|
||
| |
||
|
Socrates
Socrates was a well-known teacher in Athens. He drifted around the city with his students, engaging many people in arguments about "justice, bravery, and piety." What we know about Socrates comes from what others wrote about him. Socrates did not write any books because he believed in the superiority of argument over writing. Socrates' students wrote that he believed that evil is ignorance, and that virtue could be taught. According to this philosophy, all values are related to knowledge. Evil is ignorance, and virtue can be taught. Socrates regarded the tales of the gods as
an invention of the poets. The leaders of Athens did not want a critic
like Socrates in their city. They threatened to bring him to trial for
neglecting the gods and for corrupting the youth of Athens by encouraging
them to consider new ideas. The leaders expected the seventy-year-old
Socrates to leave Athens before his arrest, but he remained in Athens,
stood trial, and was found guilty. A friend tried to plan an escape from
prison, but Socrates refused to participate. He believed that he must
obey the law, even if his disagreed with it. His last day was spent with
friends and admirers. At the end of the day, Socrates calmly drank from
a cup of poison hemlock, the customary practice of execution at that time.
|
||
To cite this page: |
Socrates
was a Greek philosopher who taught by asking questions. When teachers
ask questions that encourage students to draw conclusions, they are using
the "Socratic method" of teaching. The oracle of the prominent polis of
Delphi pronounced Socrates the wisest man in Greece. Socrates concluded
that while others professed knowledge they did not have, he knew how little
he knew. Socrates asked many questions, but he gave few answers. He often
denied knowing the answers to the questions he asked.