Socrates




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= Socrates =

His mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife, or someone who helped women through birth. His father, Sophroniscus, was a sculptor who most likely helped Socrates become a sculptor himself later. But Socrates didn't want to be a sculptor. He liked to think about the issues of the world. After serving in the Athens War, he became a philosopher, by which I mean, he began talking about what he believed on street corners. His nickname was "The Gadfly of The State" because he was so "annoying". A gadfly is like a horselfy. When he taught the youth, they liked him. It was their parents that didn't like him. They thought he was "corrupting" the youth. Socrates believed that the Greek myths about the Gods were all just stories intended to manipulate people. He would stand on corners and tell about his ideas and beliefs. He was known for being able to just stand there and think for a very long time. Once, he stood in once place, deep in thought, for the whole day. Socrates never wrote down any of his teachings, so our only sources of information are his former students. This is why nothing about Socrates is straightforward. One of Socrates' most famous students was Plato, and he was a primary source of information on Socrates. Socrates was extremely admired after his death, even though people thought he was crazy while he was living. He was almost grouped with Jesus and Buddha in his importance after his death, but while he was alive, people thought he was insane because of his personality, behavior, and even his way of dressing. He would spend his days discussing deep topics with the other wise men of Greece. However, he was never really thought of as "wise" until an oracle declared him the wisest man. (An oracle was a fortune teller of Ancient Greece.) Socrates' best friend went to the oracle and asked, "Is there a man wiser then Socrates?" The oracle's answer was simple and short. "No." When Socrates was told of this, it made him think, and he was almost upset by the heavy weight and responsibility he now carried. People expected him to be the wisest man, and since he believed he wasn't, he was distraught. He pondered the oracle's words, and he decided this: Man's knowledge is God. God is, therefore, the wisest. The oracle merely stated that Socrates was wise because Socrates had realized that his own wisdom meant nothing against the wisdom of the world and everything he didn't know. This is the inspiration for one of his quotes, "All I know is that I know nothing." Socrates was known for being quite unimpressed by riches. He believed that "wanting less makes you happier". He would walk around in rags and buy just enough food. No one knows if he was really poor, or if he just enjoyed a simple life. Socrates was married, but his wife was not happy since Socrates was never home. He was constantly out on the streets, debating, teaching, learning. Socrates didn't think too highly of his wife, either. In fact, another of his famous quotes is, "By all means, get married. If you get a good spouse, you'll become happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher." Socrates never claimed to be wise, he just claimed to know the path one must take to become wise. Socrates focused most of his teachings on the youth of Athens, Greece, where he was from. However, this didn't win him many popularity votes with the elders of Greece. They claimed that Socrates was teaching the youth of Athens bad things. He was tried and sentenced to death. Socrates didn't mind....in fact, he agreed that it was time for him for him to die. He did not run away, because he did not want to disobey the authorities, which was surprising. Almost everyone expected him to try to run, even the authorities. He wanted to kill himself in a non-painful way, and that is what he did by drinking poison hemlock. He was 70 when he died.   The Socratic Method is to teach by asking questions. There are many ways to do this; for example, Socrates liked to ask a simple question about a topic, then ask a difficult question about that same topic. A person would often contradict themselves, and would be forced to rethink their theory. Socrates meant for this to happen. He intended to make people think about what they said, because he believed that people often spoke without thinking.