Socrates

(noun)

A classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Known for a question-answer style of examination.

Related Terms

Examples of Socrates in the following topics:

  • Classical Greek Philosophy

    • The three most famous Classical Greek philosophers are Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
    • Of these philosophers, the most famous are Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
    • Socrates, born in Athens in the 5th century BCE, marks a watershed in ancient Greek philosophy.
    • Socrates also questioned the Sophistic doctrine that arete (virtue) can be taught.
    • Plato was an Athenian of the generation after Socrates.

  • Education and Humanism

    • A painting symbolizing the liberal arts, depicting individuals representing the seven areas of liberal arts study, all circling around Plato and Socrates.

  • Athenian Society

    • One famous example of a hetaera is Pericles’ mistress, Aspasia of Miletus, who is said to have debated with prominent writers and thinkers, including Socrates.

  • Babylonian Culture

    • The Babylonian text Dialogue of Pessimism contains similarities to the agonistic thought of the sophists, the Heraclitean doctrine of contrasts, and the dialogs of Plato, as well as a precursor to the maieutic Socratic method of Socrates.

  • Athens

    • The playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides all lived and worked in Athens during this time, as did historians Herodotus and Thucydides, the physician Hippocrates, and the philosopher Socrates.

  • Classical Greek Theater

    • He lampooned the most important personalities and institutions of his day, including Socrates in The Clouds.

  • Classical Greek Poetry and History

    • He was a contemporary of Socrates.