CHAPTER ONE: Socrates and the Origins of Philosophy
Any study of Western Philosophy must begin with Socrates. Although he was not the first philosopher in ancient Greece, he was the first to explore the widest range of philosophical questions and to center the investigations of philosophers on the human experience.
Socrates lived in the ancient Greek city of Athens from around 470 BCE to 399 BCE. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts are written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre.
From these sources, we can begin to construct a picture of the man who would change Greek philosophy from an exploration of the natural world to an exploration of the human being and human society. The following two videos will give you some historical background to his life.
Historical background for Socrates and Plato (Video 1)
Historical background for Socrates and Plato (Video 2)
For the rest of this chapter we will explore the life of Socrates, noting his family background, his method of engaging his fellow citizens in dialectical debate, his being brought to trial on dubious charges, his defense of himself at that trial, his sentencing and his death. In all of this, continue to ask yourself “What made this guy so special that all later philosophers would look back on him with deep respect and see him as the most important philosopher of his time, perhaps of all time?”
Works Cited
Bregi. “Greece from the Coming of the Hellenes to AD. 14, Page 201, Socrates.” Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Commons, Sept. 2020, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greece_from_the_Coming_of_the_Hellenes_to_AD._14,_page_201,_Socrates.jpg.
Hendricks, Christina, director. Historical Background for Socrates and Plato (Video 1). YouTube, YouTube, 2 Jan. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oImqqVINeM4. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Hendricks, Christina, director. Background for Socrates and Plato (Video 2). YouTube, YouTube, 2 Jan. 2018, https://youtu.be/ahiuGC2YVOA. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
