plato was a philosopher from Classical Greece and an innovator of dialogue and dialect forms which provide some of the earliest existing analysis ' of political questions from a philosophical perspective. Among some of Plato 's most prevalent works is his dialogue the Symposium, which records the conversation of a dinner party at which Socrates (amongst others) is a guest. Those who talk before Socrates share a tendency to celebrate the instinct of sex and regard love (eros) as a god whose goodness and beauty they compete. However, Socrates sets himself apart from this belief in the fundamental value of sexual love and instead recollects Diotima 's theory of love, suggesting that love is neither beautiful nor good because it is the desire to possess what is beautiful, and that one cannot desire that of which is already possessed. The ultimate/primary objective of love as being related to an absolute form of beauty that is held to be identical to what is good is debated throughout the dialogue, and Diotima expands on this description of love as being a pursuit of beauty (by which one can attain the goal of love) that culminates in an understanding of the form of beauty. The purpose of this paper is to consider the speeches presented (i.e. those of Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Aristophanes, and Agathon) in Plato 's Symposium as separate parts that assist in an accounting of the definition and purpose of platonic love.

Socrates, in skepticism, began a search for those with a reputation of wisdom. After studying men and their knowledge, he reasoned that the only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing. Although one may have extensive understanding in one area, there is way too much knowledge in the world to be contained by one man. Socrates stated, “I found that the men most in repute were all but the most foolish, and that some inferior men were really wiser and better” (Plato, 23). Those who believed that they knew it all could not be more ignorant, and those who admitted ignorance achieved the highest wisdom attainable on earth. Socrates accepted the idea that he, just like all men, contained very little or no wisdom at all. He was content with knowing this, and upon meeting others that lacked this philosophy, felt he was superior to them. He was unsure of the limitations the afterlife had on wisdom, but he was aware of it’s constraints on earth. This self awareness is what gifted him with the highest sense of enlightenment.