Socrates lived through
times of great political upheaval in his birthplace of Athens, a city which
would eventually make him a scapegoat for its troubles and ultimately demand
his life. Much of what is known about Socrates comes through the works of his
one-time pupil Plato, for Socrates himself was an itinerant philosopher who
taught solely by means of public discussion and oratory and never wrote any
philosophical works of his own.
Unlike the Greek
philosophers before him, Socrates was less concerned with abstract metaphysical
ponderings than with practical questions of how we ought to live, and what the
good life for man might be. Consequently he is often hailed as the inventor of
that branch of philosophy knowns as ethics.
It is precisely his concern with ethical matters that often led him into
conflict with the city elders, who accused him of corrupting the minds of the
sons of the wealthy with revolutionary and unorthodox ideas.
Socrates was certainly a
maverick, often claiming to the consternation of his interlocutors that the only
thing he was sure of was his own ignorance. Indeed much of his teaching
consisted in asking his audience to define various common ideas and notions,
such as ‘beauty’ or ‘the good’ or ‘piety’ only to show through reasoned
argument that all of the proposed definitions and common conceptions lead to
paradox or absurdity. Some of his contemporaries thought this technique
disingenuous, and that Socrates knew more than he let on. However, Socrates’ method was meant to provide
salutary lessons in the dangers of uncritical acceptance of orthodoxy. He often
railed against, and made dialectic victims of, those who claimed to have
certain knowledge of some particular subject. It is chiefly through the
influence of Socrates that philosophy developed into the modern discipline of
continuous critical reflection. The greatest
danger to both society and the individual, we learn from Socrates, is the
suspension of critical thought.
Loved by the city’s aristocratic
youth, Socrates inevitably developed many enemies throughout his lifetime. In his
seventieth year, or thereabouts, after Athens had gone through several changes
of leadership and a period of failing fortunes, Socrates was brought to trial
on charges of ‘corrupting the youth’
and ‘not believing in the city gods.’
It would seem that the charges were brought principally to persuade Socrates to
renounce his provocative public speaking and convince the citizens of Athens
that the new leadership had a tight rein on law and order. With a plea of
guilty he might perhaps have walked away from the trail and lived out the rest
of his life as a private citizen.
However, in characteristic
style, he robustly defended himself, haranguing his accusers and claiming that
god himself had sent him on his mission to practise and teach philosophy. When asked,
upon being found guilty, what penalty he thought he should receive, Socrates
mocked the court by suggesting a trifling fine of only 30 minae. Outraged, a
greater majority voted for Socrates to be put to death by the drinking of
hemlock than had originally voted him guilty. Unperturbed, Socrates readily
agreed to abide by the laws of his city and forbade his family and friends from
asking for a stay of execution.
Socrates’ trial, death and
final speeches are wonderfully captured by Plato in his dialogues Apology, Crito and Phaedo.
[Summarized from Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers by Philip Stokes, 2012. Also watch YouTube: The School of Life: Socrates]
[Summarized from Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers by Philip Stokes, 2012. Also watch YouTube: The School of Life: Socrates]
Lord, Give
Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)
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