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Socrates

Socrates (/ˈsɒkrətiːz/;[1] Greek: Σωκράτης; c. 470–399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts are written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre. Contradictory accounts of Socrates make a reconstruction of his philosophy nearly impossible, a situation known as the Socratic problem. Socrates was a polarizing figure in Athenian society. In 399 BC, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth. After a trial that lasted a day, he was sentenced to death. He spent his last day in prison, refusing offers to help him escape.

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

Socrates

c. 470 BC

Deme Alopece, Athens

399 BC (aged approximately 71)

Athens

Forced suicide by poisoning

Xanthippe, Myrto (disputed)

Lamprocles, Menexenus, Sophroniscus

Sophroniscus (father), Phaenarete (mother), Patrocles (half-brother)

Ancient Greek philosophy

Western philosophy

Classical Greek philosophy

Epistemology, ethics, teleology

Plato's dialogues are among the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. They demonstrate the Socratic approach to areas of philosophy including epistemology and ethics. The Platonic Socrates lends his name to the concept of the Socratic method, and also to Socratic irony. The Socratic method of questioning, or elenchus, takes shape in dialogue using short questions and answers, epitomized by those Platonic texts in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine various aspects of an issue or an abstract meaning, usually relating to one of the virtues, and find themselves at an impasse, completely unable to define what they thought they understood. Socrates is known for proclaiming his total ignorance; he used to say that the only thing he was aware of was his ignorance, seeking to imply that the realization of our ignorance is the first step in philosophizing.


Socrates exerted a strong influence on philosophers in later antiquity and has continued to do so in the modern era. He was studied by medieval and Islamic scholars and played an important role in the thought of the Italian Renaissance, particularly within the humanist movement. Interest in him continued unabated, as reflected in the works of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Depictions of Socrates in art, literature, and popular culture have made him a widely known figure in the Western philosophical tradition.

- Socratic Letters

Codex Vaticanus Graecus 64

De genio Socratis

List of cultural depictions of Socrates

List of speakers in Plato's dialogues

Brun, Jean (1978). Socrate (in French) (6th ed.). Presses universitaires de France. pp. 39–40.  978-2-13-035620-2.

ISBN

Benson, Hugh (1992). Essays on the philosophy of Socrates. New York: Oxford University Press.  978-0-19-506757-6. OCLC 23179683.

ISBN

Rudebusch, George (2009). Socrates. Chichester, UK; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.  978-1-4051-5085-9. OCLC 476311710.

ISBN

Taylor, C. C. W. (1998). . Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-287601-0.

Socrates

Taylor, C. C. W. (2019). . Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-883598-1.

Socrates: A Very Short Introduction

(1994). Socratic Studies. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44735-5.

Vlastos, Gregory

at the Indiana Philosophy Ontology Project

Socrates

at Project Gutenberg

The Dialogues of Plato