*Description:

Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher who is credited with laying the
fundamentals of modern western philosophy.. He is known for creating Socratic irony
and the Socratic method.. He is best recognized for inventing the teaching practice
of pedagogy, wherein a teacher questions a student in a manner that draws out the
correct response.. He has had a profound influence on western philosophy, along
with his students Plato and Xenophon.. though much of Socrates contribution is to
the field of ethics, his input to the field of epistemology and logic is also
noteworthy..

*Life:
Details of the life of Socrates can be obtained from writing of his associates and
students, Plato, Aristophanes and Xenophon. There is no proof that Socrates himself
wrote anything. Most of whatever we know of him is through Plato's works like 'The
Apology'. Socrates was primarily know for h
is ideas, communication skills and public teachings. His views and ideas are
reflected through his associates' works. In Plato's work, Socrates' father was
Sophroniscus and his mother Phaenarete, a midwife. Socrates married Xanthippe, who
was much younger than him and he had three sons, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus and
Menexenus.
Very little is known on what Socrates did for a living. According to Timon, he took
over the stonemasonry trade, which was a family business, although Xenophon's
version suggests that he dedicated his life to philosophical discussion.
Aristophanes' writings describe Socrates running a sophist school and getting paid
for it. Xenophon and Plato disagree with this saying that Socrates did not accept
any payment for his teaching, with his poverty acting as proof of this fact. In
Plato's dialogues he portrays Socrates as a soldier who served in the Athenian army
and fought in the battles of Potidaea, Amphipolis, and Delium..

*Socratic Problem:
This problems arise due to 3 key features - There is no proof that Socrates ever
wrote anything, philosophical or biographical.
Whatever information we derive about Socrates is from the works of 4 scholars
namely - Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, and Aristophanes.
The writings are in an artistic and creative style, therefore creating a doubt
whether these details are truth or fiction.
So the information on Socrates that is available cannot be proved and has no
historical evidence. If the evidence is only through the writings of his
associates, there is doubt that Socrates ever existed or he was an imaginary
character in his students writings to explain their philosophy.

*Socratic method:
The Socratic method is a kind of teaching where the teacher asks the student
instead of lecturing.. In this way the questioning becomes a kind of guide that the
student can hit the answer by oneself. Behind it is philosophy that man is capable
of exploring the truth by reason.

This technique was named after the philosopher who initiated it, Socrates. Socrates
once taught mathematics a child just by asking questions. The child learns
mathematics by self discovery. There was Plato, a disciple of Socrates, whose ideas
were within the mind prior to the birth of an individual. There began Plato's
doctrinal doctrine. According to him the truth is in ' the world of ideas' and what
we see is just a picture of reality from this world..

*Philosophical beliefs:
Socrates was morally, intellectually and polically against the Athenians. When he
was on trial for corrupting the mind of young Athenians he explained that while
they are concerned about their families and careers, they would better be concerned
about the 'welfare of their souls'. He also contested the Sophistic doctrine
(virtue can be taught) and argued that successful fathers do not necessarily
produce successful sons and that moral excellence was more a matter of divine
bequest than parental upbringing.

*Knowledge:
Socrates believed that wisdom was parallel to one's ignorance. One's deeds were a
result of this level of intelligence and ignorance. He constantly connected the
'love of wisdom' with 'art of love'. It is debatable whether he believed that
humans could become wise, but he drew a clear line between wisdom and ignorance.

*Virtue:
Socrates believed that one must concentrate more on self development than on
material things. He encouraged people to develop friendships and love amongst
themselves. Humans possess certain basic philosophical or intellectual virtues and
those virtues were the most valuable of all possessions. To act Good and to be
truly Good from within is different and virtue relates to the Goodness of the soul.

*Politics:
"Ideals belong in a world that only the wise man can understand". He had no
particular beliefs on politics but did object to democracy, but disliked its
Athenian form. Basically, he objected to any government that did not run on the
basis of his ideas of perfect governance. Socrates refused to enter politics
because he could not tell other people how to lead their lives when he didn't know
how to live his own. He thought he was a philosopher of truth, which he had not
fully discovered. Towards the end of his life, democracy was supplanted by the
Thirty Tyrants for around one year, before being restored. For Socrates, the Thirty
Tyrants were no better and arguably worse rulers than the democracy they sought to
replace.

The Socratic dialogues:

The apology:
The Apology is the actual speech delivered by Socrates during his death trial. In
the Athenian jury system, an "apology" is composed of three parts: a speech,
followed by a counter-assessment, then some final words. 'Apologia' in Greek means
defense and not regretting anything. The speech was Socrates defending himself at
the trial.

Death:
The death of Socrates is the climax point in his career and is well depicted in
Plato's works. His death could have been avoided if he had deserted his philosophy
and gone back to minding his own business. Even after he was convicted he could
have escaped with the help of his friend Crito, who argued that by not escaping,
Socrates was letting down his students and family. His non-cooperation seems to be,
in part, an expression of political infighting. Athens, at the time, was in
political turmoil, undergoing a change from authoritarian rule to democracy and
Socrates was against democracy. Despite his loyalty to Athens, his attitude of
defending his truth clashed with current Athenian politics and society. Even the
Oracle had agreed that there was no one wiser than Socrates, but Socrates refused
to believe this. Eventually Socrates was sentenced to death by poison (hemlock).
His death narrative is found in Plato's 'Phaedo'. After drinking the poison
Socrates was made to walk till his legs felt heavy. The man who gave him the
hemlock pinched his foot but Socrates only felt a numbness. This numb feeling
eventually travelled to his heart and he died. Shortly before dying, Socrates spoke
his last words to Crito saying, "Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don't
forget to pay the debt."