Socrates

“I know very well that I am not wise, even in the smallest degree” (Sakezles). Socrates was a man that played an important role in history because he influenced Western philosophy just with his own knowledge. He was a very independent person and is always wanting to “absorb” as much knowledge as he could. He was a wise philosopher that stands up for what he believes in even though he knows what the consequences may be. People believe that he was the wisest man that ever lived (Kronick). No matter what people may think of him, he will always make his own choices and spread wisdom to the world.
 * Introduction**

Socrates was born around 469 B.C. in Classical Athens. He was born from a humble family but that did not stop him from seeking more knowledge for him. As he grows up, he questions himself of how to live a wonderful life. That led him to a journey of years seeking knowledge to help solve that question. (Lane). He soon grows up to be a successful philosopher and becomes a very wise person (Kronick).  When Socrates was young, he wonders about many things about life and he goes on a long journey to seek that knowledge. Sometimes it’s hard because people only notice his ugly face. What people don’t really see is the beauty in his soul. He later grows up and becomes a very wise philosopher that uses reason (Kronick). People look at him like a model for their individualist arts of living so it can help aid many people to be themselves (Corey). A few years later, a man named Chaerephon went to the temple of Apollo to have an audience with the oracle Delphi. He then asks, “Is there anyone wiser than Socrates?” The oracle says that there is no one wiser than him. When Socrates heard about this, he bluntly refused. So he set off to another journey to prove that there was someone out there that was wiser than him. He looked everywhere in Athens but still cannot find anyone wiser than him. Finally, he accepted that the oracle’s words were right all along (Sakezles). Later, he gets sentenced to death by drinking poison until it destroys his system and dies. But before he died, he said, “Crito, we owe a cock to Asciepius; make this offering to him and do not forget.” (Gonzales). In the end, he was the wisest of them all but he was very selfless thinking that he was not the wisest and because he has character that he would sacrifice anything for his people. Socrates was a famous Athenian philosopher that had “self-discipline” (Kronick). When he was younger, he never had that ability and it took many years on his journey to finally obtain that ability. Many people think of Socrates as a philosopher that was very wise and he was very courageous (Waterfield). Those traits may be true but there’s more to Socrates than his wisdom and his courage. He was like a sponge absorbing as much water as it can.  When he got older, he started being more courageous around other people because sometimes he would sometimes oppose other people of their ideas. Because of that he doesn’t believe the same thing as ordinary citizens do (Corey). For example, he opposed the courts in an Athenian trial and was executed. Socrates could’ve gone along with the court but he simply refused and just believed in his own wisdom even though he knew what the consequences were. (Lane) He was very courageous because he could have left Athens but he stayed and paid the death penalty by drinking the poison because he was not afraid of death (Waterfield).  In the end, Socrates had many unique traits that anyone could have. The most important trait that he has is selflessness. When a m an named Chaerephon came up to him and said that the oracle Delphi said he was the wisest man alive, he disagreed and went on a long journey searching for people who would have that wisdom as he did. But eventually, he concluded that he was the wisest man alive (Sakezles). Although some people may oppose Socrates, what he did was to stand up for what you believe in and oppose someone if necessary (Waterfield).
 * Personal Background**
 * Personality Traits**

Socrates was a very wise philosopher but he did not get to that stage of knowledge easily (Lane). It took many years throughout his life to develop that sense of knowledge that not many Athenians had. For Socrates, there were many obstacles in his pathway. For example, Socrates does not really agree with the ideas that people come up with and that causes them to oppose him and lose his own supporters (Gonzales). But he doesn’t worry if he gains or loses supporters because he only believes in the right thing. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Calibri,Carlito,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="qowt-font4-TimesNewRoman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Tinos,'Baskerville Old Face','Bell MT',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> One of the obstacles that he had to face was really, his face. Many thought Socrates was a beautiful man, but it turns out that he had a hideous face that concealed the beauty of his own soul (Lane). People judged Socrates like “a cover of a book” and never notice his own personality and ideas but only notice his own hideousness on the outside. He also does not want to oppose people because that would cause the loss of the support of the people and also the authority of people believing in him and his own beliefs. If he has support of the people, then he would have no proble <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Tinos,'Baskerville Old Face','Bell MT',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">m going against someone else’s idea (Corey). <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Calibri,Carlito,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="qowt-font4-TimesNewRoman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Tinos,'Baskerville Old Face','Bell MT',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Even though Socrates had faced many challenges to become the person that we know today, he did them one step at a time. That is what people should do in their life, fix one problem at a time. Doing that will solve your problems very easily and not make it complicated. Socrates had many obstacles in his path but still got over his own problems (Gonzales). This is what helped him to become a very successful philosopher and now is remembered as a person who became an important part of history.
 * Obstacles**

<span class="qowt-font4-TimesNewRoman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Tinos,'Baskerville Old Face','Bell MT',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Socrates was a philosopher that possessed great knowledge and had the ability to teach others of his wisdom. Many Athenians usually saw Socrates as a model of the true philosopher in Athens (Lane). Not only he was the wisest man that was ever alive but that he was seen as a hero for Athens (Sakezles). He had the knowledge to tell people about his experiences while he was on his journey throughout his entire life. The things that he experiences can help people to make their own decisions and be independent. <span style="font-family: Calibri,Carlito,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="qowt-font4-TimesNewRoman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Tinos,'Baskerville Old Face','Bell MT',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> One of the things we use today that Socrates came up was Socratic Seminar and the Socratic Method. This is one of his ideas that we now use to help discuss questions in order to find the answer (Waterfield). Socratic Seminar helps us a lot in school because he gets people to discuss and debate why do people agree with this idea and why do people disagree. It gets people to make their own decisions and stand up to what they believe is right or wrong. Today, we use this in schools and colleges to help us prepare us for the real world when a situation like that happens and we are prepared for it (Sakezles). <span style="font-family: Calibri,Carlito,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="qowt-font4-TimesNewRoman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Tinos,'Baskerville Old Face','Bell MT',serif; font-size: 12pt;">When Socrates went on a journey to seek knowledge throughout his life, it wouldn’t be that easy to do that. It took him many years to obtain that much knowledge to have the ability to teach and spread information that he finds to others (Gonzales). During that time, he was probably the only person that does not possess the truth but speaks from experience (Kronick). That is one of many reasons why people think he is very wise and he is a very famous philosopher that we recognize today. His own knowledge helped many Athenians and also people today because of his knowledge. <span style="font-family: Calibri,Carlito,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="qowt-font4-TimesNewRoman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Tinos,'Baskerville Old Face','Bell MT',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The most important thing that people will remember him is when he tells Crito his last words before he passes away. “Crito, we owe a cock to Asciepius; make this offering to him and do not forget.” That quote was one of his important speeches because it was his last offering to Asciepius before he passed away (Gonzales). Because of this, it shocked many people and they decided that Socrates was a brave man who died by boldly drinking poison during his death trial. Socrates could’ve left Athens before the death trial but he decided that he should just face the trial even though he knew what the consequences were (Corey). <span style="font-family: Calibri,Carlito,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="qowt-font4-TimesNewRoman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Tinos,'Baskerville Old Face','Bell MT',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Although Socrates is gone now, he is still remembered as a courageous philosopher that refused to escape from Athens and could have escaped his death sentence but he refused and stayed (Corey). <span style="font-family: Calibri,Carlito,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="qowt-font4-TimesNewRoman" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Tinos,'Baskerville Old Face','Bell MT',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another brave action that he did was that he opposed many people and spread many of his ideas to the people but they all disagreed with him. He had the guts to go against many people in Athens versus himself with his own idea. If you just be what other people expect you to be, you are not being you because you just want to do what people want to see you as. Socrates was a unique being that just did things his own way and did not be the person that people wanted him to be (Corey). These are all the things why Socrates was historically remembered and honored to this day on.
 * Historical Significance**

Corey, D, David. "Socratic Citizenship: Delphic Oracle and Divine Sign." // Review of Politics // 2(2005):201. // eLibrary //. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. **SE #3** Gonzales, J, Francisco. "Is there an art of living?." // Salmagundi // (2000):253. // eLibrary //. Web. 07 Jan. 2015. **SE #6** Kronick, G, Joseph. "The Death of Theory and the Example of Socrates." // Southwest Review // 4(2006):455. // eLibrary //. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. **SE #5** Lane, Melissa. "Was Socrates a democrat?." // History Today //. 01 Jan. 2002: 42. // eLibrary //. Web. 06 Nov. 2014. **SE #4** Sakezles, Priscilla. "Socratic Skepticism." // Skeptic // 4(2008):12. // eLibrary //. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. **SE #2** Waterfield, Robin. "The Historical Socrates." // History Today //. 01 Jan. 2009: 24. // eLibrary //. Web. 17 Sep. 2014. **SE #1**
 * References**