By: Nicholas R. Davis
Socrates lived in Athens, Greece from 469-399. He was one of the most famous philosophers during his time. It was around the time of the war with Sparta that Socrates became famous. Socrates believed in reincarnation of an eternal soul which contained all knowledge. He devoted his life questioning people about their beliefs, way of life and in justice or injustice. Socrates never wrote any of his ideas down because he did not need to. Though his students did take notes and in return for what they learned, they made sure he was taken care of for the rest of his life. Socrates had attempted to teach younger people of Athens of his philosophies and values. With that it created a problem. The leaders of Athens viewed Socrates’ teachings of political and religious values as unorthodox. As you could tell he was not a liked philosopher. This was because of his ways taught people to question everything around them be it there teachers even their parents and with that it angered them. What was pretty strange about Socrates is that he never done labor to earn a living, nor participate voluntarily in affairs of state. Instead of making a living through labor and such he embraced poverty. He even refused the money that people were offering for him teaching.
One of Socrates students was Plato, his best student during all his time. Plato was born in Athens in 428 or 427. When he was around the age of twenty he started to take an interest in the teachings of Socrates and devoted himself to it. When Plato was about 25 years old, Socrates was tried and executed by the leaders of Athens. Socrates was forced to poison himself. He was soon captured by pirates, wandering around the Mediterranean area. When he bought his freedom from them, he opened a school called Academy, which was founded in 386. This was also the first school of its time to permit women to attend. Here the students studied mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy and other subjects but mainly these three. In time it became the Greek center of learning and for many years to come. With the knowledge that he learned from Socrates before he was executed, Plato taught philosophy the same way to his students. Plato took the notes that he took from Socrates’ teachings and then turned them into a famous book known as the Dialogues. The Dialogues were basically Socrates words put on paper. Plato spent the rest of his life teaching and filling the minds of the young people with his ideas. In time even Plato had a student which was by the name of Aristotle. Aristotle was Plato’s prized student, just as Plato had been for Socrates. The difference in them is that Aristotle disagreed in many ways with Plato but he still respected his values and beliefs.
Cited:
Western History Concise edition
