Socrates is considered one of the founders of Western Philosophy, but you might not have
guessed that from his early life.
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
trade.
As an adult, Socrates worked as a stonemason, as well as serving in the military during
three campaigns.
It wasn’t until he retired that Socrates took up the occupation he is best known for
- teaching.
What are the great works of Socrates everyone should read?
Well... there aren’t any.
Socrates did not write.
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
second-hand accounts.
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?
Plato said the play was slanderous.
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
depictions.
Socrates’ reputation as a towering intellect began when one of his followers made a pilgrimage
to the Oracle of Delphi.
This was a priestess at the Temple of Apollo, who served as a medium through which the god
of Apollo spoke.
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
population of ignorant people.
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
expounding and making speeches.
Rather, he would ask questions; question after question, to pin down what did someone actually
know.
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
few friends in Athens.
It didn’t help matters that he was also unappealing in appearance.
In Plato’s “Symposium,” Socrates is described as quite unattractive - short and
stocky, with bulging, staring eyes.
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
and disrespectful.
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
how poor their thinking was.
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.
The jury was not amused.
Socrates’ followers wept, and encouraged him to flee (which was not an unusual occurrence
at these sorts of trials).
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.
He was 70 years old.
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
peak during the Renaissance.
To this day, the Socratic Method is used by teachers everywhere to find out what you know,
and what you DON’T know.
For our part, we strive to honour his memory at Socratica.