He always believed that individuals with greater understanding and knowledge can run a more efficient government. He traveled throughout Athens and questioned the common people and the elite to discover the truth about ethics and politics.
- Socrates was born in Athens in 470 BC.
- He received his basic education in Greek because he did not belong to a noble family and thus, learned his father’s skills at a very young age.
- Before turning into a philosopher, Socrates was a mason and sculptor for several years.
- According to the records of his students named Aristophanes and Xenophon, Socrates received money for teaching and this was the only source of income that helped Socrates support his family.
- Contrary to the records of Aristophanes and Xenophon, Plato, one of the most popular disciples of Socrates, wrote in his notes that Socrates simply denied receiving any payment for teaching and thus led a very low life and poor.
- Xanthippe was the wife of Socrates. Both had three children named Meneksenus, Sophroniskus and Lamprokles.
- According to Xenophon, Socrates’ disciple, Xanthippe was not satisfied with Socrates’ profession as a ‘philosopher’ and complained that he did not support his family.
- According to Xenophon, Socrates was much more interested in the intellectual education of the young minds of Athens than in caring for the education of his sons.
- Socrates’ primary interest was in the importance of the mind rather than physical attraction. He always believed that if anything could improve the welfare of society, it was nothing but philosophy.
- Based on human reasons, Socrates tried to create an ethical system by rejecting theological doctrine. He always said that only when a person knows himself, he or she can attain ultimate wisdom.
- The simple logic offered by Socrates was that when a person begins to know more about himself, his reasoning and skills in making good choices improve and this leads to the person achieving true happiness.
- His way of thinking led him to believe that the attainment of true wisdom is the only way to create a government that is neither a democratic government nor a tyrannical government.
- He always believed that individuals with greater understanding and knowledge can run a more efficient government. He traveled all over Athens and questioned the common people and the elite to discover the truth about ethics and politics.
- Socrates’ method of communication was quite interesting. He always showed his ignorance instead of telling people what he knew. By doing so, he turned out to be wise!
- The method he used when questioning the people of Athens was that of the dialectical format. This was very easy for people to understand, allowing them to think and reach a logical conclusion.
- His method of communication was known as the Socratic Method, and this method sometimes made the answers very obvious, making opponents look foolish. It is for this reason that many people did not like his method, but some others admired it.
- Socrates belonged to a time when Athens was going through a transition phase with uncertainty about the future, after a very humiliating defeat in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta. The exact time when the Athenians began to think about their future and their role and identity in the world. This forced the people of Athens to cling to past glory, physical beauty and wealth.
- This is when Socrates came in and challenged the traditional wisdom of Greece and adopted a humorous path. While some people liked his way of thinking, he also made many enemies, or rather, a group of people who hated his philosophy because they simply felt that his ideas and philosophy were a threat to their way of life. .
- Because of his radical opinion, he was taken to court, where he was convicted. 280 voted against him and 221 in his favor. During his defense, Socrates spoke in a defiant tone, which acted as a catalyst for the jury’s decision.
- According to Athenian law, any convicted person could request an alternative sentence. Socrates made matters worse by demanding honors, rewards, and payments for services he had rendered to the people, in an effort to enlighten them, instead of demanding his banishment.
- After they sentenced him to death, many of Socrates’ friends asked him to escape into exile by bribing the guards.
- Socrates refused the offer. He said that despite the fact that Athenian law condemned him to death, he was still a loyal citizen of Athens and would gladly accept his death.
- Socrates was given a mixture of poison, which he drank without hesitation.
- Plato, in his dialogue Phaedo, describes that as soon as Socrates drank the poison, a numbness began to slowly rise and eventually took hold of his heart.
- Plato mentions that during the moment of
