{"id":21316,"date":"2021-08-28T00:01:21","date_gmt":"2021-08-28T07:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/?p=21316"},"modified":"2021-07-15T22:46:06","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T05:46:06","slug":"socrates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/socrates\/","title":{"rendered":"Socrates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Widely considered the founder of Western philosophy, Socrates (470\u2014399 B.C.) never wrote a single book.\u00a0 <\/span>We know of him only second hand, from what other people wrote about him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Born in Athens, Greece in the fifth century B. C., Socrates distinguished himself as a soldier in one of Athens\u2019s many wars, and afterward became a curious figure in Athenian society.\u00a0 <\/span>He would converse with whomever he could find, especially with the young men of the city.\u00a0 <\/span>Unlike the Sophists\u2014paid teachers who traveled the country teaching young men rhetoric and other political skills\u2014Socrates did not receive payment, and more important, he claimed to have nothing to teach!\u00a0 <\/span>Socrates said that he had no actual knowledge and that if he were wiser than the others, it was only because he was aware of his own ignorance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of what we know about Socrates came from his greatest student, Plato (c. 427\u2014347 B.C.).\u00a0 <\/span>Many scholars believe that Plato\u2019s earlier dialogues are the most accurate representation of the historical Socrates and the way he treated philosophy.\u00a0 <\/span>In these dialogues, Socrates typically confronts a fellow Athenian who claims to know something\u2014for instance the nature of justice.\u00a0 <\/span>Socrates then proceeds to prove his neighbor does not know what he claims at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 399 B. C., Socrates was put on trial for corrupting the youth of Athens with his teachings.\u00a0 <\/span>At his trial\u2014recorded by Plato in the dialogue\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cApology\u201d\u2014Socrates made his famous claim that the unexamined life is not worth living.\u00a0 <\/span>He pleaded his innocence, but was convicted.\u00a0 <\/span>Socrates was put to death by being forced to drink hemlock, a poison.\u00a0 <\/span>His last hours, spent discussing philosophy with his friends and admirers, are movingly documented in Plato\u2019s dialogue \u201cPhaedo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Additional Facts:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a01. The Socratic Method still used by professors in many law schools is based on Socrates\u2019 style of<\/span>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0aggressively questioning his students.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 <\/span>Many of Socrates\u2019 contemporaries remarked on how ugly he was.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 <\/span>The comic poet Aristophanes ( 448\u2014380 B. C.) pokes fun at Socrates in\u00a0<\/span>his play, \u201cThe Clouds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn More, Know More, and Become More\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Widely considered the founder of Western philosophy, Socrates (470\u2014399 B.C.) never wrote a single book.\u00a0 We know of him only second hand, from what other people wrote about him. Born in Athens, Greece in the fifth century B. C., Socrates … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-did-you-know"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21316"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21319,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21316\/revisions\/21319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}