Name: Socrates: Biography of a Great Thinker
Uploaded: 2020-03-06T16:33:51.000Z
Duration: 6 min 6 s
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Modal verbs - B1

Socrates is considered one of the founders of Western Philosophy, but you might not have

Basic passive voice

Socrates was born to a working-class family in ancient Greece, around 470 BC.

His father was a sculptor who cut stone for the Parthenon and taught Socrates the stone-cutting

As an adult, Socrates worked as a stonemason, as well as serving in the military during

It wasn’t until he retired that Socrates took up the occupation he is best known for

What are the great works of Socrates everyone should read?

What we know of Socrates comes from the works of his students, Plato and Xenophon, as well

as the playwright Aristophanes, who was a contemporary of Socrates.

This is sometimes referred to as the “Socrates Problem” - we know about Socrates only through

The Socrates Problem is compounded by the nature of the writing from this time.

There is very little of what we would consider histories written during the Classic Era.

Rather, they are mostly dramatised works - plays and philosophical dialogues.

For instance, in Aristophanes’ play “The Clouds,” Socrates is depicted as a swindler

who teaches his students clever acts of deception.

But that was a satirical comedy, so should we believe that depiction?

By contrast, Plato’s and Xenophon’s works presented a kinder portrayal of Socrates’

character, but even their accounts differ in many particulars.

We are left to piece together what the man was like, finding common ground in the various

Socrates’ reputation as a towering intellect began when one of his followers made a pilgrimage

This was a priestess at the Temple of Apollo, who served as a medium through which the god

People traveled from all over Europe to hear her prophecies.

The Oracle proclaimed no one was wiser than Socrates.

When Socrates heard this statement, he took it to be a puzzle.

He set out to find who WAS the wisest man.

He interviewed the people of Athens who were most admired for their wisdom - teachers,

politicians, artists - but he concluded that they all had a fatal flaw.

These men all believed they knew a great deal, but were ignorant of what they did NOT know.

Socrates said that he was as ignorant as any other man, with the very slight advantage

that he at least KNEW he was ignorant - and in that way, he was the wisest of an entire

Socrates said, “What I do not know I do not THINK I know."

This is referred to as the “Socratic Paradox.”

It may surprise you that Socrates, “the wisest man in Athens,” was not known for

Rather, he would ask questions; question after question, to pin down what did someone actually

Often, logical inconsistencies in the answers would point out faulty lines of reason.

In this way, both the teacher and student were led to knowledge.

This was a new form of discourse that came to be known as “The Socratic Method.”

It is still used to this day as one of the most successful teaching methods ever found.

Sadly, this habit of pointing out people’s mistakes in reasoning may have won Socrates

It didn’t help matters that he was also unappealing in appearance.

In Plato’s “Symposium,” Socrates is described as quite unattractive - short and

He was said to have odd religious views, as well.

What might have been the final straw was Aristophanes’ play “The Clouds,” which suggested that

Socrates was associated with the Sophists.

This was a group of teachers whom older generations feared were teaching the youth to be wild

In the end, his list of offenses grew too long.

Socrates was charged with being an atheist and corrupting the youth of Athens.

Socrates represented himself in the trial.

As described in Plato’s “Apology,” and Xenophon’s “Apology of Socrates to the

Jury,” Socrates denied being a Sophist, and gave evidence of his attempts to encourage

virtue and elevated behavior from Athenians.

But in true Socratic fashion, he did not try to win over the jury, but rather point out

The jury found him guilty and sentenced him to death.

In Athens at this time, convicted criminals could propose an alternative to their punishments.

Socrates jokingly suggested that he instead be given free meals at the Prytaneum, an honour

reserved for the most admired citizens of Athens.

Socrates’ followers wept, and encouraged him to flee (which was not an unusual occurrence

But, as if to dramatically win his argument that he always obeyed the rule of law, Socrates

went to his death with no outward appearance of fear.

He willingly drank the cup of deadly hemlock that was the means of his execution.

Athens had put to death the man Plato called “the wisest and most just of all men.”

Socrates the man may have died, but his ideas lived on through his disciples.

The writings of Plato and Xenophon brought their teacher back to the world.

Socrates’ philosophy continued to be studied through the Middle Ages, and reached a new

To this day, the Socratic Method is used by teachers everywhere to find out what you know,

For our part, we strive to honour his memory at Socratica.