Socrates biography of the philosopher

Quotes and aphorisms The biography of Socrates is the greatest philosopher of antiquity, his students were Plato, Alcibiades, Xenophon, Euclid. The teachings of Socrates marked a new stage in the development of ancient philosophy, when the focus was not nature and peace, but man and spiritual values. Childhood and youth according to various sources, the philosopher was born in the year BC in the Greek Athens, in the family of sculptor Sofronisk and Povituhi Fenarita.

The future great thinker had the older brother of Patrocl, who inherited his father's property, but Socrates did not remain in poverty. The portrait of Socrates about this can be judged by the fact that the philosopher went on the uniform of a heavily armed warrior to the war with Sparta, and only wealthy citizens were able to pay him. It follows that Socrates's father was a wealthy citizen and earned well, wielding a cutter and other tools.

Socrates participated in hostilities three times, demonstrating courage and courage on the battlefield. Especially the courage of the philosopher and warrior manifested itself on the day when he saved from the death of his military leader, Alcibiades. Socrates of Socrates The Thinker was born 6 Fargelion, on the "unclean" day, which predetermined his fate. According to ancient Greek laws, Socrates became the guardian of the foundations of Athenian society and the state, and free of charge.

In the future, the philosopher performed social duties with proper zeal, but without fanaticism, and paid with life for beliefs, honesty and stamina. In his youth, Socrates studied with Damon and Conon, Zenon, Anaxagoras and Archela, talked with great minds and masters of that time. He did not leave a single book, not a single written testimony of wisdom and philosophy. Information about this person, the history of life, biography, philosophy and ideas are known to descendants only from the memoirs of students, contemporaries and followers.

One of them was the great Aristotle. Philosophy during his lifetime did not record thoughts, preferring to go to the truth, using oral speech. Socrates believed that in the record the words kill memory and lose meaning. Socratic philosophy is built on the concepts of ethics, goodness and virtues to which he attributed knowledge, courage, honesty. Socratic aphorism at the same time knowledge, by Socrates, is a virtue.

Without realizing the essence of concepts, a person cannot do good, be brave or fair. Only knowledge makes it possible to be virtuous, since this happens consciously. The interpretation of the concept of evil, derived by Socrates, or rather, mention of them in the works of Plato and Xenophon, students of the great philosopher, are contradictory. According to Plato, Socrates negatively treated evil as such, even to the evil that a person causes enemies.

Xenophon has the opposite opinion on this issue, transmitting Socrates about the necessary evil during conflicts, for the sake of protection. Socrates and Plato opposite interpretations of statements are explained by the nature of the learning characteristic of Socratic school. The philosopher preferred to communicate with students in the form of dialogs, rightly believing that truth was born.

Therefore, it is logical to assume that the warrior Socrates talked with the commander Xenophon about the war and discussed evil on the example of military conflicts with the enemy on the battlefield. Plato was a peaceful citizen of Athens, and Socrates with Plato spoke about ethical norms within society, and it was about their fellow citizens, close people and whether it was permissible to commit evil in relation to them.

Socrates Dialogues are not the only difference between Socratic philosophy. The vivid features of comprehension of ethical, human values ​​professed by the philosopher include: the dialectical, conversational form of the search for truth; determination of concepts by induction, from private to general; Search for answers to questions with the help of Mayvetika.

Socrates method of searching for truth was that the philosopher asked the interlocutor leading questions with a certain subtext, so that the answering was lost and eventually came to unexpected conclusions. The thinker was famous for the intricate questions “from the contrary”, forcing the opponent to contradict himself. Portraits of Socrates himself did not claim the title of an all -knowing teacher.

The phrase attributed to him is associated with this feature of Socratic teaching: “I only know that I don’t know anything, but others do not know this.” The philosopher asked, pushing the interlocutor to new thoughts and formulations. From common objects, he moved to the definition of specific concepts: what is courage, love, kindness? Socrates and Plato determination of the Socratic method was given by Aristotle, who was destined to be born after a generation after Socrates and become a student of Plato.

According to Aristotle, the main Socratic paradox says: "Human virtue is a state of mind." To Socrates who led an ascetic lifestyle, people came for knowledge, in search of truth. He did not teach oratory and other crafts, but taught to be virtuous in relation to loved ones: family, relatives, friends, servants and slaves.The philosopher did not take money from the students, but the ill-wishers nevertheless ranked him to the sophists.

The latter were also fond of discussing ethical norms and human spirituality, but did not hesitate to earn voiced coins with their lectures. Socrates appears to the students of reasons for dissatisfaction from the point of view of the Society of Ancient Greece and Citizens of Athens Socrates. For that time, it was considered the norm that the grown -up children learn from their parents, but there are no schools as such.

The youth was inspired by the glory of this man and a crowd fell to the illustrious philosopher. The older generation was displeased with such a state of things, hence the fatal accusation of “corruption of youth” for Socrates. It seemed to people that the philosopher undermines the very foundations of society, setting up young people against their own parents, corrupting the fragile minds with detrimental thoughts, new -fangled teachings, sinful, nasty Greek gods of intentions.

The statue of Socrates is another moment, which has become fatal for Socrates and led to the death of the thinker, is associated with the accusation of dug and worship of other gods instead of those who recognized the Athenians. Socrates believed that it is difficult to judge a person by acting, because evil was going on out of ignorance. At the same time, in the soul of every person there is a good place, and every soul has a patron demon.

The voice of this inner demon, whom we would call the guardian an angel today, periodically whispered Socrates, what to do in a difficult situation.

The demon came to the aid of the philosopher in the most desperate circumstances and always helped out, so Socrates considered him unacceptable to disobey him. This demon was mistaken for a new deity, to which the thinker allegedly worshiped. Personal life up to 37 years old, the philosopher’s life was not distinguished by loud events. After that, the peaceful and apolitical Socrates participated in military operations three times, and he showed himself as a brave and courageous warrior.

In one battle, he happened to save the life of a student, the commander of Alcibiades, dispersing the Spartans armed to the teeth with one club. This feat was subsequently also guilty of Socrates, since Alcibiades, having come to power in Athens, established a dictatorship regime instead of his beloved Greeks of democracy. Socrates failed to retire from the policy and life of society and to indulge in philosophy and asceticism.

He defended unfairly convicted, and then, as much as he could resist, he opposed the methods of the reign of dictators who came to power. Socrates and Xantippus in old age, the philosopher married Xantippe, who had three sons from him. According to rumors, the wife of Socrates did not appreciate the great mind of the spouse and was distinguished by a nonsense. It is not surprising: the father of three children did not at all participate in the life of the family, did not earn money, did not help relatives.

The thinker himself was content with small: he lived on the street, walked in torn clothes and was known as an eccentric sophist, which Aristophanes introduced him in his comedies. We know the court and the execution of the death of the great philosopher according to the works of students. In detail, the trial of the court and the last minutes of the thinker described Plato in the Apology of Socrates and Xenophon in the “Socratic Protection in Court”.

The Athenians accused Socrates of non -recognition of the gods and the corruption of youth. The philosopher abandoned the defender and made his own defense, denying the accusations. He did not offer a fine as an alternative to punishment, although according to the laws of democratic Athens this was possible. Socrates Socrates did not accept the help of friends who offered him an escape or abduction from prison, but chose to meet face to face with his own fate.

He believed that death would find him everywhere where his friends were taken away, since he was so destined. The philosopher considered other options for punishment a confession of his own guilt and could not come to terms with this. Socrates preferred execution by accepting the poison. Quotes and aphorisms cannot live better than spending life in an effort to become more perfect.

Wealth and nobility do not bring any dignity. There is only one good - knowledge and only one evil is ignorance. Without friendship, no communication between people has a value. It is better to courageously die than to live in shame.