Socrates

Socrates, born in Athens in 470 BC, is often credited as one of the founders
of Western philosophy. The cloud of mystery surrounding his life and

philosophical viewpoints propose a problem; a problem so large that it’s
given a name itself: The Socratic Problem. Since he did not write
philosophical texts, all knowledge related to him is entirely dependent on the
writings of other people of the time period. Works by Plato, Xenophon,
Aristotle, and Aristophanes contain all of the knowledge known about this
enigmatic figure. His largest contribution to philosophy is the Socratic
method. The Socratic method is defined as a form of inquiry and discussion
between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to illuminate
ideas. This method is performed by asking question after question with the
purpose of seeking to expose contradictions in one’s thoughts, guiding
him/her to arrive at a solid, tenable conclusion. The principle underlying the
Socratic Method is that humans learn through the use of reasoning and logic;
ultimately finding holes in their own theories and then patching them up.
Plato, student of Socrates, also has mystery surrounding him. His birth day is
estimated to fall between 428 BC and 423 BC. He’s known for being the
founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in
the Western world. My favorite of Plato’s contributions to philosophy, and the
one I’m going to focus on, is the Theory of Forms. This theory was created to
solve two problems, one of ethics and one of permanence and change. The
ethical problem is: how can humans live a fulfilling life in an ever changing
world if everything that they hold close to them can be easily taken away?
The problem dealing with permanence and change is: How can the world
appear to be both permanent and changing? The world we perceive through
senses seems to be always changing–which is a pretty clear observation. The
world that we perceive through the mind, seems to be permanent and
unchanging. Which world perceived is more real? Why are we seen two
different worlds?
To find a solution to these problems, Plato split the world into two: the
material, or phyiscal, realm and the transcendent, or mental, realm of forms.
We have access to the realm of forms through the mind, allowing us access
to an unchanging world. This particular world is invulnerable to the pains and
changes of the material world. By detaching our souls from the material
world and our bodies and developing our ability to concern ourselves with
the forms, Plato believes this will lead to us finding a value which is not open
to change. This solves the ethical problem. Splitting existence up into two
realms also leads us to a solution to the problem of permanence and change.
Our mind perceives a different world, with different objects, than our senses
do. It is the material world, perceived through the senses, that is changing. It
is the realm of forms, perceived through the mind, that is permanent.
Socrates and Plato are two famous Greek philosophers whose ideas still impact society
today.
In ancient Greece, philosophers contemplated and theorized about many different ideas
such as human nature, ethics, and moral dilemmas. Ancient Greek philosophers can be
categorized into three groups: the Pre-Socratics, the Socratics, and the Post-Socratics.
Pre-Socratic philosophers mostly investigated natural phenomena. They believed that

humans originated from a single substance, which could be water, air, or an unlimited
substance called “apeiron.” One well-known philosopher from this group was
Pythagoras, the mathematician who created the Pythagorean Theorem.
The Socratic philosophers in ancient Greece were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. These
are some of the most well-known of all Greek philosophers. Socrates (470/469–399
B.C.E.) is remembered for his teaching methods and for asking thought-provoking
questions. Instead of lecturing his students, he asked them difficult questions in order to
challenge their underlying assumptions—a method still used in modern-day law
schools. Because Socrates wrote little about his life or work, much of what we know
comes from his student Plato.
Plato (428/427–348/347 B.C.E.) studied ethics, virtue, justice, and other ideas relating
to human behavior. Following in Socrates’ footsteps, he became a teacher and inspired
the work of the next great Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.), while
also interested in ethics, studied different sciences like physics, biology, and astronomy.
He is often credited with developing the study of logic, as well as the foundation for
modern-day zoology.
The Post-Socratic philosophers established four schools of philosophy:

Cynicism, Skepticism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. The Post-Socratic philosophers
focused their attention on the individual rather than on communal issues such as
politics. For example, stoicism sought to understand and cultivate a certain way of life,
based on one’s virtues, or wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Modern
philosophers and educators still employ the patterns of thinking and exploration
established by ancient Greek philosophers, such as the application of logic to questions
of thought and engaging in debate to better convey philosophical ideas.

Socrates

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Socrates, born in Athens in 470 BC, is often credited as one of the founders

of Western philosophy. The cloud of mystery surrounding his life and

Pre-Socratic philosophers mostly investigated natural phenomena. They believed that

The Post-Socratic philosophers established four schools of philosophy:

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