Socrates Research Paper

FUTTER, DYLAN. “Socrates Human Wisdom.” Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review 52.1 (2013): 61-79. Humanities International Complete. Print.

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

Socrates is an influential person from history because of their contribution to the world by changing the standard way of thinking and learning in ancient Greece. Throughout history, there have been many significant events, but Socrates and the intellectual rebirth of many young Athenians because it changed the perspective of many Athenians who were sheltered and thought the power of the gods would get them through life. One of the students Plato taught Aristotle who taught Alexander the great passing along Socrates grand way of thought. This event of rebirth for Athens was well needed and pushed them a little closer to where we are today. Socrates and the rebirth of Athens are still relevant today because Socrates way of questioning and teaching is still used today which uses questions to build on questions that get you to a better answer that you got yourself pushing us forward in a higher level of thinking.

Socrates has a unique position in the history of philosophy. On one hand he is the most influential on another he is the least known. In his later life he is seen to stalk the streets barefoot, to spite shoemakers. He went about arguing and questioning people and revealing inconsistencies in their beliefs. He began teaching students but never accepted payments for doing so. This was possible because of the inheritance left by his father. Socrates wrote nothing of himself so we are dependent upon the works of both his students and associates who present a view as close to

Socrates ideas more to achive the great well-being of society. He supported more on the establish of ethical system that fond on human reason than theological doctrine. He stated that happiness is the one that motivated the human choice. The person with greater ability to reason will have true happiness than the person with less ability. For Socrates, being ruled by individuals with great ability, knowledge and possessed, the government worked best and fully understanding themselves. Socrates valued knowledge more than money and prestige. He was the one that shaped the cultural and intellectual development history. Socrates cared about how people should behave, also developed the critical thinking in life. His best distribution is Socratic

Is Socrates a teacher? The answer is yes. Socrates is a teacher in many ways, but what is a teacher? A teacher is somebody who shows or tells you something you didn’t see or know before. What you learn from a teacher doesn’t need to be anything positive or anything that benefits you. Socrates teaches people things very often, and there is proof of this throughout Euthyphro, Crito, and Meno. Not everything he teaches is seen as beneficial to society, but he teaches people many beneficial things as well.

By viewing the painting The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David, Socrates’ loyalty to the Athenian government was far more important to him than his own death or friendship. He was more interested in teaching his students about his belief in reason and the law of justice before he died. Still, the students and friends were arguing with him and trying to convince him to renounce his teachings. Socrates was strong in telling his students how it was for the good of society that he drinks the poison hemlock. He was not going to change what he was teaching all along when he truly believed in the democratic Athenian government laws. Socrates’ loyalty to the government was much stronger than the ties of friendship or acquaintances.

Socrates spent his time questioning people about things like virtue, justice, piety and truth. The people Socrates questioned are the people that condemned him to death. Socrates was sentenced to death because people did not like him and they wanted to shut him up for good. There was not any real evidence against Socrates to prove the accusations against him. Socrates was condemned for three major reasons: he told important people exactly what he thought of them, he questioned ideas that had long been the norm, the youth copied his style of questioning for fun, making Athenians think Socrates was teaching the youth to be rebellious. But these reasons were not the charges against him, he was charged with being an atheist and

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.

Interestingly about the work of Socrates is that its not known very well, since nothing was recorded during his time. Everything that we know about Socrates has come through the writings of his greatest pupil, Plato. Socrates was a

Socrates was that person who was not worried about his reputation in society. He had always told about what he wanted and thought. Socrates was not that person who did things which were dictated by someone. Even before his death he did not try to avoid the punishment through mercy. He had sons and he could take them to the jury and ask warranty for him.

Socrates is a great philosopher because of his ability to see more than just outside beauty. Socrates appreciates the beauty of the soul, something that most people would

Socrates was a great leader regardless of whether some consider his leadership style positive or negative. Socrates was a leader who was lawfully killed by his fellow citizens and created a consensus around his ideas. Individuals followed “Socrates Movement” because it brought enlightenment in regards to moral and ethical theories. Socrates was an intellectual leader that led through the process of investigating

     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 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.