The Life and Times of Socrates - Essay Example

Socrates was born around 469 B.C. and was a ical Greek philosopher. He is regarded as a founder of Western philosophy and was the teacher of Plato, another Greek philosopher. Most of what is known about his life is obtained from the works of Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes, as Socrates himself did not write anything about himself or his philosophical works. The fact that so little is known of him, and whatever little present is disputed, is termed the “Socratic Problem”. The experts, whether historical or philosophical, of each era have tried to interpret Socrates’ and his life on their own. As Cornelia de Vogel said, “The ‘real’ Socrates we have not: what we have is a set of interpretations each of which represents a ‘theoretically possible’ Socrates.” (de Vogel 1955). According to what is reported by Plato, Socrates was born to Sophroniscus, who is purported to be a stonemason and Phaenarete, who turned towards the profession of a midwife later on in her life. After the death of Sophroniscus, when Socrates was around 18 years old, Socrates’ mother remarried Chaeredemus who was the father of Patrocles, Socrates’ half-brother. Socrates was born at a time when literacy had become widespread among the males, with elementary schools teaching boys not only to read and write, but also gymnastics and music. So it is assumed that he also received formal education. Socrates was sent for the compulsory two years military training, after which he was on active duty in the army, fighting many a war and battles, as during this time too Athens was moving towards war with Sparta. Socrates fought in Potidaea, Spartolus, Delium, and finally, at Amphipolis, whereby he proved himself to be a brave and heroic soldier. It was during the last battle that he had the dialogue about the etymologies of words. After this battle, the treaty of Nicias between Athens and Sparta took place, which allowed Attica to flourish without any invasions. Socrates married around this time, when he also carried on with his dialogue about erotic love, democracy and mystery religion, a dialogue that would result in the participants being accused of sacrilege much later. Socrates wed Xanthippe, who is purported to be much younger than him and with whom he had three sons, their first born Lamprocles, named after Xanthippe’s father thus implying that Xanthippe’s father if not her family were more illustrious than Socrates’, Sophroniscus, named after Socrates’ father, and their youngest son was Menexenus. What Socrates did for a living is still a mystery, at a time when teachers were paid very well and were rich, he did not charge any money for teaching. Though some historians say that he was a stonemason like his father, however, there is more evidence to prove that he did not engage in any profession. Socrates was quite the controversial figure, he was purported to be ugly at a time when beauty was considered to be of much importance; he had bulging eyes that darted side ways, a flat nosed with flaring nostrils and thick lips like those of a donkey. Despite the fact that Athens was at war with Sparta during most of his life time, he let his hair grow long like the Spartans. He went barefoot, without often changing clothes, and was impervious to the effects of not only cold, but also of alcohol. However, it is said that the account whereby he had a pot belly can not be true as Socrates was physically very active and engaged in many a healthy activities. Perhaps the greatest contribution of Socrates to not only philosophy but other sciences is what is termed the “Socratic Method”, whereby a problem is broken down into a series of questions, which are answered one by one, thus leading to the ultimate answer or solution. The concept of forming a hypothesis and then proving or disproving it through this method is still prevalent in modern research today. The difficulty in discerning what Socrates’ philosophical beliefs is ever present, as it is almost impossible to distinguish between what Plato himself believes and what he purports Socrates held as a belief. Also, it is more than possible that what Plato and Xenophon present as the beliefs of Socrates can be (and are) their own respective beliefs. However, it is safe to assume that Socrates and his philosophical beliefs were not in line with the popular Athenian beliefs of those times. As an example, during a time when women were looked down upon and treated as lowly creatures, Socrates admits to having two women as his teachers. His political beliefs are also quite a mystery and it is not known whether he believed in democracy or not. It is quite clear, however, that he neither sided with the democrats or the oligarchs, winning him enemies and friends from both these groups. It is said that he did not take sides of one over the other always, but was supportive of both these groups as well as opposed to them, as the incidence required. It was this, according to Jean (1978), coupled with the statements of Socrates that he was guided by voices, that led some people in later years to believe that he had some Divine Message to give, and that perhaps he was a Prophet of some sort. A little time later, despite the peace treaty, Athens and Sparta took to war again, which resulted in the decline of the Athenian hegemony after its defeat in the Peloponnesian war. It was at this time that Socrates’ actions led to him being tried under the Athenian democracy. Though he was loyal to his city, Socrates’ beliefs of always being truthful and virtuous led him to praise Sparta. Not only that, he also spoke against the prevalent customs of his own region. Socrates was found guilty of corrupting the minds of the Athenian youths and sentenced to death by drinking hemlock. This he gladly did, an action which led other Athenians to accuse him of abandoning his sons, however, as Socrates believed that each being had an inner guide that led him to truth and virtue, therefore, according to his defenders, he did no such thing. Moreover, he was of the opinion that it was the right time for him to die as he did not want to suffer old age. He refused to flee and did not escape even when his followers were able to bribe the guards, and despite being accused of abandoning his sons by his friend Crito. His last words to Crito were: “Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please don’t forget to pay the debt.” Bibliography: Brun, J. 1978, Socrate. Presses universitaires de France. de Vogel, C. J. 1955, The present state of the Socratic problem. Phronesis 1. Zannos, S. 2004, The life and times of Socrates (Biography from Ancient Civilizations). Mitchell Lane Publishers. May, H. 2000, On Socrates. Wadsworth, Belmont, CA. Read More