What was Socrates's philosophy?

Question

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Answer 1

Socrates (469-399), despite his foundational place in the history of ideas, actually wrote nothing. Most of our knowledge of him comes from the works of Plato (427-347), and since Plato had other concerns in mind than simple historical accuracy it is usually impossible to determine how much of his thinking actually derives from Socrates.

Ancient Greece Reader The Apology of Socrates

   The most accurate of Plato's writings on Socrates is probably the The Apology. It is Plato's account of Socrates's defense at his trial in 399 BC (the word "apology" comes from the Greek word for "defense-speech" and does not mean what we would think of as an apology). It is clear, however, that Plato dressed up Socrates's speech to turn it into a justification for Socrates's life and his death. In it, Plato outlines some of Socrates's most famous philosophical ideas: the necessity of doing what one thinks is right even in the face of universal opposition, and the need to pursue knowledge even when opposed.

   Socrates wrote nothing because he felt that knowledge was a living, interactive thing. Socrates' method of philosophical inquiry consisted in questioning people on the positions they asserted and working them through questions into a contradiction, thus proving to them that their original assertion was wrong. Socrates himself never takes a position; in The Apology he radically and skeptically claims to know nothing at all except that he knows nothing. Socrates and Plato refer to this method of questioning as elenchus , which means something like "cross-examination" The Socratic elenchus eventually gave rise to dialectic, the idea that truth needs to be pursued by modifying one's position through questioning and conflict with opposing ideas. It is this idea of the truth being pursued, rather than discovered, that characterizes Socratic thought and much of our world view today. The Western notion of dialectic is somewhat Socratic in nature in that it is conceived of as an ongoing process. Although Socrates in The Apology claims to have discovered no other truth than that he knows no truth, the Socrates of Plato's other earlier dialogues is of the opinion that truth is somehow attainable through this process of elenchus .  

Answer 2

Smart guys can score with lots of chicks.

Answer 3

Obviously he philosophized about many things. One notable thing about him was that he dearly loved his city, Athens and he never went outside its walls. He began teaching young people to ask tough questions and challenged them to think philosophically.  The city government arrested Socrates for polluting the minds of the youth.  He was jailed and in a few days he was to drink the poison hemlock as a death sentance. He had supporters even in the government and he secretly was offered a chance at exile, which meant he would have had to leave Athens forever.  Surprisingly he told them to come back later, because he had to think about it. He decided that to be a loyal Athenian as he had been all of his life he must do what the government had ordered him to do. He chose not to escape and willingly drank poisonous hemlock in the name of Athens.

Answer 4

You are wise when you know you do not, instead of acting like you know what you do not.

Answer 5

The hardest thing about Socrates is that all our accounts of him are written by the other Greek Philosophers (especially Plato) who used him more as an actor for their own views rather than doing any real justice to his views.

Mind you, given how much of a role model Plato claims Socrates was to him, you could probably assume that Plato mirrored him very closely.

For my own part, I see Socrates as the first and leading skeptic who challenged everything and claimed to know only that he knew very little at all.

Answer 6

Know Thyself

Answer 7

"Smart guys can score with lots of chicks."

Excuse me? Socrates was attracted to men, specifically to Alcibiades.

And to the person who asked this question, can you please read Plato if you want to know about Socrates? And if you don't have the time or interest, please browse reliable websites (preferably .edu sites which are verified by learning institutes).

Asking it here is the easy way out and you know neither who answers it nor where the information came from. I don't mean to lecture, and it's nothing personal (honestly), but I just think it's a bit of a shame that nowadays most people will pass up a book or original text, and try to get it some other much-processed and synthesized way.