Socrates - His Philosophy

Paper Summary:

This paper looks briefly at what is known of Socrates and some of his ideas, as related by Plato, his student. The writer describes Socrates as a devoted student of human nature and human motives, a passionate political commentator who analyzed the corrupt governments of his time and suffered death for his integrity. Socrates believed in moral absolutes and his goal as a teacher was the attainment of virtue and perfect knowledge. The paper concludes by mentioning some of the great minds who were influenced by Socrates and his philosophy.

Outline:
Who Was He?
What Did He Believe?
Influences on Future Philosophers

From the Paper:

"Socrates, if one reads any of Plato's works, seems to be a man of intense and never satisfied curiosity. He employed the same logical actions developed by the Sophists to a new purpose, the pursuit of truth. Many credit Socrates with the birth of critical philosophy in that he would accept nothing less than a full account of how something worked, what someone's motivations were for committing certain acts, and where one might go to find the answers. In addition, he never charged for his lectures, though most philosophers of his day did."

Sample of Sources Used:

• The Death of Socrates (2002, November 25) Citro (online) Available: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/phaedo.html
• Plato, Lee, Desmond (Translator) Plato : The Republic 1979
• Plato, Five Dialogues, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, Hackett Publishing Company, 1981, pp. 6-22
• Plato (2002, November 25) (online) Available: http://plato-dialogues.org/plato.htm
• Socrates: The Examiner (2002, November 25) (online) Available: http://www.creatorix.com.au/philosophy/03/03f05.html

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