Psychology Wiki


34,142pages on
this wiki
Revision as of 22:11, November 4, 2011 by Dr Joe Kiff (Talk | contribs)




This article needs rewriting to enhance its relevance to psychologists..
Please help to improve this page yourself if you can..

Western philosophy" Western philosophy"
Western Philosophy
Ancient philosophy


Name: Σωκράτης
Birth: ca. 470 BC
Death: 399 BC
School/tradition: Classical Greek, Socratic
Main interests
epistemology, ethics
Notable ideas
Socratic method, Socratic irony
Anaxagoras, Parmenides, Prodicus, Diotima |
Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle, Most of subsequent

Western philosophy

This is a background article.See these articles of psychological relevence:

Socrates ([Greek: Σωκράτης, invariably anglicized as sɔkɹətiːz, Sǒcratēs; 470 BC|470–399 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy.

Said to be an Athenian, he is described as having been condemned to death by an Athenian court that had found him guilty of impiety and of corrupting Athenian youth through his teachings. Those giving the account say he chose to die by drinking hemlock, though he had been given the opportunity to go into exile, as he believed exile would both further dishonor the agreement he had willingly made to abide by the laws of Athens, and that he would fare no better teaching in other cities.

Life Edit


According to accounts from antiquity, Socrates' father was the sculptor Sophroniscus and his mother Phaenarete, a midwife. Socrates married Xanthippe, who bore him three sons – Lamprocles, Sophroniscus and Menexenus – who were all quite young at the time of his death. Traditionally, Xanthippe is thought to have been an ill-tempered scold, mainly due to her characterization by Xenophon.

It is unclear how Socrates earned a living. According to Xenophon's Symposium, Socrates is reported as saying he devotes himself only to what he regards as the most important art or occupation: discussing philosophy. Although he inherited money following his father's death, it is unlikely it was sufficient to keep him for long. Xenophon and Aristophanes respectively portray Socrates as accepting payment for teaching and running a sophist school with Chaerephon, whilst in Plato's Symposium Socrates explicitly denies accepting payment for teaching. It is possible Socrates relied on the generosity of wealthy and powerful friends such as Crito.

Characters such as Alcibiades – the name of one of Socrates' friends – in the dialogues indicate that Socrates served in the Athenian army during the Peloponnesian War. Plato's Symposium indicates that he was also decorated for bravery. In one instance, Socrates is said to have stayed on the battlefield to protect Alcibiades, probably saving his life; he then sought Alcibiades' recognition rather than accepting any of his own. It is also claimed he showed great hardiness during these military campaigns, such as his walking without shoes or coat during winter.

Trial and death Edit





According to Xenophon and Plato, Socrates had an opportunity to escape, as his followers were able to bribe the prison guards. After escaping, Socrates would have had to flee from Athens. In the painting "Death Of Socrates", under the death bed, there is a tile, which many believe is an escape hatch. As the dialogue Crito makes clear, Socrates refused to escape even in order to evade the execution of his death sentence. Having knowingly agreed to live under the city's laws, he implicitly subjected himself to the possibility of being accused of crimes by its citizens and judged guilty by its jury. To do otherwise would have caused him to break his 'contract' with the state, and by so doing harming it, an act contrary to Socratic principle.

Philosophy Edit

Socrates Louvre

Portrait of Socrates, Roman marble, Louvre museum

Socratic methodEdit

See main article: Socratic method


Philosophical beliefsEdit

Detailing the philosophical beliefs of Socrates is no easy matter; as he wrote nothing himself, we must rely on the (sometimes) conflicting reports of Xenophon and Plato. There is ongoing debate (see also Socratic problem) as to what, exactly, Socrates believed as opposed to Plato, and little in the way of concrete evidence when demarcating the two. There are some who claim that Socrates had no particular set of beliefs, and sought only to examine; the lengthy theories he gives in the Republic are considered to be the thoughts of Plato. Others argue that he did have his own theories and beliefs, but there is much controversy over what these might have been, owing to the difficulty of separating Socrates from Plato and the difficulty of interpreting even the dramatic writings concerning Socrates. Consequently, distinguishing the philosophical beliefs of Socrates from those of Plato and Xenophon is not easy and it must be remembered that what is attributed to Socrates might more closely reflect the specific concerns of these writers.











This argument is often denied, and the question is one of the biggest philosophical debates when trying to determine what, exactly, it was that Socrates believed. The strongest argument of those who claim that Socrates did not actually believe in the idea of philosopher kings is Socrates' constant refusal to enter into politics or participate in government of any sort; he often stated that he could not look into other matters or tell people how to live when he did not yet understand himself. The philosopher is only that, a lover of wisdom, and is not actually wise. Socrates' acceptance of his death sentence, after his conviction by the Boule (Ancient Greece) (Senate), can also support this view. It is often claimed that much of the anti-democratic leanings are from Plato, who was never able to overcome his disgust at what was done to his teacher. In any case, it is clear that Socrates thought that the rule of the Thirty Tyrants was at least as objectionable as democracy; when called before them to assist in the arrest of a fellow Athenian, Socrates refused and narrowly escaped death before the Tyrants were overthrown. He did however fulfill his duty to serve as prytanie when a trial of a group of generals who presided over a disastrous naval campaign were judged; even then he maintained an uncompromising attitude, being one of those who refused to proceed in a manner not supported by the laws, despite intense pressure. [1] Judging by his actions, he considered the rule of the Thirty Tyrants less legitimate than that of the democratic senate who sentenced him to death. He died in the company of his friends and disciples.




Satirical playwrights Edit

He was prominently lampooned in Aristophanes' comedy The Clouds, produced when Socrates was in his mid-forties; he said at his trial (in Plato's version) that the laughter of the theater was a harder task to answer than the arguments of his accusers. Socrates is also ridiculed in Aristophanes' play The Birds for his dirtiness, which is associated with the Laconizing fad; also in plays by Callias, Eupolis, and Telecleides. In all of these, Socrates and the Sophists were criticised for "the moral dangers inherent in contemporary thought and literature".

Prose sources Edit

Plato, Xenophon, and Aristotle are the main sources for the historical Socrates; however, Xenophon and Plato were direct disciples of Socrates, and presumably, they idealize him; however, they wrote the only continuous descriptions of Socrates that have come down to us. Aristotle refers frequently, but in passing, to Socrates in his writings.

The Socratic dialogues Edit

See main article: Socratic dialogues

The Socratic dialogues are a series of dialogues written by Plato and Xenophon in the form of discussions between Socrates and other persons of his time, or as discussions between Socrates' followers over his concepts. Plato's Phaedo is an example of this latter category. Although his Apology is a monologue delivered by Socrates, it is usually grouped with the dialogues.

The Apology professes to be a record of the actual speech that Socrates delivered in his own defense at the trial. In the Athenian jury system, an Apology is composed of three parts: a speech, followed by a counter-assessment, then some final words. "Apology" is a transliteration, not a translation, of the Greek apologia, meaning "defense"; in this sense it is not apologetic according to our contemporary use of the term.

Plato generally does not place his own ideas in the mouth of a specific speaker; he lets ideas emerge via the Socratic method, under the guidance of Socrates. Most of the dialogues present Socrates applying this method to some extent, but nowhere as completely as in the Euthyphro. In this dialogue, Socrates and Euthyphro go through several iterations of refining the answer to Socrates' question, "...What is the pious, and what the impious?"

In Plato's dialogues, learning appears as a process of remembering. The soul, before its incarnation in the body, was in the realm of Ideas. There, it saw things the way they truly are, rather than the pale shadows or copies we experience on earth. By a process of questioning, the soul can be brought to remember the ideas in their pure form, thus bringing wisdom.

Especially for Plato's writings referring to Socrates, it is not always clear which ideas brought forward by Socrates (or his friends) actually belonged to Socrates and which of these may have been new additions or elaborations by Plato — this is known as the Socratic problem. Generally, the early works of Plato are considered to be close to the spirit of Socrates, whereas the later works — including Phaedo — are considered to be possibly products of Plato's elaborations.

See also Edit

Further reading and external links Edit

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  • Apology of Socrates, by Plato.
  • Bruell, Christopher (1999). On the Socratic Education: An Introduction to the Shorter Platonic Dialogues. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Bruell, Christopher, (1994), “On Plato’s Political Philosophy.” Review of Politics 56: 261-82. Anthony Gottlieb named him the martyr and saint of philosophy (Monk & Raphael, 2000).


  1. Kagan, Donald. The Fall of the Athenian Empire. First. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1987.


ast:Sócrates bn:সক্রেটিস ba:Сократ bs:Sokrat bg:Сократ ca:Sòcrates cs:Sókratés da:Sokrates de:Sokrates et:Sokrates el:Σωκράτης es:Sócrates eo:Sokrato eu:Sokrates fa:سقراط fr:Socrate ga:Sócraitéas ko:소크라테스 hr:Sokrat ku:Sokrates id:Socrates ia:Socrates is:Sókrateshe:סוקרטס ka:სოკრატე sw:Sokrates la:Socrates lt:Sokratas hu:Szókratész mk:Сократ ms:Socrates nl:Socratesno:Sokrates nn:Sokrates ps:سقراط nds:Sokratespt:Sócrates ro:Socrate ru:Сократ simple:Socrates sk:Sokrates sl:Sokrat sr:Сократ sh:Sokrat fi:Sokrates sv:Sokrates ta:சாக்கிரட்டீஸ் th:โสกราตีส vi:Socratesuk:Сократ wa:Socrate zh:苏格拉底


Around Wikia's network

Random Wiki