Ethics and Related Philosophies

Most of the information that we learn about Socrates comes from the work and writings of one of his students, Plato. It has been alleged that the great Philosopher wrote nothing down for others to read, and as such, the knowledge and the teachings from Socrates that is relied upon to convey his philosophy and the epic story of his life comes not from himself, but his students who attempt to provide and accurate picture of the methods and philosophical beliefs held by their mentor and teacher.

Socrates was a Western Ancient Athenian Greek philosopher who lived from 469 BCE until his death in 399 BCE. He was a student to another philosopher, Sophists, Socrates was different from most Greek philosophers he wanted to get at the truth and find out how one can truly be ‘good’ and moral in life. “To Socrates the soul is identified with the mind; it is the seat of reason and capable of finding the ethical truths, which will restore meaning and value of life” (ADD IN-TEXT CITATION SEMINAR). We continue to use many of Socrates teachings today, such as, ‘The Socratic method’, which is known as asking a question and within these questions you lead it to the answer you wanted to hear, many uses this as a teaching technique and is shown to be highly effective. A great number of Athenians looked up to Socrates and considered him the wise man of Athens, he had many followers whom would ask questions and seek answers. As popularity and following of Socrates grew so did accusations. The charges laid on Socrates by the Athenians were unjust and therefore his death was highly wrong in the eyes of true democracy that Athens was apparently known for. In this paper, I will discuss how Socrates was wrongfully convicted for the corruption of the youth despite having many young followers, introducing new Gods while still being considered an Atheist, and the main reason he was seen as a threat to Athens was that he brought change to the city.

In conclusion, Ethics is a specialized study of moral right and wrong. It concentrates on moral standards as

Socrates was a great thinker and debater dedicated to truth. He spent his golden years walking the streets of Athens in pursuit of wisdom. Socrates lived the destiny that was revealed to him in the Oracle. He created and perfected his own cross-examination technique; we today know it as the Socratic Method. He was thorough and unrelenting. His subjects were often humiliated. Socrates would methodically disprove anyone he thought was wrong. In his eyes, most of the people he interviewed were blind. It did not matter if one was wealthy and influential or if they were young and impressionable. Socrates could question anyone and turn him or her inside out. Unfortunately, he did so without regard to the

In his explanation of his behavior, Socrates also adds that part of his duty as a wise man, is to make sure that he questions the behavior of other wise men to make sure that those men are also aware

The skepticism found within Socrates' logic leads us to realize that he has no claims that he has answers, yet he is living and dying for the ideal that "an unexamined life is not worth living." There is no point at which Socrates is looking for followers, much like a prophet would look for disciples, for his ideals appeal to reason, not faith. Although this may be the case, he has left his contemporaries, ancient and modern day philosophers, as well as any other students of his teachings in a complete paradox. For centuries, many have attempted to carve out a middle path between the severity of his claim on the examined life, and the predestined state of doubt that surfaces with the search for justice and virtue.

Thus these could be the early influences to young Socrates and used their teachings as a basis to establish his own set of principles and moral philosophies. Although these philosophers did not live in the same time period as Socrates, he responded to their ideas and challenged them later on. Particularly, he challenged people to think about different things such as : what is virtue? what is justice? what do you mean by piety? Unlike other philosophers, he wanted people to consider the true meaning of qualities such as justice and courage, and therefore also challenged the Greeks conventional idea of wisdom. Socrates challenged philosophers by insisting that they must question conventional wisdom and challenge the traditional beliefs. He did this through the Socratic method, where it served to reveal the disputers lack of knowledge and ignorance. Ultimately by challenging Athenian people to think about the beliefs eventually earned him many enemies from different sectors of the society. While many Athenians admired Socrates challenges, an equal number grew resentment and felt he threatened their way of life and uncertain future. The effect of Socrates investigations had therefore aroused “a great deal of hostility” and this lead to this trial in the Athenian court of being a

In the beautiful city of Athens, Greece, there was a philosopher Socrates, and his "Socratic method," was laid on the groundwork for the Western systems of logic and philosophy. Socrates did believe that he didn't know anything, and It was because of this that the Oracle told Socrates that he was wise and that he should seek out the 'wise men' to hear what they had to say. So Socrates began to travel to different parts of Greece to question the suppose 'wise’ men to see if they really knew all the answers to life. The youth laid their eyes on Socrates since he possessed a different way of thinking and living. His unique method of questioning and insulting was believed that he

Throughout The Apology, Socrates shows his true philosophical standpoint of not knowing anything, he provides his form of questioning to prove that no one actually has wisdom. Those who think they are wise, have subjective and human wisdom. Basically, they do not have any wisdom, like those Socrates refers to, the Sophists. While he refutes his charge of not acknowledging the gods, he proves this further by explaining that the Oracle simply used him as an example to show he views wisdom. He claims to not know anything and this is considered subjective, superhuman wisdom.

Socrates’s thinking comes down to a central reasoning based on the moral character of the god. Many gods hold different values, opinions, morals, much like todays people were are all different. We have our morals and values based on belief systems which are based of the morals of a god which we relate to in some way.

“Brad is a production engineer at a bicycle company and part of his job includes inspecting broken bikes and drafting the design repairs for their repair” (Bartlett). Brad is considering replacing a broken brake cable with a more durable material, even though the customer did not request it in their order and specifically requested that “No aesthetic changes be made to the bike” (Bartlett). Brad’s manager suggests that his considered actions would go against the company’s policy of “The customer is always right.” Should Brad disobey the manager and the customer to possibly lose his job or go along with

clarification, such as "What is wisdom?". Then he would tell the other person he was confused and ask for help before the conversation progressed. Socrates would listen to the person’s definition of the key word, and then ask for additional clarification. This usually led to the person changing their definition, which would then start the questions from Socrates again. This would continue until the person either realized they didn’t know what they were talking about, and the person would leave the conversation or continuing to search for the answer.

Socrates had a unique way of teaching and expressing his thoughts and ideas. He taught by constantly posing questions with the assumption that any person could approach the truth through logic if he set aside ingrained prejudice and received knowledge (Hattersley 17,18). His dialectic method of questioning consisted of a subject being broken down by one or more people, in search of the same truth but with differing views. Instead of merely trying to convince listeners, Socrates would approach others by questioning what they felt to be true and therefore would be able to determine that person’s true feelings and the basis for those feelings. Socrates was open to receive knowledge wherever he could find it, yet when he approached people who claimed to be wise, he found they really knew nothing. He would challenge preconceived opinions, based on the words of others and fallacious logic. Many felt that he was attacking their identity and security causing them to resent Socrates when he pointed this out. Due to his search for truth, Socrates would, eventually, pay the ultimate price. Socrates teaches us to assume nothing and to question everything. In scientific study today, this is a fundamental element of scientific study, starting with a theory and afterward refining it to the point of when a decisive conclusion is made.

The word “ethics” comes from the Greek word ethos (character), and from the Latin word mores (customs). Ethos and mores together define how individuals choose to interact with one another. Therefore, individuals try hard to do what feels and seem like the right thing to do in certain actions. Philosophy defines ethics as what is good for the individual and society while establishes the nature of duty that people owe to one another. Ethics is rules of behavior and conduct that show how our society expects us to behave and is the controlling values behind the construction of laws.

He also tells the men that any one of them could have this wisdom too. He does not claim to have a superhuman wisdom of which he was accused, but instead a wisdom that is learned through years of being a thinker. Socrates began to tell of all the people he went and spoke to about his wisdom. He was trying to find someone that was wiser then he. However, in doing this Socrates made a bunch of enemies. Even though Socrates was immensely wise, he made sure to give credit where it was due. “…God only is wise; and by his answer he intends to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing…” (Socrates para 10). Socrates tells the Athens that if they condemn him they are sinning against God since Socrates was a gift to them. Also, it is said that if Socrates is killed then the Athenians will not find a successor very easily. Socrates tells the men that he is unlike any other man with a gift, that he has used it for good and not evil. For example, he has his poverty to show that he has not gained from using his gift to help others. After Socrates has been found guilty and sentenced to death he gives his final speech. He tells the people how they should be ashamed of themselves. He also tells that that, “…they do not put a man to death for asking questions…” (Socrates para