Socrates: The Use Of The Socratic Method

Socrates was known to be a philosopher in ancient Greece, specifically Athens, who laid down the foundations of western philosophy. He was born in 469-470 BC and died by execution in 399 BC for his philosophies. His ideologies are extremely appreciated today for many uses. His philosophies are guidelines on how we should live, but Socrates never once wrote his teachings down. The majority of his work was documented by Plato, who was one of Socrates followers. Many considered Plato as one of his students, but Socrates was documented to have not taught for money or opened his own academy of philosophy which suggests that Plato was not an actual student of his. The main source of information about Socrates and his work is not documented by him

This is when Socrates would have a conversation with someone and ask them questions about beliefs that they strongly hold. Depending on the answers they give, Socrates would continue to ask them questions to the point where they themselves would disagree with their original statement. The use of the Socratic method is used to shine a light on what the person is actually saying and whether or not it is indeed a wise statement, by critically reviewing their ideas flaws and logic of said statement. This ideology is seen as a “system, a spirit, a method, a type of philosophical inquiry an intellectual technique, all rolled into one” according to Gregory Vlastos, a Socrates scholar and professor of philosophy at Princeton. In particular the Socratic method is to logically assess an individual's ideas and beliefs on matters such as knowledge, reality, and existence. For example, this is shown in a dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro called Euthyphro written by Plato. The dialogue features Socrates and Euthyphro, a religious expert, who tells Socrates that he is prosecuting his father for unintentionally killing a worker on their farm by exposure. After chaining him outside for days, his father awaited a message from a diviner in Athens on how he should punish the for murdering a domestic worker on the farm during a drunken row. When Socrates commented on how strange it is for Euthyphro to prosecute his own father for an act that would surely have him executed, Euthyphro explained that not prosecuting someone for murder is unpious, which means it is an unholy act. For example in the text, Euthyphro explains “One should only consider whether the killer acted justly or not; if he acted justly, let him alone; if not, prosecute even a killer who shares your hearth and home,”, followed by “Now my father and other relatives are furious that I am prosecuting him for a murder on behalf of a