Socrates: Quintessential Basis Of Ancient Greek Philosophy

Plato is remembered as one of the worlds best known philosophers who along with his writings are widely studied. Plato was a student of the great Greek philosopher Socrates and later went on to be the teacher of Aristotle. Plato’s writings such as “The Republic”, “Apology” and “Symposium” reveal a great amount of insight on what was central to his worldview. He was a true philosopher as he was constantly searching for wisdom and believed questioning every aspect of life would lead him to the knowledge he sought. He was disgusted with the common occurrence of Greeks not thinking for themselves but simply accepting the popular opinion also known as doxa. Plato believed that we ought to search for and meditate on the ideal versions of beauty, justice, wisdom, and other concepts which he referred to as the forms. His hostility towards doxa, theory of the forms, and perspective on reality were the central ideas that shaped Plato’s worldview and led him to be the great philosopher who is still revered today.

Socrates is remembered for drastically altering philosophical ideology by implementing personal, existential thought into Greek society. Actually, Socrates was nicknamed the Athenian Gadfly, because he felt that the gods must have put him in front of the Athenian people so that the citizens wouldn't lack spiritually, and felt like he was a gadfly annoying a horse. Before Socrates, philosophy consisted more of ‘what is out-of-one’s control’ such as skepticism about the universe and its nature. Socrates flipped the script from external, tangible ideology to internal thought and how it effects the human collective, hence procreating the concept of Ethics. He pioneered morality as a science. Socrates was such an influential philosopher that any thinker before Socrates is

Socrates, in his early works, maintained a steadfast distance from involvement in politics, making a comparison or evaluation of a political system in his persona technically impossible.

The works of Socrates and Machiavelli are as polarized as the phrases “the unexamined life is not worth living” and “the ends justify the means.” The Prince by Machiavelli and The Last Days of Socrates by Plato are both crucial texts to the discussion of what makes a good political leader. Well, what makes a good political leader? Socrates would disagree with Machiavelli’s ideation of the Prince because of the immorality that he allows this model to have in the public sphere. However, Socrates would find that Machiavelli’s Prince would lead to a political system that he would favor, because it would be one ruled by a qualified and expert leader, unlike in a democracy.

Socrates and Niccolo Machiavelli were both incredibly influential in the development of Western philosophical thought, specifically in relation to ethics in politics. Machiavelli’s text The Prince, written during a period of political turmoil in Italy, outlines the necessary steps a prince must take to obtain both power and authority. Plato’s The Last Days of Socrates assesses the moral and ethical guidelines an ideal leader should possess through the beliefs and teachings of Socrates. While both texts had similar objectives, their opinions were quite contradictory. Socrates would have found Machiavelli’s concept of the “Prince”, and the government he creates to be both unethical and fundamentally flawed. Socrates places higher value on the maintenance and creation of justice, while Machiavelli stresses the process of obtaining and preserving power, unethical or not. Due to their differences in their ideas of virtue, knowledge, and justice it can be concluded that Socrates would not be supportive of the government in which The Prince proposes.

In Book II of the Plato’s Republic, Glaucon and Adeimantus challenge Socrates’ claim that justice belongs in the class of goods which are valued for their own sake as well as for the sake of what comes from them (Rep. 357 b- 358 a). Unconvinced by Socrates’ refutation of Thrasymachus, Glaucon renews Thrasymachus’ argument that the life of the unjust person is better than that of the just person. As part of his case, Glaucon states what he claims most people consider the nature of justice to be and what its origins are. He proceeds to present a version of the social contract theory:

Even though “big data” is very valuable and has made many great gains for society in both efficiency and knowledge, with the increase in data collection and analytics there are many ethical concerns of how the data is being used because evidence based decision making within the analytics is often done solely on quantitative information, this creates digital inequity. Comparing and examining the works of Socrates and Martin Luther King Jr., we can develop our own ethical belief regarding some of the analytics used with “big data”.

Plato was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle. Together, these three men are regarded as the founders of Western philosophy. Plato dedicated his life to helping people reach fulfillment. He established the Academy of Athens. He is often commended for allowing his ideas to be open to interpretation. Among Plato’s popular theories:

Socrates; the founder of Western Philosophy, the first user of the Socratic method and Socratic irony, contributor to the field of ethics, and martyr for teaching what he thought was right. Indeed, Socrates is a household name, yet the picture many hold of Socrates may not be true to who Socrates actually was. Socrates considered himself a teacher and a thinker, not a writer, thus he wrote none of his teachings or thoughts down. As a consequence, the only surviving accounts of Socrates come second hand from his pupils, Plato and Xenophon, and from the playwright Aristophanes. However, it is difficult to tell how much of the Socrates depicted in the works of those men is embellishment or outright fabrication, and how much is truth. This problem, the Socratic Problem, has been troubling historians and philosophers for centuries, and will go on doing so. While the real Socrates may never be known, Socrates the character may be studied extensively through the works of his pupils. Plato’s Symposium depicts Socrates in an informal setting, getting drunk with friends, and offers an opportunity to see Socrates’ character and personality more clearly. While Symposium is set at a party, Socrates is still shown to be a larger-than-life, idealized character, who may have been too brilliant and perfect to be true.

Aristotle and Plato are two of the most influential philosophers in history. Plato was Socrates’ greatest student and in turn taught Aristotle. In time, Aristotle became Plato’s greatest student. Together Aristotle and Plato, along with Socrates, laid the groundwork for what we now know as Western philosophy and science.

Socrates is one of the most popular philosophers of all the times. He was the first to study ethics and principles of morality and he always claimed that he did not put knowledge in anyone, yet asked serious questions which contributed to numerous debates (Class notes). Despite his high intellectual level, Athens condemned him with several charges such as the corruption of youth as the society of this time viewed secular knowledge as an obstruction to the achievement of spiritual enlightenment (Class notes.) After his death and his famous trial, Socrates’s philosophy had an enormous impact on the Western Civilization. Socrates’ philosophy could be found in Plato’s works. For example, The Republic written in a form of discussion is an influential book that contributes to several debates. Even if some argue about the validity and accuracy of Plato’s works regarding Socrates’ philosophy, those works allow us to conclude that Socrates was devoted and dedicated to truth. Socrates was concerned with the immutable universal concept of truth, goodness, and justice and thus, wanted to transmit and instore those principles to the city of Athens.

     Socrates was wise in respect to the fact that he never accepted a “truth” that was told to him, without getting incontestable evidence to back it up. He made the realization that people believed in things without even knowing where their ideas came from. In ancient Athens, citizens believed in many gods and myths associated with them.

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle 's early lives affected their careers and Greek society, and their deaths and works of literature affected today 's society. Socrates started out as a stone mason who eventually devoted most of his time to philosophy. Socrates ' works of literature reflect his world views and opinions. These opinions had a fatal consequence; he was persecuted for "corrupting the youth of Athens." Socrates was Plato 's teacher and instructor. Plato used his works of literature to show his viewpoints. In his book, The Republic, he covered a wide range of topics that included social, educational, psychological, moral and philosophical ideas. In this book and The Apology, Plato criticized Athen 's democracy for the persecution of his friend and teacher, Socrates. Plato then became the instructor of Aristotle. Through Aristotle 's life in Thrace, and his intense schooling at the Academy, he was equipped with all of the knowledge that he needed to become the wise philosopher he is known as today. Aristotle discussed some of his opinions through his book, Politics. This book mainly focused on his views of the government and society. His schooling allowed him to advance in all subjects and discover new ideas. All three of these philosophers not only had a lasting effect on Greek philosophy, but their ideas have also had a profound

In the era of ancient Greece, society consisted of many city-states which were known by the people as polis. These city-states varied from region to region; in some instances, one region of a polis could be ruled by an authoritarian, dictator and a neighboring one could be ruled by many individuals. These forms of city-states in Greece were present during the era of ancient philosophers such as: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc. These philosophers, like the numerous amounts they interacted through debates and consultations, were searching to gain knowledge of the many questions that individuals have asked for centuries. In their search for knowledge, Plato, one of the most popular of the ancient Greek philosophers, was one of the first to write and record many of his thoughts, theories, beliefs, and was one of the first to ask many of the complicated questions political theorists contemplate, today.

Separated by more than 8500 kilometers but only 52 years, two seminal thinkers have shaped the moral philosophy of their respective cultures. While Western ethical theory has been deeply influenced by Plato’s Republic, Eastern ethical theory has been deeply influenced by Confucius’s Analects. David Haberman describes the Republic as ‘one of the most influential books of all time’ (86). And Bryan Van Norden compares (with considerable fervor) the Analects to ‘the combined influence of Jesus and Socrates’ (3).