Socrates: The Father of Western Philosophy Who Changed How We Think

He never wrote a single word, yet his ideas have shaped human thought for nearly 2,500 years. Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens around 470 BCE, remains one of history's most influential thinkers and the founding figure of Western philosophy.

**Who Was Socrates?**

Socrates was born to Sophroniscus, a stonemason, and Phaenarete, a midwife—a profession he would later use as a metaphor for his own work in 'delivering' ideas from people's minds. He served as a soldier in the Peloponnesian War and was known for his remarkable physical endurance and courage in battle.

Unlike the philosophers before him who focused on explaining the natural world, Socrates turned philosophy's attention to human beings themselves—our ethics, our knowledge, and how we should live.

**The Socratic Method**

Perhaps Socrates' greatest contribution was his method of inquiry, now known as the Socratic Method. Rather than lecturing or providing answers, Socrates asked probing questions that exposed contradictions in people's thinking. Through this dialogue-based approach, he helped others examine their beliefs and arrive at deeper truths.

This technique remains foundational in education, law schools, and critical thinking instruction worldwide today.

**Key Ideas and Beliefs**

• **'The unexamined life is not worth living'** - Socrates believed self-reflection and questioning were essential to a meaningful human existence.

• **Wisdom begins with acknowledging ignorance** - His famous declaration that he knew only that he knew nothing wasn't false modesty but a genuine philosophical position that true wisdom starts with recognizing the limits of our knowledge.

• **Virtue is knowledge** - Socrates argued that people do wrong only out of ignorance. If someone truly understood what was good, they would naturally act accordingly.

• **Care for the soul** - He emphasized that tending to one's character and moral development was more important than pursuing wealth, fame, or physical pleasure.

**His Trial and Death**

In 399 BCE, Socrates was brought to trial on charges of corrupting the youth of Athens and impiety—failing to acknowledge the city's gods. Found guilty by a jury of his fellow citizens, he was sentenced to death by drinking hemlock poison.

Rather than flee into exile, Socrates accepted his fate, spending his final hours in philosophical discussion with his friends. His student Plato immortalized these last conversations in dialogues that continue to be studied today.

**Lasting Legacy**

Though Socrates left no writings, his ideas survived through the works of his students, particularly Plato and Xenophon. Plato's dialogues, featuring Socrates as the main character, became foundational texts of Western philosophy and influenced his own student Aristotle.

The ripple effects of Socratic thought extend through virtually every subsequent philosophical tradition, from Stoicism to existentialism, and his emphasis on questioning and critical examination remains central to education, science, and democratic discourse.

Nearly two and a half millennia after his death, Socrates' fundamental questions about justice, virtue, and the good life remain as relevant as ever.