Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Plato's dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity.
Questions tagged [socrates]
130 questions
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"The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms." - Socrates?
Did Socrates actually say, "The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms"?
The aphorism, "The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms" is often attributed to Socrates, but I could not find any evidence for this attribution on the…
Mark D Worthen PsyD
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What were Socrates views on afterlife?
Did Socrates believed in reincarnation or did he believed in heaven and hell concept?
And if he did, did he justify his beliefs and how?
Dark Knight
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Can the Socratic method be used to teach science or math?
I'm not sure if this is philosophy or pedagogy, because it kind of straddles both!
I've seen this method used for extremely abstract problems in philosophy. But I haven't seen it used for resolving confused beliefs regarding something in…
Fomalhaut
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Socrates question on god
What was Socrates idea of God? What does Socrates say about the idea of the good in the republic? How did he act on this idea? Also, how would you know that his idea of God is correct?
Rachel Mercedes Quintans
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A courageous philosopher?
I have to write a high school essay where the prompt is roughly centered around writing about someone who is courageous. With my interest in philosophy I would like to write my paper on a philosopher, a courageous one. Unfortunately, courageous in…
Sphygmomanometer
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Meno's paradox - Did Socrates contradict himself?
[Source:] Meno then proffers a paradox: "And how will you inquire into a thing when you are wholly ignorant of what it is? Even if you happen to bump right into it, how will you know it is the thing you didn't know?" Socrates rephrases the…
user8572
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Why does Socrates think that you can master something without wisdom or knowing what one is talking about?
Source: p 3, A Little History of Philosophy (2011 ed; but Reprint ed, 2012 extant) by PhD in Philosophy (Cambridge)
[...] ‘How can I be the wisest man in
Athens when I know so little?’ he [Socrates] wondered. He devoted years
to questioning…
user8572
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Since Socrates mentioned that God can never perish, then why he spoke about gods?
Phaedo 106d goes like that:
"But,” he said, “it is not needed, so far as that is concerned; for surely nothing would escape destruction, if the immortal, which is everlasting, is perishable.”
“All, I think,” said Socrates, “would agree that God and…
mil
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What was Socrates' goal in life?
What did he hope to accomplish by asking people questions? What was his view on why to bother living at all?
user42459
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'you cannot refute the truth; for Socrates is easily refuted': How does this rebut disagreeing disputatiously?
Source: How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading (Revised 1972 ed.), p. 145 Bottom - 146 Top.
The second general maxim of critical reading is as obvious as the first, but it needs explicit statement, nevertheless, and for the…
user8572
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Remind you of anybody?
Referring to http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-croatia-slobadan-praljak-20171129-story.html (and many similar stories you can google about this incident). This may be somewhat off-topic, but can't think where else to ask.
Note that the guy was a…
user19423