Socrates of Athens was born around 469 B.C.

According to Plato, Socrates was seventy years old at

the time of his death. He was the son of Sophroniscus and Phaenarete of the Antiochid tribe and
the deme[1]of Alopecae. Unlike his father who was a sculptor of stone, Socrates interests were
deeply rooted in philosophy. During his early twenties, his philosophical views gradually turned away
from the cosmological speculation about nature, (as was the main concern of the Ionians) and
towards an inquiry into ethics. Like his sophist[2]contemporaries, Socrates shared a concern for
practical issues, especially for education. He himself paid special attention to questions of moral
education and moral character and held the view that the pursuit of moral improvement was the
most important human task.

Throughout his early life, Socrates attention was focused on the theories of Ionian science. Founded
by the Milesians in the sixth century and beginning with Thales theory, Arch.[3]This science was
the very foundation to the discovery of nature and eventually leading to Aristotles theory of
causality. Socrates himself was never really satisfied by the given explanations on the origins of
causality. More so, he was drawn to the why rather than the how of its happening. Having been
exposed to the writings of Anaxagoras[4]concerning the nature of causality and that the world had
been ordered by an intelligence (mind or nous), Socrates hopes were lifted to a higher degree of
enthusiasm. The result of this however, led him to renounce the intelligible system of nature and
divert his attention from the study of external things.

Socrates Teachings
Socrates never considered himself a teacher or in anyway wise among men, but according to
himself, experienced the prompting of an inner voice or daimonionwhich accompanied him
throughout his life: I have a divine sign from the godsThis began when I was a child. It is a voice,
and whenever it speaks it turns me away from something I am about to do, but it never encourages
me to do anything.[5](31c-d) In Platos Apology, Chaerephon[6]states that, according to the Delpic
Oracle, Socrates was to have been the wisest of all living men. Contrary to this, Socrates in
his ironic state of confusion goes about the city of Athens cross-questioning certain citizens about
things that he himself does not know. Having conversed at great length with the politicians, the
statesmen, the poets and the tradesmen, on inquiries such as: what is true knowledge? And having
not been made any the wiser; Socrates realised that unlike him, who was very much aware of his
own ignorance, they were not. This confirmed for Socrates what the oracle had said was true. Of
course the aftermath of this proved disastrous.Those who were subject to Socrates practice of
questioning became irreversibly irritated by him and eventually a common hatred for him began to
form among the peoples of Athens.This in turn led to accusations of impiety and corruption of the
youth, resulting with a trial, and eventually with the cost of his life.

The Socratic Problem
Having never written a book, Socrates main sources have been the subject of his contemporaries:
Xenophon, Aristophanes, Plato and Aristotle. The various accounts of his philosophical teachings
vary from one philosopher to another, especially in context with the views of his aforementioned
contemporaries. According to Frederick Copleston,S.J., the problem with Socrates is the problem of
ascertaining what exactly is the source of his philosophical teaching.[7]On the other hand, Gregory
Vlastos, a modern Socratic scholar, would argue that the most profound written accounts on
Socrates philosophical teachings come from the pen of his most devout disciple, Plato.

At the time of Socrates death, Plato was around his mid-forties and was deeply influenced by
Socrates quest for truth, centred towards the concept of being. A view from which the sophists at
that time had turned away from. It was only after the catastrophe of Socrates death that Plato began
to re-create and present to the world, the incomparable personality of his beloved master. From him
comes Socrates, the epistemologist of the highest order.

Recollection of Knowledge
In the Meno, Socrates claims that all knowledge is recollection. Using the example of the slave
boy, Meno is to observe that the boy will discover the answer to a geometrical problem.[8]As an
example Socrates draws a square on the ground and asks the boy to establish a way of doubling the
area size of the existing square. In response to this the boy proposes that by doubling the side
lengths of the square, the square naturally doubles in size. Of course this is incorrect, it quadruples
in size. But when Socrates draws what could be called the line of insight; a straight diagonal line
from the opposite internal corners of the square, the boy gains insight as if he has suddenly
recollected knowledge that he initially has been acquiring all along. This is in someway an example
of how Socrates used what he called, Socratic mid-wifery, a metaphorical term that he adapted
from his mother who was a midwife.

Socrates Concept of the Soul
Socrates presents the concept of the soul or physch as something of supreme importance. He sees
the soul as that which is not of the external world, but more so, from a spiritual essence that should
be appeased in contrast to the things that are pleasing to the gods. In truth Socrates sees the
perfection of ones soul as being far more important than the acquisition of wealth, reputation or
honour. In giving service to the soul, service is given to God. This issue is concretised in
theApology when Socrates states that he has been obedient to the command of the gods by: going
around doing nothing but persuading both young and old among you not to care for your body or
your wealth in preference to or as strongly as for the best possible state of your soul, as I say to you:
Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence brings about wealth and all other public and
private blessings for men. (30a-b) In their state of ignorance the Athenians are at a greater risk,
more than Socrates himself. Here, he is in danger of being put to death, something that he must
eventually face anyway, and who knows, maybe a blessing for him. On the other hand, the
Athenians run the greater risk of putting an innocent man to death, a greater form of evil.

The soul in itself assumed a new reality through the eyes of Socrates. He believed that like the body,
the soul was a cosmos in itself. Therefore this led to the analogy of the soul extending to what the
Greeks called virtue or arte.[9]For him the soul was the source of the highest value in life and
through obedience to it (care of the soul), man attains harmony with the nature of the universe. In
this obedient way, he attains happiness or eudiamonia, which in turn achieves excellence
or arte for the welfare of his soul.[10]

Criticism of the Athenians
During his trial, Socrates criticises the ambiguities of the Athenians attitude to death, and in doing
so, convicts them of not caring for their souls. With this view, Socrates assesses that their attitude to
death differ between the expectations they hold of heroes and soldiers and that of defendants in
court. To explain this, Socrates uses the example of Achilles who defied death to avenge the death
of his friend Patroculus.[11](28b-c) Judging this, Socrates sees this concept of death to be the
greatest form of evil and was not to be viewed in such a way by the Athenians. They (the Athenians)
believed that any person who would suffer such an evil were to be considered as brave, with their
name to be upheld in honour by all the people.In contrast to this he uses the view of the defendants
in court: Perhaps one of you might be angry as he recalls that when he himself stood on trial on a
less dangerous charge, he begged and implored the jury with many tears, that he brought his
children and many of his friends and family into court to arouse as much pity as he could, but I do
none of these things. (34c) Socrates thought that their attitude to the defendant in court was based
on a different concept of death. From this, he concluded that there was an inconsistency in their
attitude to death. Although Socrates claimed that no one really knew whether death was an evil or
not, but was probably inclined to think of it as a good.Yet in the latter he was quite sure that to avoid
death at the cost of suffering evil was to show a complete disregard for the care of ones soul.

Socratic Virtue
Aristotle states that there are two improvements in science, which can justifiably be attributed to the
practice of Socrates philosophy: inductive arguments and universal definitions.[12]His practical
method of inductive argument was one of dialectic or conversation. Aristotle repeated several times
in his writings that Socrates believed that a single virtue is a science. (1144b28) This however, was
not to be interpreted in the Socratic sense as a valid statement, for Socrates would protest that it is
only possible to know how virtue is acquired when one knows what virtue is. In the context of
reason, Aristotle would agree that Socrates was partly right in saying that reason is virtue, but
incorrect in identifying the two. His argument was that incontinence was too definite and was
inadequate in terms of its allowance for weakness of will and the lack of self-control. But in view to
this, Socrates outlook would be that men face danger with knowledge of fear. In knowing what they
are facing is not evil, but more so, it is beneficial rather than cowardice to the real self, the soul
or physch. For Socrates, no man would willingly do harm to his most precious possession, (his
soul) for every evil act oraction is committed involuntarily. In this strange paradox, Plato maintained
its reasonableness throughout, whereas Aristotle opposed it strongly on the grounds that it no longer
makes men masters of themselves.

Conclusion
Recapping on Socrates practice of philosophy within the context of his times, his contributions to the
development of philosophy were:
a. To come away from the Cosmological speculation of nature, as proposed by the Ionians, towards
an inquiry into ethics.
b. He never claimed to be a teacher or in any way wise among men. But yet pursued himself to
understand the meaning to the Oracles statement and in doing so, lost his own life.
c. He greatly influenced Plato, who in return presented the main Socratic dialogues that carry the
traditional insight into the philosophy of Socrates.
d. Socrates was the creator of the Greek soul and give supreme importance to the state of its
welfare. In doing so, he criticised the Athenians for not caring for their souls, especially in the light of
their attitudes towards death.
e. His practice of philosophy was through inductive and universal argument. This method was one
of dialecticor conversation.