WHO IS SCORATES?

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” “There is only one good, knowledge,
and one evil, ignorance.”- Socrates

Socrates, (born c. 470 BCE, Athens [Greece]—died 399 BCE, Athens), ancient Greek
philosopher whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence on Western
philosophy.

Socrates was a widely recognized and controversial figure in his native Athens, so much so that
he was frequently mocked in the plays of comic dramatists. (The Clouds of Aristophanes,
produced in 423, is the best-known example.) Although Socrates himself wrote nothing, he is
depicted in conversation in compositions by a small circle of his admirers—Plato and Xenophon
first among them. He is portrayed in these works as a man of great
insight, integrity, self-mastery, and argumentative skill. The impact
of his life was all the greater because of the way in which it ended: at
age 70, he was brought to trial on a charge of impiety and sentenced
to death by poisoning (the poison probably being hemlock) by a jury
of his fellow citizens. Plato’s Apology of Socrates purports to be the
speech Socrates gave at his trial in response to the accusations made
against him (Greek apologia means “defense”). Its powerful
advocacy of the examined life and its condemnation of Athenian
democracy have made it one of the central documents of Western
thought and culture.
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HIS TEACHINGS
Socrates professed not to teach anything (and indeed not to know anything important) but only to
seek answers to urgent human questions (e.g., “What is virtue?” and “What is justice?”) and to
help others do the same. His style of philosophizing was to engage in public conversations about
some human excellence and, through skillful questioning, to show that his interlocutors did not
know what they were talking about. Despite the negative results of these encounters, Socrates did
hold some broad positive views, including that virtue is a form of knowledge and that “care of
the soul” (the cultivation of virtue) is the most important human obligation.

Socrates wrote nothing. All that is known about him has been inferred from accounts by
members of his circle—primarily Plato and Xenophon—as well as by Plato’s student Aristotle,
who acquired his knowledge of Socrates through his teacher. The most vivid portraits of Socrates
exist in Plato’s dialogues, in most of which the principal speaker is “Socrates.” However, the
views expressed by the character are not consistent across the dialogues, and in some dialogues
the character expresses views that are clearly Plato’s own. Scholars continue to disagree about
which of the dialogues convey the views of the historical Socrates and which use the character
simply as a mouthpiece for Plato’s philosophy.
SOCRATES IN ATHENS
Socrates was widely hated in Athens, mainly because he regularly embarrassed people by
making them appear ignorant and foolish. He was also an outspoken critic of democracy, which
Athenians cherished, and he was associated with some members of the Thirty Tyrants, who
briefly overthrew Athens’s democratic government in 404–403 BCE. He was arguably guilty of
the crimes with which he was charged, impiety and corrupting the youth, because he did reject
the city’s gods and he did inspire disrespect for authority among his youthful followers (though
that was not his intention). He was accordingly convicted and sentenced to death by poison.

 Socrates is, basically, the father of Western philosophy

 He never wrote down any of his teachings, his student, Plato, did this for him
 Socrates’ philosophy arose out of his negative feelings in relation to the teaching of the
Sophists

THE SOPHIST

Who were they?

 Intelligent men, who travelled from place to place, teaching subjects like
grammar, rhetoric (debating, argument, logic) and literature
 Athens was an emerging democratic centre and educated people were needed
 The Sophists charged for their
services, usually employed by the wealthy and powerful – what the Sophists taught was
in demand

What was their philosophy?

 The Sophists were concerned with the individual and the individual’s place in the world
 Protagoras: ‘Man is the measure of all things’
 Led to the belief that the difference between good and evil cannot be known
◦ It all depended on the circumstances – the Theory of Relativity The sophists believed
other concepts of truth and justice were products of habit and circumstance
◦ Created by those in power to suit their own interests
‘Justice is simply the interest of the stronger’ ~Thrasymachus

The Problem with Sophist?

Truth was not the most important issue but rather the ability to persuade your audience of the
truth of your position
- this is how they taught their students
 The sophists’ philosophy created tensions in Athens ◦ They suggested there were no
absolute norms for right or wrong
◦ This contributed to a breakdown in moral order
◦ The distinction between good and evil was no longer clear
◦ He who could argue the best won out (or he who could pay a Sophist the most to argue
won out)
Socrates had enough of the Sophists . . .
The Life of Socrates

 Born around 470 B. C.

 Lived in Athens at the height of its civilisation
 Described as a very ugly man, who often walked barefoot and wore the same kind of
clothes whatever the weather
 Excellent soldier – he had great physical power and could endure a lot
 He was a very disciplined person
 He was interested in the development of a person’s moral character
 He lived a virtuous life

The Philosophy of Socrates

Socrates was concerned with the question of ETHICS (moral behavior)
 Unlike the Sophists, he believed that there was definite right and wrong
 He believed that people could accept it and apply it into their daily lives
 He said that it was up to people (society), as a whole, to establish those things that are right
and those that are wrong
 Dedicated his life to searching for standards by which people could live a virtuous/good life
Socrates was also concerned with justice
◦ He wanted life to be fair for all
◦ It was a person’s duty to explore the truth regarding right and wrong, justice and
injustice, courage and cowardice
◦ He worked to find principles and laws that all could live by and be happy
 Universal: these truths would be applicable for all people, at any time, everywhere and in all
cases

The Socratic Style

Socrates' style was distinctive
o He questioned people through discussions or dialogues
o He chose people who were experts in their field and who fully understood the topic being
discussed
o He adopted the role of ignorant questioner
 Pretended he did not know and wanted to be educated
o He asked tactful questions which would bring the experts to a dead end – they would run out of
answers
 This showed them, and others, that they did not have all the answers and, so, were not experts
 Therefore, the aim of this method was to get to the truth of how a person could live a good,
moral life

Why the Socratic Method ?

 Through the dialogues, Socrates wanted to discover people’s views on living a moral, just life
  Socrates urged people to question what they are being told, as well as their beliefs – question
EVERYTHING
  Socrates, himself, learned through this process and developed his own philosophy from this method

Other Important issues for Socrates

  The SOUL
The soul is hugely important in his philosophy ◦ Had to be nurtured and protected
◦ Gaining wisdom would save the soul
◦ This would lead the person to living a virtuous life
 ‘Knowing what is good is the same as doing what is good.’ ~ Socrates
o Believed people would not willingly do wrong
o No-one wants to be a bad person
o Later philosophers would disagreed with him
o They said that a person might know what is right but may not be strong enough or disciplined
enough to do

Socrates Thinking in action

Socrates believed that an action is right when it promotes humanity’s true happiness
 Socrates spoke of alcohol
◦ Drunkenness – only short term pleasure is gained
- Whatever you are escaping from, when you drink, will come back
◦ Drunkenness - has long term effects
-Leads to ill health
- Can enslave the body – become addicted to it
◦ The drinking of alcohol goes against reason – why would you willingly want to damage your
body?
◦ Alcohol and drunkenness does not produce true pleasure – the negative effects far outweigh the
temporary happiness

Socrates believed true pleasure could only be attained through living a moral life . . .

The Execution of Socrates

 Socrates was executed in 399 B. C.

 Saw Athens was in danger of destruction
  Became critical of the government
  He was a social and moral critic
 He attempted to improve the Athenians' sense of justice
 His pursuit of virtue and his strict adherence to truth clashed with Athenian society
 He claimed he was the wiser one since he was the only person aware of his own ignorance
 Put on trial and found guilty ◦ heresy
◦ corrupting the minds of the youth
 Socrates was forced to drink a lethal poison
 He was given the opportunity to escape
 However, he chose not to escape, drank the poison and died . . .
Summarizing Socrates
  Virtue (knowledge) is the most valuable of all things
  Life should be spent in search of goodness.
  Truth is possible to achieve
  People should focus on self-development rather than material wealth
  It is the job of the philosopher to show people how little they really know
  An action is right when it promoted true happiness