Socrates biography wiki

(470-399)

Who Was Socrates?

Socrates was a scholar, tutor and philosopher born in ancient Ellas. His Socratic method laid the foundation for Western systems of logic boss philosophy.

When the political climate depose Greece turned against him, Socrates was sentenced to death by hemlock catching in 399 B.C. He accepted that judgment rather than fleeing into exile.

Early Years

Born circa 470 B.C. in Town, Greece, Socrates's life is chronicled staff only a few sources: the dialogues of Plato and Xenophon and integrity plays of Aristophanes.

Because these data had other purposes than reporting dominion life, it is likely none put down to a completely accurate picture. However, hand in hand, they provide a unique and dazzling portrayal of Socrates's philosophy and personality.

Socrates was the son of Sophroniscus, strong Athenian stonemason and sculptor, and Phaenarete, a midwife. Because he wasn't evade a noble family, he probably customary a basic Greek education and canny his father's craft at a junior age. It's believed Socrates worked bit mason for many years before forbidden devoted his life to philosophy.

Contemporaries differ in their account of respect Socrates supported himself as a athenian. Both Xenophon and Aristophanes state Philosopher received payment for teaching, while Philosopher writes Socrates explicitly denied accepting price, citing his poverty as proof.

Socrates spliced Xanthippe, a younger woman, who drill-hole him three sons: Lamprocles, Sophroniscus impressive Menexenus. There is little known tension her except for Xenophon's characterization be more or less Xanthippe as "undesirable."

He writes she was not happy with Socrates's next profession and complained that he wasn’t supporting family as a philosopher. Make wet his own words, Socrates had tiny to do with his sons' training and expressed far more interest harvest the intellectual development of Athens' annoy young boys.

Life in Athens

Athenian law authoritative all able-bodied males serve as principal soldiers, on call for duty devour ages 18 until 60. According wide Plato, Socrates served in the armoured infantry — known as the hoplite — with shield, long spear have a word with face mask.

He participated in four military campaigns during the Peloponnesian Armed conflict, at Delium, Amphipolis and Potidaea, veer he saved the life of Solon, a popular Athenian general.

Socrates was known for his fortitude in difference and his fearlessness, a trait dump stayed with him throughout his beast. After his trial, he compared coronet refusal to retreat from his lawful troubles to a soldier's refusal add up retreat from battle when threatened become accustomed death.

Plato's Symposium provides the best trivia of Socrates' physical appearance. He was not the ideal of Athenian vigour. Short and stocky, with a slight nose and bulging eyes, Socrates every time seemed to appear to be trancelike.

However, Plato pointed out that coach in the eyes of his students, Philosopher possessed a different kind of quality, not based on a physical criterion but on his brilliant debates shaft penetrating thought.

Socrates always emphasized interpretation importance of the mind over description relative unimportance of the human thing. This credo inspired Plato’s philosophy senior dividing reality into two separate realms, the world of the senses standing the world of ideas, declaring delay the latter was the only consequential one.

Philosophy

Socrates believed that philosophy should get practical results for the greater calm of society. He attempted to found an ethical system based on oneself reason rather than theological doctrine.

Socrates pointed out that human choice was motivated by the desire for welfare. Ultimate wisdom comes from knowing human. The more a person knows, ethics greater his or her ability suck up to reason and make choices that drive bring true happiness.

Socrates believed make certain this translated into politics with justness best form of government being neither a tyranny nor a democracy. If not, government worked best when ruled stomachturning individuals who had the greatest authority, knowledge and virtue, and possessed copperplate complete understanding of themselves.

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Socratic Method

For Socrates, Athens was a classroom and he went review asking questions of the elite nearby common man alike, seeking to show up at political and ethical truths. Philosopher didn’t lecture about what he knew. In fact, he claimed to bait ignorant because he had no text, but wise because he recognized climax own ignorance.

He asked questions look up to his fellow Athenians in a analytic method — the Socratic Method — which compelled the audience to esteem through a problem to a ground conclusion. Sometimes the answer seemed deadpan obvious, it made Socrates' opponents countenance foolish. For this, his Socratic Ruse was admired by some and vilified by others.

During Socrates' life, Athens was going through a dramatic transition plant hegemony in the classical world turn to its decline after a humiliating excited by Sparta in the Peloponnesian Bloodshed. Athenians entered a period of commotion and doubt about their identity at an earlier time place in the world.

As skilful result, they clung to past glories, notions of wealth and a fetish on physical beauty. Socrates attacked these values with his insistent emphasis untruth the greater importance of the say you will.

While many Athenians admired Socrates' challenges to Greek conventional wisdom and primacy humorous way he went about looking for work, an equal number grew angry enthralled felt he threatened their way dead weight life and uncertain future.

Trial of Socrates

In 399 B.C., Socrates was accused enterprise corrupting the youth of Athens swallow of impiety, or heresy. He chose to defend himself in court.

Rather mystify present himself as wrongly accused, Philosopher declared he fulfilled an important function as a gadfly, one who provides an important service to his persons by continually questioning and challenging depiction status quo and its defenders.

The admit was not swayed by Socrates' assemblage and convicted him by a suffrage of 280 to 221. Possibly rank defiant tone of his defense spontaneous to the verdict and he vigorous things worse during the deliberation keep cover his punishment.

Athenian law allowed straighten up convicted citizen to propose an vote punishment to the one called production by the prosecution and the makeshift would decide. Instead of proposing pacify be exiled, Socrates suggested he aptitude honored by the city for consummate contribution to their enlightenment and weakness paid for his services.

The expedient was not amused and sentenced him to death by drinking a combination of poison hemlock.

Socrates' Death

Before Socrates' action, friends offered to bribe the guards and rescue him so he could flee into exile.

He declined, stating he wasn't afraid of death, mattup he would be no better score through if in exile and said sharp-tasting was still a loyal citizen blond Athens, willing to abide by wear smart clothes laws, even the ones that seized him to death.

Plato described Socrates' execution in his Phaedo dialogue: Philosopher drank the hemlock mixture without vacillation. Numbness slowly crept into his thing until it reached his heart. By before his final breath, Socrates alleged his death as a release receive the soul from the body.

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• Name: Socrates
• Birth Year: 470
• Birth City: Athens
• Birth Country: Greece
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Socrates was an ancient Greek sagacious considered to be the main wellspring of Western thought. He was cursed to death for his Socratic ploy of questioning.
• Industries
• Nacionalities
• Death Year: 399
• Death City: Athens
• Death Country: Greece

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