Essays on Socrates

Socrates is known as one of the first philosophers in Western philosophy to dedicate his life to the study of human nature. Furthermore, he believes that human beings are rational, and that pursuing the truth is the most rational thing humans can do to truly...

In response to Crito’s arguments Socrates thinks about/believes first, why the opinion of the majority is not the most important opinion, second, what the results of escaping would be for the city of Athens, and third whether escaping is an unfair action such that it...

Socrates, the father of modern Western philosophy, once said, shortly before his own death that “[Those] who happen to have gotten in touch with philosophy in the right way devote themselves to nothing else but dying and being dead” (Phaedo 64A). In other words, Socrates...

Man himself is the standard to determine the values appropriate according to circumstances. The Sophists recognised the power of speech and called it as ‘logos’ . Here speech (logos) is having powerful effects to control the human emotions like distress, delight ,fear etc. ,that was...

What happens after we die is a widely debated and relatively unknow topic that has been brought up many times in philosophy. Different theories have been proposed as to what might happen with the body and soul after the person passes away. This also brings...

Socrates has many interesting views on various concepts and ideas. He goes into depth about how these concept and ideas can be detrimental or beneficial to human existence. Socrates is well known for being one of the greatest philosophers in history. He is recognized for...

Was Socrates’ Punishment Just? In The Apology, Socrates is put on trial for supposedly corrupting the youth of Athens and for not believing in the gods. The charges were brought against Socrates because by Meletus. While on trial, Socrates defends himself very well against the...

The Platonic Dialogue is written by Plato at the scene of Socrates prison cell and death bed. The government of the time and place of ancient Athens did not want to hear Socrates ideas and did not want to give him freedom of speech. (South...

In the Apology, Socrates tries to convince the jurors that, if they kill him, they will only be harming themselves. This argument is part of Socrates’ larger defense of his actions as he seeks to avoid drinking the hemlock. Socrates makes two claims: (1) that...

Being treated like a criminal when you’ve done nothing wrong, is something no innocent person should go through. An injustice like this is not only harmful to the victim (because they know they’re being wrongfully punished), it is also a betrayal to the rule of...

Apology, written by Plato, outlines what occurred during Socrates’ trial. Socrates was on trial because he was accused of being a doer of evil, corrupter of the youth, and not believing in the gods. His charges where those often used against philosophers. Apology tells about...

This pandemic brought a lot of negative things not only in the surroundings but to people itself. Though there are lots of brave people out there, fighting to win against this pandemic, here I am, lurking in the corner wondering about my purpose in life....

There is a reason we question the things around us, as we are naturally curious people. Life is so much more than just being on earth, life is about finding and creating yourself, it is creating bonds between people and things. We are constantly searching...

Novelist Rossiter Worthington Raymond once said, “Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.” A horizon, by definition, is no more than the range of one’s knowledge or experience....

In human history, many instances have shown that what was believed to be true was not actually the truth. The long-held paradigm that the Earth is the center of the universe was reversed by Galileo’s announcement that it orbits around the sun and is not...

The Ion In Plato’s dialogue Ion he seems to address a rather trifling question: Do poets know what they’re talking about? What is Poetry? A conscious creation of the poet or divine inspiration? Starting with this question, Socrates in the Platonic dialogue of Ion develops...

Piety was an important concept in ancient Greek civilization, as it shaped the culture and actions of Greek citizens. What exactly piety means has varied over time, and the definition differs throughout Greek literature. Characters such as Odysseus from The Odyssey and Orestes from The...

After running into Euthyphro outside of king-archon’s court and hearing about why Euthyphro is there, Socrates is not convinced that Euthyphro prosecuting his father for murder is the just or pious thing to do. He asks Euthyphro to teach him about what piety and impiety...

Henley (2017) believes that to fully understand the issues in modern day psychology you must first know the roots of its questions, the theories that proposed those questions, and the progressions used to answer those questions. It is important to learn the history of psychology...

Plato’s Republic utilizes a political approach to answer what is essentially a moral question. In attempting to identify justice in the individual, Socrates takes an unmistakable turn toward the direction of political philosophy, describing the formation of his ideal city Kallipolis. It can hardly be...

A major controversy in the philosophies of both the modern philosopher Sartre and the ancient philosopher Socrates is the argument regarding how life will unfold. Either every choice someone makes determines the next thing that may happen to that person, or his or her life...

Athenian democracy has provided a fundamental, archetypal foundation for the contemporary political landscape witnessed present-day. Socrates’ vigilant efforts to democratize truth are demonstrative of an exorbitant level of consciousness which irrefutably exceed that of the polis by comparative measure; Socrates renounced this sociopolitical structure to...

“[H]ow it would come into being, if it ever were to come into being, you have, in my opinion, Socrates, stated well” (The Republic, 510a). The possibility of the Republic coming into being is the issue which sets the earlier Dialogues apart from The Republic....

The truth of an event is often difficult to discover due to the endless perspectives in which that event can be viewed. As I explored the question of what it means to find the truth this semester, I have come to the realization that truth...

At the beginning of the Laches, Socrates, Laches, Nicias, Melesias, Lysiamachus are gathered to discuss whether Melesias’ and Lysiamachus’ sons should learn to fight in armor. Socrates argues that Melesias and Lysiamachus are really concerned about “the matter in which virtue might be added to...

Socrates was the first of three major philosophers in ancient Greece. He was born in the golden age in Athens. Socrates believed that there was a ‘universal truth’, and that every citizen should be searching for it. He was told he was the smartest person...

Civil disobedience can be defined in a number of different ways: in its most raw form, “civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest because of moral objections to said...

Protest has to do with showing unwillingness to accept or disapprove something. Among the three philosophers, Socrates, Dr. King and Malcolm X, Malcolm X’s stand point of protesting appears to be the most effective. Malcolm X use the any means necessary approach where he claims...

In Plato’s Symposium, Socrates’ eulogy, though delivered with the stated intent of praising love, is not truly about love at all. Instead, Socrates claims that the typical definition of love does not exist and instead praises wisdom. In saying that love is desire, and that...

The most interesting historical figures that have ever existed are Socrates and St. Augustine that were in the center of the spiritual life in ancient time. Their works still are the most influential all over the world. Augustine and Socrates focused on the life with...