Socrates One of the Most Thesis

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And the irony is that he was sentenced to death because he questioned the laws and the gods trying to save Athens from a process of decay which had already started before the defeat in the conflict with Sparta.

As far as the theme of knowledge and wisdom is concerned, Socrates believed that he was an ignorant. What made him valuable was his capacity to realize how limited his knowledge was. Knowing you know so little is the fundament for self development since it triggers a process of search and hard work in this direction. While man had always wanted to understand the universe, Socrates suggested that the truth is best to be found in knowledge of oneself. Wisdom is supported by an attitude of modesty and moderation.

Under these circumstances we may bring into discussion the Socratic method. While trying to teach to his pupils, what the philosopher did was ask question meant to stimulate the interlocutor and allow him to arrive on his own to the right conclusion instead of providing an answer himself. This interactive and challenging manner of teaching stimulated the philosophical debates and was an efficient road to achieving a more profound knowledge. The purpose of any philosophical debate is to discover the truth which is considered a key towards happiness, while knowing oneself is the key for leading a good life.

Socrates believed that when an individual performed the tasks and duties he was supposed to do, he was on his way of believing happiness. In other words, happiness is directly connected to morality. In addition, doing what you are supposed to do is a means of responding to the needs of the soul. Responding to a sort of inner vocation is the path towards happiness.


Another important belief that was promoted by Socrates was the good nature of the human being. According to him, no individual wishes to perform an action which is bad and unjust. If this happens it is because people are ignorant and their limited knowledge prevents them from understanding that they are doing something wrong.

The influence of the Socratic ethics is to be found throughout tie until nowadays. Plato, one of his pupils is a relevant example in this respect. Through his ideas regarding happiness he influenced the philosophers who then created the hedonist thinking, such as Epicurrus while his ideas regarding self-knowledge influenced the stoic movement. His teaching method changed the way in which philosophy was conceived.

A shift was recorded from a belief according to which the already known truths were to be passed on by those wiser to the ones who knew less but wanted to learn more to one according to which arriving to the just conclusion on your own while stimulated by the right questions was far more efficient. His importance is fundamental because therefore e he changed the manner in which philosophy was conceived and therefore imposed a new thinking paradigm which has proven to be more flourishing in terms of results and development of the human spirit and the universal culture.

All in all we could state that Socrates is one of the most important philosophers, not only through his conceptions regarding human nature, virtue, knowledge and wisdom, ethics and happiness, but also through his very own approach to the very process of critical thinking......

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