Socrates

Who was Socrates?

"Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher considered to be the main source of Western thought. He was condemned to death for his Socratic method of questioning." Born Circa 470 B.C, Socrates bame an ancient Greek philosopher considered to be the main source of Western thought. He was condemned to death for his Socratic method of questioning.

Biography

He was 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 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. Its powerful advocacy of the examined life and its condemnation of Athenian democracy have made it one of the central docume nts of Western thought and culture.

Beliefs and Ideas

If anything in general can be said about the philosophical beliefs of Socrates, it is that he was morally, intellectually, and politically at odds with many of his fellow Athenians. When he is on trial for heresy and corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens, he uses his method of elenchos to demonstrate to the jurors that their moral values are wrong-headed. He tells them they are concerned with their families, careers, and political responsibilities when they ought to be worried about the "welfare of their souls". Socrates's assertion that the gods had singled him out as a divine emissary seemed to provoke irritation, if not outright ridicule. Socrates also questioned the Sophistic doctrine that arete (virtue) can be taught. He liked to observe that successful fathers (such as the prominent military general Pericles) did not produce sons of their own quality. Socrates argued that moral excellence was more a matter of divine bequest than parental nurture. This belief may have contributed to his lack of anxiety about the future of his own sons.

Quotes

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates
“A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.” – Socrates
“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” – Socrates"
“Get not your friends by bare compliments, but by giving them sensible tokens of your love.” – Socrates

Socrates | MY HERO

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