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This article is about the classical Greek philosopher. For other uses of Socrates, see Socrates (disambiguation).

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Socrates (Σωκράτης)

Socrates

Born c. 469 / 470 BC[1]

Deme Alopece, Athens

Died 399 BC (age approx. 71)

Athens

Era Ancient philosophy

Region WesternPhilosophy

School Classical Greek

Main interests Epistemology, ethics

Notable ideas Socratic method, Socratic irony

Influenced[show]

UWASocrates gobeirne cropped.jpg

Part of a series on

Socrates

"I know that I know nothing"

Social gadfly · Trial of Socrates

Eponymous concepts

Socratic dialogue · Socratic method

Socratic questioning · Socratic paradox

Socraticproblem

Disciples

Plato · Xenophon

Antisthenes · Aristippus

Related topics

Cynics · Cyrenaics · Platonism

Stoicism · The Clouds



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Socrates (play /ˈsɒkrətiːz/; Greek: Σωκράτης, Ancient Greek pronunciation: [sɔːkrátɛːs], Sōkrátēs; c. 469 BC – 399 BC)[1] was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Westernphilosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Plato's dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity.[2]



Through his portrayal in Plato's dialogues, Socrates has become renowned forhis contribution to the field of ethics, and it is this Platonic Socrates who also lends his name to the concepts of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, or elenchus. The latter remains a commonly used tool in a wide range of discussions, and is a type of pedagogy in which a series of questions are asked not only to draw individual answers, but also to encourage fundamental insight into theissue at hand. It is Plato's Socrates that also made important and lasting contributions to the fields of epistemology and logic, and the influence of his ideas and approach remains strong in providing a foundation for much western philosophy that followed.



As one recent commentator has put it, Plato, the idealist, offers "an idol, a master figure, for philosophy. A Saint, a prophet of the'Sun-God', a teacher condemned for his teachings as a heretic."[3]

Contents



1 Biography

1.1 The Socratic problem

1.2 Life

1.3 Trial and death

2 Philosophy

2.1 Socratic method

2.2 Philosophical beliefs

2.2.1 Socratic paradoxes

2.2.2 Knowledge

2.2.3 Virtue

2.2.4Politics

2.2.5 Mysticism

3 Satirical playwrights

4 Prose sources

4.1 The Socratic dialogues

5 Legacy

5.1 Immediate influence

5.2 Later historical effects

5.3 Criticism

5.4 Ahmadiyya viewpoint

6 See also

7 Notes

8 References

9 Further reading

10 External links



BiographyThe Socratic problem



An accurate picture of the historical Socrates and his philosophical viewpoints is problematic: an issue known as the Socratic problem.



As Socrates did not write philosophical texts, the knowledge of the man, his life, and his philosophy is entirely based on writings by his students and contemporaries. Foremost among them is Plato; however, works by Xenophon,Aristotle, and Aristophanes also provide important insights.[4] The difficulty of finding the “real” Socrates arises because these works are often philosophical or dramatic texts rather than straightforward histories. Aside from Thucydides (who makes no mention of Socrates or philosophers in general) and Xenophon, there are in fact no straightforward histories contemporary with Socrates that dealt...