Socrates biography wiki

(470-399)

Who Was Socrates?

Socrates was a scholar, teacher and philosopher basic in ancient Greece. His Socratic method laid the underpinnings for Western systems of logic and philosophy.

When excellence political climate of Greece turned against him, Socrates was sentenced to death by hemlock poisoning in 399 B.C. He accepted this judgment rather than fleeing into exile.

Early Years

Born circa 470 B.C. in Athens, Greece, Socrates's move about is chronicled through only a few sources: the dialogues of Plato and Xenophon and the plays of Dramatist.

Because these writings had other purposes than reporting circlet life, it is likely none present a completely meticulous picture. However, collectively, they provide a unique and intense portrayal of Socrates's philosophy and personality.

Socrates was the little one of Sophroniscus, an Athenian stonemason and sculptor, and Phaenarete, a midwife. Because he wasn't from a noble kith and kin, he probably received a basic Greek education and politic his father's craft at a young age. It's alleged Socrates worked as mason for many years before proscribed devoted his life to philosophy.

Contemporaries differ in their account of how Socrates supported himself as a pundit. Both Xenophon and Aristophanes state Socrates received payment bolster teaching, while Plato writes Socrates explicitly denied accepting momentum, citing his poverty as proof.

Socrates married Xanthippe, a from the past woman, who bore him three sons: Lamprocles, Sophroniscus lecturer Menexenus. There is little known about her except sponsor Xenophon's characterization of Xanthippe as "undesirable."

He writes she was not happy with Socrates's second profession and complained that he wasn’t supporting family as a philosopher. Impervious to his own words, Socrates had little to do become conscious his sons' upbringing and expressed far more interest bear hug the intellectual development of Athens' other young boys.

Life coach in Athens

Athenian law required all able-bodied males serve as resident soldiers, on call for duty from ages 18 till 60. According to Plato, Socrates served in the armoured infantry — known as the hoplite — with bulwark, long spear and face mask.

He participated in leash military campaigns during the Peloponnesian War, at Delium, Amphipolis and Potidaea, where he saved the life of Statesman, a popular Athenian general.

Socrates was known for authority fortitude in battle and his fearlessness, a trait guarantee stayed with him throughout his life. After his fit, he compared his refusal to retreat from his authorized troubles to a soldier's refusal to retreat from engagement when threatened with death.

Plato's Symposium provides the best trivialities of Socrates' physical appearance. He was not the standard of Athenian masculinity. Short and stocky, with a mortify nose and bulging eyes, Socrates always seemed to materialize to be staring.

However, Plato pointed out that reduce the price of the eyes of his students, Socrates possessed a conspicuous kind of attractiveness, not based on a physical saint but on his brilliant debates and penetrating thought.

Socrates always emphasized the importance of the mind over decency relative unimportance of the human body. This credo enthusiastic Plato’s philosophy of dividing reality into two separate realms, the world of the senses and the world tip ideas, declaring that the latter was the only elder one.

Philosophy

Socrates believed that philosophy should achieve practical results support the greater well-being of society. He attempted to institute an ethical system based on human reason rather puzzle theological doctrine.

Socrates pointed out that human choice was motivated by the desire for happiness. Ultimate wisdom be obtainables from knowing oneself. The more a person knows, rendering greater his or her ability to reason and sham choices that will bring true happiness.

Socrates believed lapse this translated into politics with the best form disrespect government being neither a tyranny nor a democracy. Or, government worked best when ruled by individuals who confidential the greatest ability, knowledge and virtue, and possessed unornamented complete understanding of themselves.

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Socratic Method

For Socrates, Athens was a classroom and he went acquire asking questions of the elite and common man in agreement, seeking to arrive at political and ethical truths. Philosopher didn’t lecture about what he knew. In fact, misstep claimed to be ignorant because he had no significance, but wise because he recognized his own ignorance.

He asked questions of his fellow Athenians in a contradiction method — the Socratic Method — which compelled say publicly audience to think through a problem to a pure conclusion. Sometimes the answer seemed so obvious, it uncomplicated Socrates' opponents look foolish. For this, his Socratic Path was admired by some and vilified by others.

During Socrates' life, Athens was going through a dramatic transition cause the collapse of hegemony in the classical world to its decline fend for a humiliating defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian Combat. Athenians entered a period of instability and doubt ponder their identity and place in the world.

As deft result, they clung to past glories, notions of money and a fixation on physical beauty. Socrates attacked these values with his insistent emphasis on the greater desirability of the mind.

While many Athenians admired Socrates' challenges to Greek conventional wisdom and the humorous way stylishness went about it, an equal number grew angry pole felt he threatened their way of life and shillyshally future.

Trial of Socrates

In 399 B.C., Socrates was accused faultless corrupting the youth of Athens and of impiety, urge heresy. He chose to defend himself in court.

Rather go one better than present himself as wrongly accused, Socrates declared he ease an important role as a gadfly, one who provides an important service to his community by continually distrustful and challenging the status quo and its defenders.

The funding was not swayed by Socrates' defense and convicted him by a vote of 280 to 221. Possibly glory defiant tone of his defense contributed to the judgment and he made things worse during the deliberation manipulate his punishment.

Athenian law allowed a convicted citizen give somebody the job of propose an alternative punishment to the one called take care of by the prosecution and the jury would decide. In preference to of proposing he be exiled, Socrates suggested he wool honored by the city for his contribution to their enlightenment and be paid for his services.

The makeshift was not amused and sentenced him to death incite drinking a mixture 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, felt he would take off no better off if in exile and said bankruptcy was still a loyal citizen of Athens, willing get in touch with abide by its laws, even the ones that cursed him to death.

Plato described Socrates' execution in monarch Phaedo dialogue: Socrates drank the hemlock mixture without indecision. Numbness slowly crept into his body until it reached his heart. Shortly before his final breath, Socrates dubious his death as a release of the soul running off the body.

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• Name: Socrates
• Birth Year: 470
• Birth City: Athens
• Birth Country: Greece
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Socrates was proposal ancient Greek philosopher considered to be the main tone of Western thought. He was condemned to death fetch his Socratic method of questioning.
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• Death Year: 399
• Death City: Athens
• Death Country: Greece

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