Research Paper On Socrates

Plato’s “Defense of Socrates” follows the trial of Socrates for charges of corruption of the youth. His accuser, Meletus, claims he is doing so by teaching the youth of Athens of a separate spirituality from that which was widely accepted.

Socrates is believed to be one of the greatest philosophers of all time and he is credited as being the founder of western philosophy. This paper will explain some of his views to the most fundamental questions of today’s age. These questions will include topics about morality, the human condition, solution, and death. After Socrates’ views on these topics are explained, a critique will be done on his answers. I will start out by explaining exactly who Socrates is, and the time that he lived in. To start out, we will first examine Socrates’ view on morality.

Socrates helps Euthyphro to give meaning to the word ‘piety ', and this serves to bring a new meaning to the respect to the divine beings and help in the explanation of the whole context of the divinity in the society. In this manner, there is the need to create a clear definition and help Euthyphro in getting ideas that he can use to teach Socrates to answer the resulting question about the piety. This is to enable Socrates to have a string defense against the charge of impiety and help in tackling the challenges that he faces in the society. The story and the relationship between Socrates and Euthyphro arise when Socrates is called to court to answer to the charges of impiety by Meletus, (Plato et al, 1927). In the courts, Socrates meets Euthyphro, who comes to the courts to prosecute his father who is a murderer.

Socrates declares that there is no one to teach people about wisdom and virtues. His conversation with Callias explains that no one can teach wisdom and virtue as there is no one that has mastered wisdom and virtue. Human beings are fallible creatures, morality, ethics and virtues are not always primarily considered in the multitude of decisions and actions that are performed every day. Humans are imperfect individuals, bound by no definitive moral code that is enforceable under any circumstance. Humans are creatures of free will and with free will comes evil and righteousness simultaneously. No one can teach a human being to always be righteous, kind, caring and generous. Socrates declares that there is no one capable of teaching all of these virtues because humans are all imperfect individuals but through inner evaluation humans can constantly strive to get closer to perfection.

Being great at discussion does not facilitate an effective method to teaching. As a philosopher Socrates would have been an ineffective teacher. Socrates' teaching are mostly involves through him questioning an individual. In the Euthyphro Socrates wanted to teach about the general meaning of piety he started philosophizing in the hope of finding an answer which did not happened. For instance Socrates questions Euthyphro about “what kind of thing do you say that godliness and ungodliness are, both as regards murder and other things;" (5). This action illustrates that as a teacher Socrates would only instruct by asking students question. In "The Inferno" when Dante lost hope after seeing the three beast he cried "Have pity on me" and Virgil told him to "follow me and I will be your guide" (canto1.

Socrates’s image in the two works differ firstly in his attitude towards knowledge and towards himself. A typical statement of Socrates, both in the Euthyphro and in other Plato’s works, is that he has no clear knowledge. He is different from the public because he knows that he does not know. Neither does he claim to teach or corrupt the young (Euthyphro, p.2

Socrates begins his debate with Euthyphro by asking Euthyphro does he have a clear understanding of what is pious and impious. He asks this because he is face with the crime of impiety; Socrates hopes to learn from Euthyphro so he has a better understanding of his charge and can better defend himself in trial.

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

In one of Plato's dialogues, Euthyphro, Socrates seeks knowledge from Euthyphro, who is supposed to be knowledgeable about the gods. Socrates hopes that Euthyphro can teach him about piety to help Socrates in

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,

This article definitely confused me at first, and I had to read the dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro a few times before I truly understood it. In the dialogue it comes off that Euthryphro is teaching Socrates by somewhat belittling him in section 2B. Because of the way Euthryphro talks to Socrates, it made me believe at first that Socrates didn’t know anything about the situation. However, about the third time I read the dialogue, I (think I) picked up on what Socrates was doing. I believe Socrates IS teaching Euthryphro, and it may not be in a ‘usual’ teaching way, but it is a good way to do so. Socrates let Euthryphro talk to him as if he was teaching him, but I believe Socrates knew what Euthryphro was saying (about holiness and the

Socrates wrote nothing of his thoughts down and we rely mainly on Plato’s interpretation and recollection of the man and his teachings. Although Socrates did not see himself as a teacher and that he does not feel that he had wisdom as bestowed upon him by the oracles (Ahbel-Rappe 6). Socrates felt that he was not worthy of seeing himself as being wise, but what he did accomplish was that he allowed others to begin questioning their very essence and existence. In modern society with all of the technology, the conveniences we often find that our true inner self is blurred or cut off from actual reflection and introspection. In fact, for one to find out who they are there must be an acceptance that there will be many learning

Plato was from the wealthy elite class in Greece at the time which made it easier

Like mathematics, he believed morality was obtained through knowledge, not rhetoric. Socrates was interested in communication and argument just as the Sophists were but he used his arguments to get closer to an absolute truth rather than trying to win. Unlike the Sophists, Socrates refused to call himself a teacher or accept any money for anything he taught. He would argue his point by saying that he isn’t cut out to be a teacher because he claims to not know anything. How could someone teach if they are unsure of what they believed?

Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher. People would argue that he was the greatest. His work or sayings are so confusing that you might get a headache from trying to understand his them. According to the video on Socrates, he stated that “I only know that I know nothing” He was a very intellectual and wise men but he accepted his ignorance and never thought he knew it all. He believed that he has no wisdom and that he knows nothing. To his knowledge, there are many thing which he haven’t been exposed to as of yet, therefore he know nothing. They use to say that Socrates was corrupting society and whoever would interact with him. They even accused him of corrupting the youth of Athens. Was he truly guilty of that? No he wasn’t! However,