Socrates Facts

Socrates was a Greek philosopher whose way of life, character,

and thought exerted a profound influence on ancient and
modern philosophy. He was the first Greek philosopher to
seriously explore questions of ethics. His influence on the
subsequent course of ancient philosophy was so great over the
cosmologically-oriented philosophers.
EARLY LIFE
❏ Socrates' father was a sculptor, and his mother was a midwife. He may
have been a stonemason like his father. It was known that he was
influenced by an older philosopher, Archelaus, and he talked with
anyone who had interesting ideas in Athens, but beyond that, nothing is
known.
❏ Contemporaneous sources stated he was born not very much later than the
year 471 BC. His date of birth is within the period of years ranging 470
to 469 BC, or within a range 469 to 468 BC (corresponding to the fourth
year of the 77th Olympiad).

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Socrates Facts
❏ For a time, Socrates fulfilled the role of
 hoplite, participating in the Peloponnesian
War—a conflict which stretched
intermittently over a period spanning 431 to
404 BC.
❏ In the monologue of the Apology, Socrates
states he was active for Athens
A marble head of in the battles of Amphipolis, Delium,
Socrates in the
Louvre and Potidaea.
❏ Socrates married Xanthippe, a younger woman, who bore him three
sons: Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. ❏ Socrates had little to
do with his sons' upbringing and expressed far more interest in the
intellectual development of Athens' other young boys.
PHILOSOPHY AND BELIEF
❏ Socrates believed that philosophy should achieve practical results for the
greater well-being of society. He attempted to establish an ethical
system based on human reason rather than theological doctrine.
❏ Socrates pointed out that human choice was motivated by the desire for
happiness. Ultimate wisdom comes from knowing oneself. The more a
person knows, the greater his or her ability to reason and make choices
that will bring true happiness.
❏ Socrates believed that this translated into politics with the best form of
government being neither a tyranny nor a democracy. Instead,
government worked best when ruled by individuals who had the
greatest ability, knowledge and virtue, and possessed a complete
understanding of themselves.
❏ Socrates frequently said his ideas were not his own, but his
teachers'.
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Socrates Facts
SOCRATIC METHOD
❏ Socrates' most important
contribution to Western thought is
his dialectic method of inquiry,
 known as the Socratic method or
method of "elenchus".
❏ This method has often been
considered as a defining element
Socratic Method of American legal education.
❏ To illustrate this method, a series of questions are posed to help a person
or group to determine their underlying beliefs and the extent of their
knowledge.
❏ The Socratic method is a negative method of hypothesis elimination, in
that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating
those that lead to contradictions.

TRIAL AND DEATH

❏ In 399 B.C., Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and
of impiety, or heresy. He chose to defend himself in court.
❏ Socrates declared that he fulfilled an important role as a gadfly, but the
jury was not swayed by Socrates' defense and convicted him by a vote
of 280 to 221.
❏ The jury was not amused and
sentenced him to death by
drinking a
mixture of poison hemlock.
❏ Before Socrates' execution, friends
offered to bribe the guards and
rescue
him so he could flee into exile. The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David
(1787)

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Socrates Facts
❏ Socrates turned down Crito's
pleas to attempt an escape from
prison, stating he wasn't afraid of
death, felt he would be no better
off if in exile and said he was still
 a loyal citizen of Athens, willing to
abide by its laws, even the ones
Bust of Socrates in the Vatican Museum that condemned him to death.
❏ Plato described Socrates' execution in his Phaedo dialogue: Socrates
drank the hemlock mixture without hesitation. Numbness slowly crept
into his body until it reached his heart. Shortly before his final breath,
Socrates described his death as a release of the soul from the body.
LEGACY

❏ The students of Socrates immediately set to work both on exercising

their perceptions of his teachings in politics and also on developing
many new philosophical schools of thought.
❏ In the 19th century, Socrates was regarded as a seminal figure in the
evolution of European thought or as a Christ-like herald of a higher
existence.
❏ The death of Socrates is considered iconic and his status as a martyr of
philosophy overshadows most contemporary and posthumous
criticism.
❏ The ambiguity and lack of reliability serves as the modern basis of
criticism—that it is nearly impossible to know the real Socrates. Some
controversy also exists about Socrates’ attitude towards homosexuality
and as to whether or not he believed in the Olympian gods, was
monotheistic, or held some other religious viewpoint.

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Name: ________________________________

Letter Clue
Read the given statement about Socrates and
complete them using the letter clues
provided.
 One of Socrates' sons
S
O Socrates' wife

C Socrates’ ____ is considered iconic.

The Jury sentenced him to death by drinking

R poison _____

Socrates said, “ultimate _____ comes from

A knowing oneself

T
E
S
SOCRATES WORKSHEETS
His father's occupation

He believed that this should achieve practical

results for the greater well-being of society

He was influenced by this older philosopher

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