Foreign name: ∑ωκρ?τη?
Nationality: Ancient Greece
Birthplace: Greece
Date of birth: 469 B.C.E.
Date of death: 399 B.C.E.
Occupation: Philosophy of science and ethics
Major accomplishments: Socratic method<
Socratic method of cross-examination
English translation: Socrates
Catalog
Biography
Biography
Philosophical thoughtTurning of the mind
The immortality of the soul
Searching for universal definitions of things
Midwifery and dialectic for exposing contradictions
Educational thought
Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophical thought
Educational ThoughtEthical Doctrine
Anecdotal Debates
Governance
Executions
Friends of the Young
Classical Quotes from Socrates
The Story of Socrates Socrates and His House
Socrates Learns to Sing a New Song
The Death of Socrates
Social commentary
Court arguments
Quotations
Related historical events
Books about Socrates
Biography of Socrates the soccer player
Biography
Philosophical thought The turn of the mind
The doctrine of the indestructibility of the soul
The search for universal definitions of things
Dialectic of midwifery and exposing contradictions
Educational thought
Ethics
Anecdotes Debates
Governance
Executions
Friends of the Youth
Classical Socrates quotes
Story of Socrates Socrates and his house
Socrates learns to sing a new song< /p>
Death of Socrates
Social evaluation of courtroom debates Quotations Related historical events Books about Socrates Socrates Expanded by Socrates the soccer player Edited Introduction
Socrates (∑ ωκρ?τη?); English: Socrates; 469 BC-399 BC), a famous ancient Greek He was known as one of the "Three Sages of Ancient Greece", along with his students Plato and Aristotle
Plato's student Aristotle.
Edited biography
Socrates was born in Athens, Greece, to a family of ordinary citizens. His father was a sculptor and his mother was a midwife. He was trained by the wise woman Diotima. He claimed to have been accompanied by "signs" that foretold what was not to be done, and was a lifelong believer. Also influenced by Orphic mysticism and Pythagoreanism. Socrates had a simple language and ordinary appearance, born with a flat nose, fat lips, protruding eyes, an awkward and short body and a divine mind, but he did not know how to read or write, and his life stories and achievements were recorded by his disciples. He asked questions to the people in the streets of Athens. For example, what is piety? What is democracy? What is virtue? What is courage? What is truth? And what is your job? What knowledge and skills do you have? Are you a politician? If so, what have you learned about ruling? Are you a teacher? How do you conquer your ignorance before educating the ignorant? And so on and so forth. Socrates said, "My mother was a midwife, and I will follow in her footsteps; I am a spiritual midwife, helping others to produce their own thoughts." He followed in his father's footsteps early in life, working as a stone carver and later studying philosophy. He debated philosophical issues in Athens with many of the wise men of his time, mainly on ethics and morals as well as educational and political aspects. He was considered the wisest man of his time. As a citizen, he fought in the army three times and was tenacious and brave in war. In addition, he served as a juror in the Athenian Citizens' Assembly. After the restoration of slave-owning democracy in Athens, Socrates was charged and sentenced to death for defying traditional religion, introducing new gods, corrupting the youth and opposing democracy. He refused the advice of his friends and students who asked him to beg for pardon and to go on the run, and committed suicide by drinking poisoned wine. [1] In European cultural history he has been seen as a saint who died in the pursuit of truth, almost in the same way that Confucius occupies a place in Chinese history. For many years he was regarded as an anti-democratic philosopher who defended the interests of the reactionary slave-owning aristocracy, a view that has recently been contested. As a teenager, Socrates learned his trade from his father, familiarized himself with the works of Homer's epic poems and other famous poets, and became a very learned man through self-education. He made his living by imparting knowledge, and in his thirties he became a teacher of social morals without pay or a library. Many sons and daughters of rich and poor families used to gather around him to learn from him and ask him for advice. Socrates, however, used to say, "I only know that I know nothing." Socrates' Sculptures and Works of Art (10) He spent most of his life outdoors. He liked to talk to people from all walks of life about a wide variety of issues, such as war, politics, friendship, art, ethics and morals, in public places such as markets, playgrounds and streets. He fought in three wars as a heavily armed infantryman, and more than once he came to the aid of a wounded soldier in battle. at the age of about 40 he became a well-known figure in Athens. Socrates lived a hard life. He wore a plain single garment in both cold and heat, often without shoes, and was not particular about his meals. But he didn't seem to notice any of this and just concentrated on his studies. Socrates' doctrine was characterized by mysticism. He believed that the survival, development and destruction of all kinds of things in heaven and on earth were arranged by the gods, and that the gods were the masters of the world. He was opposed to the study of nature as blasphemous. He advocated that people recognize the truth of being human and live a moral life. His philosophy was mainly concerned with the study of ethics and morality. Socrates had a large number of fervent admirers and a large number of fierce opponents, both during his life and after his death. He left no writings in his life, but his influence was immense. Historians of philosophy tend to regard him as a watershed in the history of the development of ancient Greek philosophy, and refer to the philosophy that preceded him as pre-Socratic philosophy. Being a great philosopher, Socrates had a great influence on later generations of Western philosophy. Socrates himself wrote no works. His actions and doctrines have been passed down mainly through accounts in the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon. The life and doctrines of Socrates have been one of the most discussed issues in the academic world due to the various accounts and statements that have been made since ancient times.
Socrates believed that all knowledge, all from the doubt, the more progress the more doubt, the more doubt the more progress. Socrates recognized that he himself had no knowledge, and he wanted to teach others knowledge. He resolved this contradiction in this way: this knowledge was not instilled in people by him, but people already had it; people had already conceived the "fetus" in their hearts, but they did not know it themselves, and Socrates was like a "midwife" who helped others to produce knowledge. Socrates is like a "midwife" who helps others to produce knowledge. Socrates' midwifery is centrally expressed in the form of "cross-examination" that he often adopts, in which he exposes the contradictions in the propositions and doctrines put forward by the other party by asking questions, in order to shake the foundation of the other party's arguments and to point out the other party's ignorance; in the course of the cross-examination, Socrates himself does not give a positive and active answer, because he admits that he is ignorance. This method is generally known as "Socratic irony". This Socratic method was developed from the logical inference of the Arian school and the antinomian method of Zeno of Aelia. In the negative form of Socratic irony there is the positive result of dialectical thinking that exposes contradictions. Comparing himself to a midwife, Socrates uses the method of peeling the cocoon from the conversation so that the other person gradually understands his own ignorance, but discovers his own mistakes and establishes the correct conception of knowledge. This kind of conversation also has several characteristics: first, the conversation is through the question and answer, in order to clarify the other party's thinking, so that they can discover the truth by themselves. Only in the course of the conversation, Su favored questions, and he did not easily answer the other party's questions. He only asked the other party to answer the questions he asked, and he asked the questions in a modest manner, leading from the other party's answers to information about other questions, until finally, due to continuous questioning, the youth admitted his ignorance. In the process of questioning, Socrates gave his students the highest wisdom, which is known as the Socratic irony. This Socratic method is the earliest form of dialectic in the history of Western philosophy. In terms of the development of philosophical thought, Socrates put forward the distinction between mental and material entities, so that the opposition between idealism and materialism departed from the simple state of early philosophy and entered a more mature stage; he brought the aphoristic ethical thought of the early Greek philosophers to a high philosophical level; he inspired thought and exposed contradictions by means of logical debates, and penetrated into the essence of things by means of dialectical thinking. All this contributed to the development of philosophical thinking. However, as the first systematic idealist philosopher in the history of Western philosophy, he began the era of exaggerated subjectivity and rationality, exaggerated abstract thinking, and replacing religious myths with the myths of philosophical idealism.
Editing Educational Thought
Socrates was engaged in education all his life, with rich practical experience in education and his own educational theory. But he did not start his own school. So where did he teach? How did he teach? The square, the temple, the street, the store, the workshop, the gymnasium, and so on, were all places where he taught. The young, the old, the rich, the poor, the peasants, the craftsmen, the nobles, the commoners, all were the objects of his teaching, and whosoever asked him to teach, he did so with enthusiasm. The other teachers of the time, the wise men, charged tuition, and they used their teaching as a means of earning money, whereas Socrates taught without tuition; he taught for the benefit of the city-state, and was a voluntary teacher, and therefore Socrates lived in poverty all his life. Socrates
He believed that education was very important to a person's growth. He believed that both the more naturally intelligent and the more naturally dull must learn diligently if they are determined to achieve something worthy of the name. The aim of Socrates' education was to create men who would rule the country. After the death of Pericles, Athens, because of the lack of good leaders, democracy became ultra-democratized and anarchic, and even the leaders of the state were chosen by lot or by drawing lots. Socrates was very saddened by this. He believed that the talents for ruling a country must be well educated, and advocated the cultivation of talents for ruling a country through education. In order to cultivate talents to rule the country, he devoted his life's energy. Regarding the content of education, he advocated that firstly, we should cultivate human virtues and teach people to learn how to behave and become virtuous. Secondly, people should be taught to learn broad and practical knowledge. He believed that those who govern must have broad knowledge. In all things, he said, those who are honored and praised are those who have the most extensive knowledge, while those who are condemned and despised are those who are the most ignorant. Finally, he advocated teaching people to exercise their bodies. He believed that a healthy body was important for physical and mental activity in both peacetime and wartime. And a healthy body is not innate; it can only be made strong through exercise. In terms of teaching methods, Socrates formed his own set of unique teaching methods through his long-term teaching practice, which people called "Socratic Method" and he himself called "Maternity Technique". His mother was a midwife, and he used this as a metaphor for his teaching method. While his mother's method was to deliver babies, his method of teaching was to deliver ideas, to lead people to the right ideas. The "Socratic method" is also called the "question-and-answer method" because it is a question-and-answer session between the teacher and the student from beginning to end. When Socrates taught students to acquire certain concepts, he did not tell them the concepts directly, but first asked them questions and let them answer them. If they answered wrongly, he did not correct them directly, but asked another question to guide them to think, so that they could arrive at the correct conclusions step by step. It lays the foundation for heuristic teaching. The question-and-answer method advocated by Socrates had a great influence on later generations, and it remains an important teaching method until today.
Editing Ethical Doctrines
Socrates established a system of ethical thought in which knowledge is morality, centering on the exploration of the purpose of life and goodness and virtue. He emphasized that people should know the universal laws of social life and "know thyself," arguing that all kinds of beneficial or harmful purposes and moral norms people acquire in real life are relative, and that only by exploring the universal, absolute concept of goodness and grasping the true knowledge of the concept are people's highest purpose in life and the highest virtue. According to Socrates, one must have moral knowledge in order to be moral, and all immoral behavior is the result of ignorance. People can only have the virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance and justice if they are free from the temptations of material desires and the limitations of acquired experience and acquire conceptual knowledge. He believed that morality can only be arranged by the mind and God, and that moral education is to enable people to know the mind and God and to follow the divine instructions. This kind of ascetic and mystical ethical thought was later inherited and developed by Antisthenes to form the Cynic School, which was characterized by its emphasis on abstinence; while the idea of the theory of pleasure contained in Socratic ethical thought was inherited and developed by Aristippus to form the Cyrenaic School, which advocated enjoyment. Plato inherited Socrates' system of ethical thought in its entirety and further systematized and theorized it. Socrates emphasized the importance of knowledge and believed that ethics and morality should be determined by reason, and this rationalist thought played a positive role in the later development of Western philosophical thought.
Edited Anecdotes
Debates
Socrates often debated with people. In debates he used a question-and-answer format to make the other person correct and give up his original misconceptions and to help the person develop new ideas. This question-and-answer session was divided into three steps: the first step was called Socratic irony, which he believed was a necessary step in making a person wise, because unless a person was humble enough to "know his own ignorance," he could not learn true knowledge. The second step is called Definition, which leads to clear definitions and concepts after repeated questioning and summarization in questions and answers. The third step is called Midwifery, which guides the student to think for himself and come to his own conclusions, as Socrates himself said that he could help others to gain knowledge even though he was ignorant, as if his mother was a midwife who was unable to bear children in her old age, but was able to deliver babies and to help the birth of a new life. Socrates also never gave his students ready-made answers, but used rhetorical questions and rebuttals to make his students unknowingly accept the influence of his ideas. Consider an interesting example of a question-and-answer session between him and a student. Student: Socrates, what is a good deed? SOCRATES: Stealing, cheating, and selling people as slaves, are these good or evil deeds? STUDENT: It is an evil act. SOCRATES: Is deceiving an enemy an evil act? Is selling captured enemies as slaves an evil act? STUDENT: It is a good deed. But I'm talking about friends and not enemies. SOCRATES: According to you, theft is evil to a friend. But if a friend is about to commit suicide and you steal the instrument he is going to use to commit suicide, is that an evil act? STUDENT: It is a good deed. SOCRATES: You say that cheating on a friend is an evil act, but, in war, the commander of an army, in order to boost morale, says to his soldiers that reinforcements are coming. But in reality there are no reinforcements. Is this deception an evil act? Student: It is a good deed. This method of teaching has its merits, it can inspire people's minds, make people take the initiative to analyze and think about the problem, he used dialectical method to prove that the truth is concrete, relative, and can be transformed to its opposite under certain conditions. This epistemology is of great significance in the history of European thought.
Governance
Socrates advocated the theory of expert governance, and he believed that all trades and industries, and even the state power should be managed by trained and knowledgeable people, and opposed the democracy practiced by the method of election by lot. He said: The managers should not be those who hold power and bully others, not those who are elected by the people, but those who know how to manage. For example, a ship should be steered by those who know how to navigate it, and when spinning wool, women should manage men because they know how to do it and men do not. He also said that the best man is the one who is able to do his job. He who is skilled in farming is a good farmer; he who is skilled in medicine is a good doctor; and he who is skilled in politics is a good politician.
Execution
As a citizen of Athens, Socrates is said to have been sentenced to death by an Athenian court for disbelief in the gods and for corrupting the minds of Athenian youth. Although he was given the opportunity to flee Athens, Socrates chose to die by drinking poisonous cordial juice because he believed that fleeing would only further undermine the authority of Athenian law, and because he feared that if he fled, Athens would have no good tutors left to educate the people. One evening in June, 399 B.C., an old man in his seventies was about to be executed in an Athenian prison. He was dressed in rags and was barefoot, but his face was calm and composed. After dismissing his wife and family, he chatted with some friends, seemingly oblivious to the impending execution. It was only when the jailer brought in a glass of poisoned juice that he stopped talking. He raised the glass with the poisoned wine to his chest and said calmly, "The time has come to part, I will die, they live, whose choice is good, only God knows." His last words were, "Kriton. I owe Asclepius a chicken, remember to pay this debt for me." After saying this, the old man closed his eyes peacefully and fell asleep. This old man was the great philosopher Socrates.
Friends of Youth
Socrates loved to socialize with young people and hoped that they would receive a good education. He believed that when a person was educated, he would not only be happy himself and be able to manage his own household, but he would also make others and the city-state happy. He often gave different education to young people according to different situations. For those who are genetically superior and despise learning, Socrates told them that the better endowed they are, the more they should be educated. It is as if a strong and unruly stallion, if trained as a child, would become the most powerful and valiant horse of a thousand miles; otherwise, it would always be an incompetent horse that is difficult to handle. If a man is poorly educated, the stronger his will, the more likely he is to sin. To those who boast of their wealth and think that they do not need to be educated and that wealth will fulfill their heart's desire and bring them happiness, Socrates teaches that only fools think this way. Happiness, he points out, lies not in wealth, but in knowledge and in contributing to humanity. It is only in this way that one can gain the respect of men. It is said that Plato's cousin Glaucon, when he was less than 20 years old, longed to be the leader of the government of a city-state, and to address a large number of people with great honor and style. In theory, it is not a bad thing for a young man to have such an ideal. Unfortunately, Glaucon's knowledge and talent in this area were lacking. Everyone in the family understands that he is over-ambitious, thinking about the wrong things, and is really afraid that he will venture into the pulpit and get dragged down and become a laughing stock. But none of them could persuade him not to do so. Socrates knew about this, and in view of his relationship with Plato, he decided to enlighten this young man who did not know what he was doing. One day, Socrates saw Glaucon walking toward him and called out from a distance; "Hey, Glaucon, I heard that you are determined to be the leader of our city-state, is it true?" In order to make Glaucon happy to hear his words, Socrates deliberately put on a very enthusiastic appearance and chose the topic that interested Glaucon most. "Yes. I do think so, Socrates." Glaucon replied. "That's great. If there is anything really good on earth, this is another good thing. For, if your purpose is accomplished, you will have whatever you wish to have; you will be able to help your friends; to make a name for your family, and to add honor to your country; and your fame, after it has spread through the whole city, will spread throughout all Greece, and even be renowned among the foreign nations. Then, wherever you go, you will be admired." Sure enough, Glaucon was so pleased at these words that he stopped to talk with Socrates. Seeing that Glaucon stayed, Socrates went on to say, "It seems obvious, Glaucon, that if you want to be honored by the people, you must contribute to the city-state." "Just as you said." Glaucon replied. So Socrates asked Glaucon to talk about his plans to make a contribution. While Glaucon was thinking, Socrates asked him if he would first make the city-state rich, and that the way to achieve wealth was to have more taxes. Glaucon agrees. Socrates then asks, "Where will the taxes come from? What is the total amount? What is the source of the shortfall? Glaucon replies that he has not thought about these questions. Afterwards, Socrates asks for his opinion on issues that must be considered in order to govern a country, such as cutting expenses, defense forces, defense strategy, food supply, and so on. Glaucon either answered that he had not considered them, or that he was not sure, or that it was not necessary to take care of such matters personally. Seeing Glaucon's difficulty, Socrates further enlightened him, saying, "The state and the family are one. The country is so populous that some problems are indeed difficult to solve, but if you can help one family, you can begin to help many more, so why don't you try to improve the welfare of your uncle's family?" Glaucon said, "I am sure I can be of some help to them, if only my uncle will listen to me." Socrates laughed; "What? You can't even convince your uncle, and you want to hope that the whole of Athens, including your uncle, will listen to you? Be careful, young man, you want to be famous, but don't make it backfire! Look at the reality. In all things, those who are honored and praised are the most knowledgeable. On the contrary, they are the most ignorant. If you really want to be honored and praised in the city-state, try to acquire the widest knowledge of what you want to do. For only in this way will you be able to excel over others; and when dealing with affairs, you will easily obtain your desired goal." The haughty, leader-bent Glaucon was persuaded.
Classic Socrates Quotes
A doctor came running to Socrates and questioned him, saying that everything he ate was bland and tasteless. Socrates said, All you have to do is stop eating. Before Socrates was put to death, a friend said sadly, My dear Socrates, how I do not wish you to be put to death so unjustly! Socrates calmly said, My friend, do you wish to see me put to death justly?
Editing the Story of Socrates
The Largest Ears of Wheat There was a great scholar in ancient Greece named Socrates. One day he led some of his disciples to a field of wheat. It was the ripening season, and the field was full of heavy ears of wheat. Socrates said to his disciples, "Go to the wheat field and pick the biggest sheaf you can find. I will wait for you at the end of the wheat field." The disciples, having understood their teacher's request, went one by one into the wheat field. The field was full of ears of barley, which one was the biggest? The disciples buried their heads and walked forward. Looking at this one, they shook their heads; looking at that one, they shook their heads again. They always thought that the biggest sheaf of wheat was still ahead. Although the disciples did try to pick a few ears, they were not satisfied and threw them away. They always thought that there were still plenty of chances, and that there was absolutely no need to settle too soon. A long period of time passed while the disciples walked forward with their heads down, picking and choosing with care. Suddenly, everyone heard Socrates' pale, bell-like voice: "You have come to the end." At this point the empty-handed disciples awoke as if from a dream. Socrates said to the disciples, "There must be an ear of wheat in this field that is the largest, but you may not be able to touch it; and even if you do, you may not be able to judge it accurately. Even if you do, you may not be able to judge accurately, for the largest ear is the one you have just picked." The disciples of Socrates listened to the words of their teacher and realized this truth: It is as if a man's life were walking in a field of wheat, searching for the largest ear. Some people see the full grain of "wheat" and pick it without missing a beat; some people look around and miss the opportunity again and again. Of course, the pursuit should be the biggest, but the immediate wheat in the hand, is the real.
Socrates and his house
Once upon a time, there was a very wise man in Greece named Socrates. Young men from all over the country came to him to learn wisdom and intelligence from him. He told many happy stories. He told them in such a lively way that no one who listened to him was ever bored. One summer he built a house for himself. The house was very small and his neighbors wondered how it could please him. "Is there any reason why you, such a great man, should build your house in such a small box?" "Indeed there is no reason." He said, "But small as this place is, I shall consider myself happy if I can make it hold true friends."
Socrates learns to sing a new song
While Socrates was in prison, he heard a new prisoner in the next cell humming a song, a new song that he had never heard before. Socrates hurriedly asked his singing cellmate to teach him that new song. Everyone in the cell knew that Socrates was on death row and that his execution was imminent. Hearing his request, the singing prisoner was surprised, "Don't you realize that you are about to be executed?" "Of course I know." Socrates replied easily. "Then why do you want to learn a new song?" The cellmate asked in disbelief. The great man replied, "So that I will know one more song when I die." --From Global Times
Editing the Death of Socrates
Socrates (469 BC-399 BC), the preeminent philosopher of ancient Greece, was Plato's teacher. He had a profound influence on the development of Western philosophy. Socrates continued to search for the truth throughout his life, and because he was good at rhetoric, he often refuted those who thought they were knowledgeable and shallow to the dumbfounded, so he enjoyed high prestige among the youth, but unfortunately, in 399 B.C., the conservative aristocrats for inciting the youth, the charge of insulting the gods of Athens, the public trial, and was sentenced to death. Socrates had a large number of fervent admirers and a large number of fierce opponents, both in life and in death. He left no writings in his life, but his influence was immense. Historians of philosophy tend to regard him as a watershed in the history of the development of ancient Greek philosophy, and refer to the philosophy that preceded him as pre-Socratic philosophy. Being a great philosopher, Socrates had a great influence on later generations of Western philosophy. His actions and doctrines have been passed down mainly through the accounts in the writings of his students Plato and Csenophanes. The life and doctrines of Socrates have been one of the most discussed issues in academia due to the various accounts and statements that have been made since antiquity. According to Athenian law at the time, the method of execution was to give a cup of poisoned wine, but during the month of detention before execution, the court allowed the prisoner's relatives and friends to visit the prison. At that time, there were many young people who visited Socrates in prison every day, and one of them, Crito, asked Socrates if he had any last words, to which Socrates replied: "I have nothing to ask but what I have said to you, and I ask you to bear them in mind. You must remain temperate; if you do not live as I have said, then no matter how many promises you make to me now, you will not be able to console my dead." With that he got up and went to take a bath. On the evening of the day when Socrates was about to be put to death, he sent away his wife and daughter, and went instead to talk with his pupils, Phaedo, Simias, Cephas, Crito, and others, about the immortality of the soul. Soon afterward the jailer came in and said, "Whenever I pass orders for the prisoners to take poisoned wine, they resent and curse me, but I must carry out the orders of my superiors. You are the noblest of the many prisoners here, so I suppose you will never hate me, but will only resent those who are going to put you to death, and I am now ordered to carry out the order, so may you suffer less. Farewell, my friend." With these words he burst into tears and left the cell. Socrates looked at the back of the jailer and said, "Farewell, my friend, I will do as you say." Then he turned back to the youths and said amiably, "What a good man, who has come to visit me every day since I was in prison, and has sometimes talked to me in a kindly manner. And now he weeps for me; what a kind man! Come here, Crito, and if the poisoned wine is ready, send for it at once, or else please go and mix it quickly." Crito replied, "It is said that some prisoners, when they hear that they are going to be executed, always delay it by all means, in order that they may enjoy a good dinner. Please don't be in a hurry, there is still time!" At this Socrates said, "It is true that you are right, and there is no excuse for those people to do so, for in their opinion they gain something by delaying the taking of the poisoned wine; but to me nothing is gained by delaying the taking of the poisoned wine; on the contrary, to stint one's life that way to gain a good meal seems to me to deserve contempt, so go and fetch the wine. Please honor my request." A moment later the poisoned wine bringer came, Socrates calmly, without changing his face, took the cup and drank it. All those present wept for the loss of such a good friend. Socrates was greatly displeased, and said, "How can you do this? I sent away the people of the house to avoid such a scene, and it is often said that one should not be afraid of death in the face of danger. Please be strong!" Socrates proceeded to pace the chamber for a while, said his legs were numb, and lay down. The man who had brought the wine came over and touched him, and felt that there was no longer any heat. Suddenly Socrates murmured again, "Crito, come here, we have borrowed a cock from Crepius, please don't forget to pay him." Having said this, the great philosopher closed his eyes and quietly passed away.