Socrates One of the Most

Socrates

One of the most important philosophical figures in history is represented by Socrates. He is considered to be one of the most influential characters in the history of philosophy and it is stated that he contributed to the creation of the western thinking paradigm. His life, his method of teaching, but also the circumstances of his death contributed to making him one of the best known philosophers of all time, for both who are passionate about this area and even for those who are not.

One of the main themes which Socrates focuses upon is represented by virtue. The concept of virtue is to be interpreted within the realms of ethics and morality. Naturally, the issue represented by the potential existence of a superior entity, omniscient and omnipotent is directly connected to these areas. Religion and morality have always been considered as being connected with religion providing the basis for a morally acceptable behaviour.

Socrates attempts to define virtue and by doing this he wonders if virtue/piousness/rightfulness depends on god or not. In other words, the categories of good and evil are determined by the existence of god or they actually go beyond his conception? His contemporaries believed in the existence of gods and they obeyed the laws because they feared that doing otherwise would have them punished. Thus, one can very well understand that one of the calms regarding virtue also regarded the existence of gods. In a certain sense, they acted as feared authority.

However, it is worth underlining that not all the people believed in the same gods. According to Socrates, if virtue derived from the gds and depended on them, under the circumstances in which various gods are worshiped, people respect values which are different and even contrasting. Therefore, considering that the birth and nature of virtue is to be found in the gods can not be a wise basis for providing an universally valid definition for it.

In destroying the belief according to which there is a direct connection between the gods and virtue, Socrates refers to the relationship between them. Since it had been suggested that what the gods like is what makes a thing pious, what happens when the gods have different ideas about the very same thing? Naturally, virtue fails to be defined according to a common criterion.

Euthyphro for example believes that gods do have something in common and that is their attitude regarding the things which are unjust. Just like Socrates puts it, things can divided into several opposite categories: good and evil, beautiful and ugly, just and unjust. Reason serves as an instrument for recognizing the categories that things usually belong to and normally a thing can belong to a category alone. An act of murder would be a relevant example in this respect. but, since circumstances vary even in a case of murder, a definition for virtue is still far from being reached.

It is in the same dialogue which suggests that the nature of virtue is to be found in that which is loved by all the gods. If that be the case, then any thing loved by gods indistinctively becomes pious. As the gods are capricious, this is far from being to right definition for virtue. What Socrates suggests is that good and evil are categories which exist beyond the existence of any superior entity.

The only thing that the individual is to do is acknowledge them. A virtuous man is one who does what he has to do, while the best thing to do is attempt to know yourself under the circumstances in which happiness comes from knowledge and not from the possession of material things.

As far as his mission is concerned, Socrates believed that the philosopher has a duty in protecting the city. This meant that he was supposed to constantly question everything. The fact that he allowed himself to be killed by the Athenians demonstrates his attachment to his fellowmen as well as the strength of his beliefs. And the irony is that he was sentenced to death because he questioned the laws and the gods trying to save Athens from a process of decay which had already started before the defeat in the conflict with Sparta.

As far as the theme of knowledge and wisdom is concerned, Socrates believed that he was an ignorant. What made him valuable was his capacity to realize how limited his knowledge was. Knowing you know so little is the fundament for self development since it triggers a process of search and hard work in this direction. While man had always wanted to understand the universe, Socrates suggested that the truth is best to be found in knowledge of oneself. Wisdom is supported by an attitude of modesty and moderation.

Under these circumstances we may bring into discussion the Socratic method. While trying to teach to his pupils, what the philosopher did was ask question meant to stimulate the interlocutor and allow him to arrive on his own to the right conclusion instead of providing an answer himself. This interactive and challenging manner of teaching stimulated the philosophical debates and was an efficient road to achieving a more profound knowledge. The purpose of any philosophical debate is to discover the truth which is considered a key towards happiness, while knowing oneself is the key for leading a good life.

Socrates believed that when an individual performed the tasks and duties he was supposed to do, he was on his way of believing happiness. In other words, happiness is directly connected to morality. In addition, doing what you are supposed to do is a means of responding to the needs of the soul. Responding to a sort of inner vocation is the path towards happiness.

Another important belief that was promoted by Socrates was the good nature of the human being. According to him, no individual wishes to perform an action which is bad and unjust. If this happens it is because people are ignorant and their limited knowledge prevents them from understanding that they are doing something wrong.

The influence of the Socratic ethics is to be found throughout tie until nowadays. Plato, one of his pupils is a relevant example in this respect. Through his ideas regarding happiness he influenced the philosophers who then created the hedonist thinking, such as Epicurrus while his ideas regarding self-knowledge influenced the stoic movement. His teaching method changed the way in which philosophy was conceived.