Socrates
(c. 469-399 BC)


Background, Beliefs and Teachings

Socrates was born in Athens. He was the son of poor parents. His father was a sculptor and his mother was a midwife. He fought in the Peloponnesian War, as a soldier in the army. After he retired from the army he devoted his time to what he called "divine command". He spent much of his time and energy in the pursuit of wisdom (Valstos, 1991). He went about this by engaging in conversation with all sorts of men and women. They would discuss a wide range of subjects such as love, politics, war, friendship, poetry, religion, science, government and moral issues.

People were charmed by his wit, good humor, and his kindly disposition. His special concern however, was moral conduct. Socrates rejected the popular conceptions of the Greek gods and their relation to human beings. He believed that a divine providence had to do with the creation of the world. Furthermore, he thought that the purpose toward which this divine providence was directed was the achievement of the good life by human beings. He believed that man was more than just a physical organism; he felt that man's body was a dwellling place of the soul and what happened to the soul was more important than what happened to the body. He made this statement that expresses his moral philosophy: "Virtue is knowledge." He believed that the chief cause of the evil that men do was ignorance concerning the good life. He believed that through the proper development of the mind in its pursuit of truth, beauty and goodness that the goal and purpose of human life can be achieved. He regarded popular opinion as ignorant. He was very critical of the democratic form of government. He felt that people who are called upon to govern the state ought to possess both intellectual and moral qualifications.


Trial and Execution

Socrates had a tendency to point out the shortcomings of certain officials who were, according to him, unprepared for their duties. He usually recieved harsh resentment from the officials he had offended. This was the case when Socrates pointed out the shortcomings in Meletus, a member of the governing council. In 399 B.C, Meletus and his fellow aristocrats Anytus and Lycan launched accusations at him. They accused him of being a menace to society. They said that he was corrupting the minds of the young and that he rejected the gods of Athens. Meletus also accused Socrates of being an atheist and said that his teachings would eventually bring about the collapse of public morality. At the trial, Socrates defended himself and his manner of living and presented sufficient evidence to show that the accusations brought against him were without adequate foundations. However, when the jury voted, the majority voted against him. Socrates was sentenced to death, by a poisonous plant extract known as hemlock.

Students whom he taught and inspired

There are no written records of Socrates' work. However, through his students who later turned into his peers, we have some works related to him. Aristophanes wrote . Xenophon wrote Memorabilia. However, we receive the most information from the works of Plato. Socrates was the chief character in many of his most famous dialogues. Plato's fame rests on his dialogues which are all preserved. They are usually divided in three periods, early, middle, and late. The early dialogues establish the figure of Socrates, portrayed as endlessly questioning, shattering the false claims of his contemporaries.

Plato's early dialogues

Bibliography

Brumbaugh, Robert S.,

The Philosophers of Greece,

Albany, New york, State University of New York Press, 1981, pp; 123-132

Hatzfeld, Jean,

History of Ancient Greece,

New York, New York, W.W Norton & Company, INc. pp 146-147.

Plato,

The last days of Socrates,

New York,New York, Viking Penquin Inc., 1969, pp.17-77.

Vlastos, Gregory,

Socrates, Ironist and Moral Philosopher,

Ithazca, Newyork, Cornell University Press. 1991.

  • RETURN TO PHILOSOPHY TOPICS