The Philosophy of Socrates: Ethics, Knowledge, and the Soul

Introduction: Socrates and the Western Philosophical Tradition

It would not be an overstatement to say that the whole course of Western philosophy was influenced by the Greek philosopher Socrates. Although he did not leave any writings of his own — or at least none that were preserved — his philosophy and personality are conserved in many of the works of his associates and disciples. Socrates' most famous appearances as a character are those in Plato's dialogues, where he is portrayed as "the greatest man who ever lived." However, scholars have argued that Plato may have used Socrates' figure largely as a vehicle for his own philosophy. It is therefore very difficult to ascertain the precise difference between Socrates as a historical figure and Socrates as a fictional character in Plato's dialogues.

Beyond Plato's dialogues, little is known about the actual historical figure of Socrates. Born in Athens around 470 B.C., he died in 399 B.C. after being convicted and condemned to death by the Athenian state. The extent of his influence and the virtual fanaticism he elicited is apparent in the simple fact that he was considered dangerous enough to be condemned to death for his ideas. It is also known that he offered philosophical instruction to his disciples while refusing to accept any payment. An outstanding personality, he distinguished himself as a rational thinker who practically revolutionized Greek philosophy in his time and continued to influence Western thought throughout the ages.

Socratic Philosophy and the Shift to Humanistic Inquiry

Beyond what can be derived directly from Plato's works, one thing that can be plainly asserted about Socratic philosophy is that Socrates was notably the first thinker to shift the focus of philosophy away from general theories about the physical world and toward theories of the human world: "Socrates was a central figure in the revolution in fifth-century Greek thought that turned attention away from the physical world (of stars and eclipses) and toward the human world (of the self, the community, the law). It has been said that Socrates brought philosophy down to earth." It can therefore be argued that Socrates was the first thinker to promote a genuinely humanistic view of the universe — a shift reflected in the importance of spirit in Plato's thought, where the physical universe becomes a mere shadow of spiritual, abstract values.

Moreover, it can be stated that the focus of all Socratic philosophy was virtue, understood in the sense in which the term was used in ancient Greece. For Socrates, virtue was the supreme value, translatable as knowledge of the good: "Socrates and other Greeks asked 'What is virtue?' The Greek word generally translated as 'virtue' is arete. Another translation is 'excellence.' Virtue is a poor translation if it suggests ideas such as Christian charity, humility, and the like, since Socrates lived prior to Christianity and the Greeks themselves did not greatly admire charity and humility. It was Socrates' belief, then, that human excellence consists in knowledge." This was not the moral good as conceived by Christianity, but rather the excellence of being able to distinguish good from wrong. The importance of self-knowledge in this theory is also a celebrated Socratic contribution. The landmarks of Socratic philosophy can thus be established only by investigating the most important arguments in Plato's dialogues and the central points of his thought.

Works Cited

Benson, Hugh H. Essays on the Philosophy of Socrates. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Plato. The Republic. London: Oxford University Press, 1945.

The Collected Dialogues of Plato, Including the Letters, ed. Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns. New York: Pantheon Books, 1961.

"Socrates (c. 470 B.C.–399 B.C.)." DISCovering Biography. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003.