Theory Of Socrates Research Paper

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

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 beings the argument with his desire to “show that in all opposites there is of necessity a similar alternation.” by this he means that something cannot become greater without before being less. Within the process of changing from one opposite to another there are intermediates which are the agents of change. The

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

Socrates' response (another question) clarifies his epistemology: "how can anyone answer who knows, and says that he knows, just nothing??" What Socrates' knows is incommunicable other than to say that he knows nothing. His philosophical speculations embody a process rather than a philosophy. That is, Socrates' method is in accord with the nature of inquiry and of intellectual exploration itself: he is his style. And, acutely aware of this fact, Socrates repels every temptation toward dogma, characterized by Thrasymachus' complaints.

Firstly, to show Socrates’ interest in universal definitions, Copleston uses the standard of beauty to compare Socrates’ ultimate quest for universal definitions. He states,“Similarly we speak of things as being more or less beautiful, implying that they approach the standard of Beauty in a greater or less degree, a standard which does not vary or change…but remains constant and ‘rules’ as it

Socrates began to question the usual perceptions of knowledge, advocating for a clearer picture than common sense allowed.

To illustrate this theory Socrates asks Meno to call over one of his slaves and he presents him with a geometrical problem. Socrates shows that without teaching him, but through a series of questions he can enable the slave, who had never been taught geometry before in his life, to solve the problem.

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.

that a thing is not seen because it is in a state of being seen, it is in a state of being seen because it is seen, and the same for the comparisons. Socrates clarifies what he means by saying that if anything becomes, or is affected, it does not become because it is in a state of becoming, it is in a state of becoming because it is

In the early days before his philosophy, Socrates was influenced the origin of the universe. Soon after then he became a philosopher. “What is courage?” (Socrates). He would ask after he became a philosopher and had students. Socrates would ask his students some deep thinking questions like “Why do you believe in what you believe?” (Socrates). His pupils would then answer his questions but they always had to think about the question before answering. As Socrates would get his remaining feedback from his students, he would then ask another question saying “what are

“The fact that [Socrates’] trial came to court when it need not have done so, the handling of the trial itself, and now this absurd ending which will be thought to have got beyond our control through some cowardice and unmanliness on our part, since we did not save you, or you save yourself, when it was possible” (45e-46e). This quote from the text Crito, written by Plato, directly illustrates Crito’s claim of feeling ashamed on Socrates’ behalf and on behalf of his friends, if what happened was due to cowardice on their part. In order for us to be able to validate this argument as persuasive or not, we must first take a look at the definitions of courage and manliness.

Socrates thinks that there are two kinds of existences; firstly, the visible world that we perceive with our senses, which is human, mortal, composite, unintelligible, and always changing. Secondly, the invisible world of Forms that we can access solely with our minds, which is divine, deathless, intelligible, non-composite, and always the same (78c-79a, 80b). Socrates explains that the theory which he regards as most certain, as least vulnerable to attack, is none other than the Theory of Forms. This theory explains that there exist as real entities such things as Beauty in itself, Goodness in itself, and

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.

Throughout The Republic by Plato, the character of Socrates touches on many theories and ideas. One of the main ideas that carries all throughout the text, is the concept of beauty. Socrates comes up with specific rules on how beauty should be executed. Specifically concerning the type of music one may hear, the feelings one may share and how beauty is defined.