Born 469 BC Died 399 BC
Philosophy
S ocrates is
considered by many to
be the most interesting
and influential thinker in
the fifth century. He set
the standard for all
subsequent Western
philosophy. Socrates
initially earned his living
as a master stonecutter.
According to sources,
Socrates took over the
profession of
stonemasonry from his
father who cut stone for
the Parthenon. Ancient
writings seem to
indicate that Socrates
did not work at stonecutting after retiring. Instead,
Socrates is reported as saying he devotes himself only to
what he regards as the most important art or occupation:
discussing philosophy. Philosophy is the study of general
and fundamental problems, such as those connected with
reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and
language. The word "philosophy" comes from the Ancient
Greek which literally means "love of wisdom".
Socratic method
Pioneered by Socrates, the Socratic Method is a series of
questions by which Socrates helped his students
understand not only the point he was trying to make, but
also that they didn't know as much as they thought they
did. Socrates developed the method because he thought
the youth of Athens needed to learn to think by
themselves. This form of inquiry and discussion between
individuals is based on asking and answering questions to
stimulate critical thinking and to clarify ideas. In the
Socratic Method, Socrates would answer every statement
with a question, making his students prove why they
thought what they did. He often proved them wrong with
this method, showing them that their reasoning was
flawed, and they didnt know as much as they thought
they did. This created his students to go deeper in their
thinking.
Plato and Socrates
Socrates was the father of a whole
way of thinking, yet he wrote
nothing himself, leaving no literary
legacy of his own. Therefore, the
major source of information on his
life comes from his students,
especially Plato who went on to
become as famous as he. Plato
wrote that Socrates believed
philosophy should achieve practical
results for the greater well-being of
society. He attempted to establish
an ethical system based on human
reason rather than theological
(religious groups) beliefs. He pointed
out that human choice was
motivated by the desire for
happiness and ultimate wisdom
comes from knowing oneself. He believed the more a person
knows, the greater his or her ability to reason and make
choices that will bring true happiness. For Socrates, Athens
was a classroom and he went about asking questions of men,
seeking to arrive at political and ethical truths. He attacked
the Athenians values with his insistent emphasis on the
greater importance of the mind. While many admired
Socrates's challenges to
Greek conventional True wisdom comes to
wisdom, an equal
number grew angry and each of us when we
felt he threatened their realize how little we
way of life and
uncertain future. Due to understand about life,
Socrates being morally,
intellectually and
ourselves, and the
politically against the world around.
Athenians, he was put
on trial for corrupting
the mind of young Athenians. Although he explained that
while many are concerned about their families and careers, it
would be better to be concerned about the 'welfare of their
souls'. He was ultimately convicted and sentenced to death
by drinking a mixture of poison hemlock, a lethal poison. In
his writings, Plato describes Socrates's execution: He drank
the hemlock mixture without hesitation, and numbness
slowly crept into his body until it reached his heart. Shortly
before his final breath, Socrates described his death as a
release of the soul from the body.
Copyright 2014 Instructomania Pavlovich
Common Core Writing: Supporting claims with evidence Name_________________________ Period___

Interview
Directions: Draw a picture of yourself. Ask Socrates three questions
Answer 1: Use excerpts from the text
and write the answers in the speech bubbles. Make sure your
as evidence to support his answer.
questions and answers reflect what you have learned about his life,
the Socratic Method and his relationship with Plato.
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Answer 2: Use excerpts from the text

as evidence to support his answer.

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Answer 3: Use excerpts from the text

Your Image
as evidence to support his answer.

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Your questions:
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1.________________________________________ ________________________
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2.________________________________________
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3. ________________________________________ ________________________
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Copyright 2014 Instructomania Pavlovich