Socrates: biography, philosophy, quotes. Socrates: biography, philosophy, quotes Who is Socrates

This is the first philosopher - an Athenian (by birth). He is interesting not only for his ideas, but also for his life, since his life was the embodiment of his teachings. However, although Socrates had an enormous influence on philosophy, little is known for certain about him. He himself did not write anything fundamentally, tk. believed that the letters are dead - no matter how much you ask them, they always repeat the same thing. Everyone - both worthy and unworthy - can receive knowledge, and besides, often this knowledge is external, perceived, but not understood, not assimilated, alien and alien. That is why Socrates preferred a lively conversation to a written text, a dispute that allows you to look at the object of the conversation from different points of view. After all, an argument is not only upholding one's position, it is the ability to listen to others, which, of course, enriches the interlocutors, makes it possible for a holistic perception.

We received information about the life and ideas of Socrates from the writings of his students - Xenophon and Plato. Commandographer Aristophanes even made him the hero of his play Clouds. True, none of these testimonies can be fully accepted. Aristophanes, of course, was well aware of the political situation in Athens, and all the city rumors, and the life of his contemporaries, and judicial practice. But his methods - metaphors, grotesque (i.e., depicting something in a fantastically exaggerated, ugly comic form) - are unlikely to allow us to recognize the real Socrates. Aristophanes is one of those who, for the sake of a red word, would not have spared his father, and Socrates was a stranger to him. Therefore, in "The Clouds" he is shown as a sophist, astrologer, "physicist", owner of the "thinking room", where, "hovering in spaces, he thinks about the fate of the luminaries."

Xenophon gives a different image: ordinary, even humiliated, in every possible way emphasizes Socrates' loyalty to the state and the traditional values ​​of Athens, a beneficial effect on youth. Then the question arises - why was the philosopher sentenced to death?

As for Plato, his Socrates is a deep thinker, a subtle interlocutor, a charming person, an ideal philosopher. Plato puts his own ideas into his mouth.

Numerous discrepancies and the lack of direct information have led some modern philosophers to try to prove that Socrates is not a historical person, but a literary character. However, it is not. After all, people who talk about Socrates are very different. Why should their opinion completely coincide and even be duplicated? Indeed, in modern legal practice unanimous evidence regarding the same facts is perceived as sufficient suspicious thing. In addition, it is simply impossible to perceive Socrates with his paradoxes unambiguously. And yet, all those who wrote about the philosopher knew him at different periods of time. Note, by the way, that we are not talking about the very facts of Socrates' life, but about the interpretation, evaluation of these facts. In my opinion, this is enough to come to the conclusion about the reality of Socrates. Certainly, historical Socrates (the one who was written and talked about) was certainly different from the person who was born in 496 BC. in the family of the midwife Finareta and the craftsman stonemason (or sculptor) Sophronix and died in 399 BC after drinking a bowl of hemlock. But his ideas, his actions, his life full of meaning, and, finally, his death are important for us, because it is they who still influence us, cause controversy and make us think.

So who is Socrates? What was he doing? What was remembered by students and contemporaries?

Like his father, he was a stonemason sculptor, but he liked to say that he inherited his mother's craft: she helped to give birth to children, and he helped bring truth into the light. Socrates received the usual elementary education, i.e. studied music, literature (including reading, writing, commenting on classical texts), arithmetic, geometry, sufficient physical education. As hoplite(a heavily armed infantryman; note that a hoplite could become a person with civil rights and means sufficient to provide himself with weapons, namely: a large shield, helmet, armor, leggings, spear and sword) he participated in the First War with Sparta , distinguished by courage and valor. In peacetime, he performed civil duties - he was an assessor in the Council of Five Hundred (pritan bule), and Socrates did not always agree with the Council, for example, he did not support the death penalty for strategists, who in 406 BC. after a series of defeats, they won a victory at the Arginus Islands in a naval battle, but because of the storm they could not bury the dead. Socrates explained his position by the fact that he always strives for the observance of laws and justice, and the majority in some cases does not care about this.

He did not engage in active political activity, led the life of a philosopher, lived unpretentiously, devoted all his time to conversations with students and philosophical disputes. Socrates was a bad family man: he did not care about his wife Xanthippe and his three sons, who were born to him late. Unlike the sophists, he did not take money for education, perhaps that is why his wife was distinguished by absurdity and quarrelsomeness. However, it is not difficult to understand a poor woman, because it was not easy to feed a family on a modest income.

In 399 BC Socrates was accused of the fact that “he does not honor the gods that the city honors, and is guilty of corrupting youth; and the punishment for that is death.” The accusation came from the tragic poet Meletus, the wealthy tanner Anita, and the orator Lycon. Socrates was put on trial.

I must say that the situation in Athens was not easy, the policy was just coming out of one of the most severe crises in its history. “Thirty years of almost continuous wars and revolutions, the invasion of the enemy, the plague, the defeat of the fleet, the collapse of the Athenian state, the blockade, surrender, foreign conquest, dictatorship, ostracism, civil war, which led to a dubious amnesty; Athens emerged from this long ordeal tormented, their energy dried up, and the pride of a great power, which for so long replaced her army, bread and courage, was destroyed. Under these conditions, the people in power came to the conclusion that it was necessary to abandon abstract reasoning, everything “superfluous” and unnecessary, and engage in the restoration of the economy - plant vineyards, olive orchards, revive trade and industry, equip new ships. It is clear that reasoning began to be considered a luxury, first - the production of material goods! (Recall that at the other end of the earth, in China, the Legalists said almost the same thing). And under these conditions, Socrates dares to criticize generally accepted views and (unheard of!) calls on his fellow citizens not to care about anything but their souls. He says: “After all, all I do is go and convince each of you, young and old, to take care earlier and more strongly not about your bodies or about money, but about your soul, so that it is as good as possible, saying to you: not from Valor is born of money, and from valor people have money and all other benefits, both in private life and in public.

In a word, his accusers, perhaps honest, but narrow-minded patriots, blamed the philosopher for the disasters of their homeland, especially since the two disciples of Socrates were the "evil geniuses" of Athens. One of them, Alcibiades, the defiler of the statues of Hermes, who parodied mysteries at home, involved the city with his tempting promises in the disastrous Sicilian company, and then defected to the enemy and used all his abilities and knowledge to destroy his homeland together with Sparta and Persia.

We note, by the way, that although he studied with Socrates, he was distinguished by arrogance and lust for power. He grew up in the house of his uncle Pericles. In 422 BC stood at the head of the radical democrats who pursued a policy of isolating Sparta. In 416, he subjugated the hitherto neutral city of Melos to Athens, in 415 BC. as a commander and statesman, he insisted on a campaign in Sicily and became his inspirer and leader. Fleeing from the accusation in court about the overturned herms - symbols of Hermes, made from a rounded trunk of a columnar rod with a roughly or carefully processed head, with a beard, with emphasized sexual organs in a state of excitement - fled to Sparta. There he gave a number of valuable tips and recommendations that played a decisive role in the victory over Athens, namely: to help Syracuse and occupy Dekeleia in order to constantly threaten Athens. For this, in his homeland, Alcibiades was sentenced in absentia to death as a traitor. In 412, he was an intermediary in the alliance between the Spartans and the Persian satrap Tissaphernes, and also contributed to the withdrawal of many cities of Asia Minor from the Athenian Union. True, the ungrateful oligarchs who came to power with his assistance did not recognize the "benefactor". After the oligarchic coup in Athens in 411 BC. the fleet, which remained loyal to the democratic party, chose Alcibiades as leader. After victories at Cyzicus in 410 and the capture of the city of Byzantium, Alcibiades was greeted with enthusiasm in Athens in 408-407. and recognized as hegemon. True, after the defeat at Natia, he was removed from power, and he voluntarily went to his Thracian estate. Well, what to do, the costs of the profession of a politician! In 404, already fleeing from the Spartans, he fled to the Asia Minor satrap Pharnabazus, who executed him on the advice of Lysander. . The question is, what does Socrates have to do with it?!

The second pupil of Socrates, the atheist Critias, was perceived by fellow citizens as the author of tragedies in which he argued that the gods were just a useful deception. He “was the leader of a bloodthirsty gang of dictators” that came to power with the help of foreigners and whose guards exiled or put to death thousands of well-meaning citizens (by the way, this is the same Critias, Plato’s uncle, who headed the government of thirty tyrants in Athens). I remind you that Socrates was not ambitious, did not strive for power and could not encourage others to do so. Moreover, he criticized Not Athenian democracy, but its perversions. However, the names of these people were used by politicians to justify the guilt of the philosopher.

The initiated case was subject to trial in one of the chambers of the court heliastats, which consisted of 501 judges. She sat in the square, behind her fence crowded listeners, thirsting not so much for justice as for circuses. It is clear that such a court simply could not be impartial. Little is known about the speeches of the accusers themselves: the young poet Melet did not impress the public, his speech was frankly weak, he was even ridiculed (at least, so the friends of Socrates said so). On the contrary, the politician Anit and Likon, who supported him, seemed brilliant. (A. Bonnard, by the way, ironically notes that Socrates, who listened to them, even began to doubt whether he was himself). It's funny, but the people did not notice that, while proving Socrates' atheism (on the basis of criticism of myths), his opponents simultaneously claimed that he honors his demon - the voice of a deity that prompted him to philosophize.

The seduction of the youth meant, in fact, only the education of the youth of the ability to think (supposedly this causes the fragile minds to disrespect the authority of the fathers, generally accepted opinions, orders and traditions of the policy, and also undermines the family and distracts from public affairs).

Socrates rejected the speech offered to him and written by a professional logographer, declaring with a smile that it was too good for him. The philosopher defended himself. Talking to the judges, he explains that he wants to save the Athenians from injustice. Socrates refuses to ask for indulgence and mercy. A. Bonnard puts into the mouth of Socrates the following words: “I am the one whom God gave you so that you become better<…>. If you execute me, you will not receive such a favor again.<…>. Don't mind, Athenians<…>. There is something divine in a person who sacrifices his wealth and life for the good of others<…>. I love you Athenians<…>. But I would rather obey God than you.

The judges vote and declare the philosopher guilty by two hundred and eighty-one votes to two hundred and twenty. Now it was time to determine the punishment. According to the law, the convicted person could offer himself a milder punishment than that required by the prosecution. The ironic Socrates offered to award himself to free life meals in Pritanee(community house, the place where the state seal, the key to the treasury and the archive were kept and the sacred fire was maintained in the hearth; lunch here is considered a very high honor) in the company of Olympic champions or a fine of one mine (100 drachmas of silver were usually minted from it, I remind you that a medimn of grain cost 1 drachma, an ox cost five drachmas, and the subsistence level of a family was 1/3 drachma per day. The amount is significant, but not excessive). The judges, outraged by what was happening, condemned Socrates with even more votes. And he said in his third speech that he was already too old to be afraid of death, because it is only a transition to non-existence or life in Hades, where you can meet Homer or other prominent people. In addition, he will remain in the memory of posterity, and his accusers are unlikely (by the way, according to Plutarch, they either hanged themselves, or were sentenced to exile, or were executed by the mourning Athenians later).

Socrates was not executed immediately. The fact is that Athens annually sent a sacred ship to Delos, with an embassy to participate in the celebration of the birthday of Apollo. The law forbade the city to be defiled by murder while prayers were going on. It was necessary to wait for the return of the pilgrims, if the winds were opposite to the movement, the journey was long. Socrates waited thirty days. All this time, students came to him and he had ordinary conversations with them. However, people close to Socrates could not accept the verdict, they secretly prepared an escape from the teacher. I must say that the authorities, apparently, knew about these plans, but they did not put up any obstacles. Socrates refused to do what was expected of him. He said that laws, even bad ones, must be obeyed. An unjustly convicted person should not, by disobedience, set an example for unrest, he cannot respond with evil to the good deeds that the city gave him, for evil is always evil. To forget this is to act dishonorably. Then all life, all reasoning about duty and justice will be meaningless. Socrates did not want to change his principles.

The philosopher spent the last day of his life as usual. He said goodbye to his family, relatives and friends. He ordered the disciples to sacrifice a rooster to the god of healing Asclepius. This is usually done in case of recovery. Socrates then drank the cup of hemlock and died. But what, besides courage and wisdom, did Socrates attract people to him? What is the essence of his teaching? Why do philosophers still worry about his ideas and disputes about him do not subside?

All his life he fought against "false knowledge" and strove for the truth. For Socrates, the main thing is to understand why a person was born. What does he live for? What is its nature? Socrates is not attracted by knowledge about the Universe, about the essence of things. For him, the inner world of a person is important. Moreover, the philosopher believes that only masters of their craft can help him in this knowledge. A. Bonnard notes that “artisans are the first teachers of Socrates. They cannot lightly treat either the material they put into action, or the goal that they have set for themselves. After all, it is necessary that the things made by their hands correspond to their purpose. For this, it is necessary that the craftsman knows his craft and that his hands master it. Socrates admires the strictness of the rules that allow things to be created. He is delighted with the accuracy of the movements of the worker and the conciseness of his language. That is why in the dialogues conducted by Socrates, his interlocutors are ordinary people, and not at all wise men recognized by all. Moreover, according to one of the admirers of the philosopher, the Delphic oracle said that Socrates is the wisest person. This surprised the thinker himself, but after talking with those whom he himself revered, Socrates came to the conclusion that he at least knew about his ignorance, while others did not. Hence the famous phrase of the philosopher: “I know that I know nothing. Others don't even know that." Indeed, the smarter a person is, the more problems and difficulties he sees in front of him. Ignorant people, on the other hand, firmly believe in their own exclusivity and in the crumbs of knowledge that they have acquired, not noticing contradictions and inconsistencies in them. Only a developed intellect, in contact with the unknown, understands that far from everything can be absolutely clear and undoubted. In a word, as the Ecclesiastes said, “in much wisdom there is much sorrow; and whoever increases knowledge, increases sorrow.”

Socrates himself often became so immersed in himself that he ceased to perceive the outside world. They say that during the siege of Potidea, he did not leave the place for a day. Often he talked with the "daimon" - an inner voice, with the help of which God persuaded Socrates to philosophize and to realize his own vocation. And the vocation of the thinker, as he believed, was to make fellow citizens think. And not about material goods, but about your own soul. In fact, Socrates called for work on oneself, for self-improvement. This is the work that should never stop, which is why Socrates says in court: “As long as I breathe and remain strong, I will not stop philosophizing.”

The subject of Socrates' reflections is man, his moral world. The philosopher himself studied all his life. He said: "Locations and trees do not want to teach me anything, not like people in the city." Self-knowledge (recall that the famous motto “know thyself” is inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi, namely this god Socrates called his patron) meant for the philosopher not only and not so much recognition of oneself as a person, but knowledge of man in general.

Socrates' main theme was ethical, moral Problems. To do this, he used his famous irony (subtle mockery). Moreover, the philosopher did not laugh at people, above oneself in the first place (and this is not easy). Let us recall at least the statement of Socrates that his snub nose is the most beautiful. Others - direct and perfect, corresponding to the canons of beauty - catch the smells rising from the earth. And his nose is open to all winds, he is more useful, and therefore the best. By the way, Socrates really did not shine with beauty, he was not only a snub nose, but had a fat belly, big lips, bulging eyes. He was compared with Satyr or Selena, but, having entered into a conversation with a philosopher, they completely forgot about his appearance, struck by nobility, generosity, gentleness, and indifference to earthly success. It is known that before meeting him, his disciple Plato saw a beautiful white swan in a dream, and when he was introduced to Socrates, he joyfully exclaimed: “Here it is, my swan!” And this despite the fact that the philosopher constantly wore old, shabby clothes, and went everywhere barefoot. And Socrates' indifference to heat, cold, hunger and thirst was surprising. In Plato's Feast, Alcibiades, describing Socrates in military service, says the following: “Socrates surpassed not only me, but also all others in his ability to work. It often happened, which usually happens on campaigns, to be cut off from the supply of food and therefore starve, and then in endurance everyone was nothing compared to him<…>. In endurance from the cold - and the winters there are cruel - he showed miracles. Especially once, when there was a severe cold and everyone either didn’t leave the tents at all, or, if anyone did, it’s amazing how tightly he wrapped himself up, tied up under his feet and wrapped them in felt and sheepskins, Socrates went out in that cloak, which he used to wear earlier, and on his bare foot walked on the ice more easily than all the others shod. The soldiers began to look askance at him, thinking that he was mocking them. In a certain respect, Socrates anticipates the Stoics and Cynics, who despised earthly goods and the conveniences of civilization.

But let us return to the ideas and methods of the philosopher. Often Socrates asked the simplest questions, but expanding them, he moved from the particular to the general, i.e. used induction(derivation from isolated cases of general patterns). For example, in the dialogue "Laches" he asks two commanders what courage is. One of the commanders of the Laches replies that this is the determination to keep the place in the ranks and not run away. Socrates also says that the Scythians and Spartans show courage, although they turn into a feigned retreat in order to destroy the enemy’s system, and then win. Then he asks what is courage against disease, poverty, danger. That is, he is concerned about the concept as such, universal and diverse. Moreover, the category is considered dialectically, its understanding is changing, all new semantic shades are distinguished.

Socrates was convinced of the existence of objective truth and objective moral standards. He believed that the difference between good and evil absolutely, not relatively. Happiness, according to the philosopher, is not a benefit, but a virtue. However, one can truly do good only if one knows what it consists of. Evil is the result of ignorance of the good. Of course, one can object to Socrates, as Aristotle did: to have knowledge of good and evil does not mean to be able to use them. People often know they are doing something wrong, but they do it. Socrates, however, had in mind not abstract knowledge, but, rather, passed through himself, experienced. The knowledge of the good is different from the knowledge of empirical things. Goodness, like conscience, is present in its entirety; they either exist or they do not exist. Something that once existed always exists (as an idea, as a meaning, as an understanding, as a memory). If a person fully knows humiliation, he will not humiliate others, if he knows injustice, he will not multiply it. Knowing the good, he will remember about it and get used to doing the right thing (the positions of the church regarding sin and repentance are close to this position. Repentance does not mean buying and placing the largest candle in front of the icons, and then sinning again and repenting again, which means - understand and never more so not to do). We can argue that courage, according to Socrates, is the knowledge of how to overcome fear, and overcoming itself, justice is the knowledge of how to fulfill the laws (divine and human) and following these laws, moderation is not only the knowledge of how to curb passions, but also curbing itself. That is knowledge Socrates includes action And will.

The influence of Socrates on philosophy was so great that all previous thinkers, compared with him, were called pre-Socratics. He was a key figure not only in ancient philosophy, but also in subsequent moral and ethical thought.

At the end of the 5th century BC. in ancient Greece, there was a serious crisis of the political system, as well as cultural life, which was accompanied by the active spread of the ideas of the sophists, who did not recognize the existence of a single truth and believed that it was their own for everyone. These teachings undermined social values ​​quite strongly. In such conditions, according to Socrates, it was important to find salvation, but not in hiding traditions from criticism, but in the knowledge and comprehension of the inner world of man.

Socrates did not leave behind written works, but his oral statements and thoughts have come down to our days through the works of his students, primarily Plato and Xenophon. At the same time, it cannot be assumed that we can absolutely judge the philosophy of this ancient Greek sage, since his judgments and theories are conveyed in different ways. Often in the literature there are discussions about who exactly conveyed the teachings of Socrates in a purer and unchanged form. It must be understood that Socrates discussed completely different things with the commander Xenophon and with the philosopher Plato. In addition, there is the ancient Greek comedy "Clouds", in which the philosopher appears as a sophist and a man who does not recognize the gods, however, it is now impossible to find exact evidence of its truth.

Brief biographical note

The future philosopher was born in the family of a sculptor and a midwife on the so-called unclean day, therefore, theoretically, he could be sacrificed if such a decision was made by a meeting of people. In his youth, he studied the arts with the sophist Damon, listened to the lectures and reasoning of Anaxagoras, and was a literate person, able to read and write.

Socrates is known not only as a sage, but also as a brave commander who distinguished himself in important battles, including the famous Peloponnesian War, as a militia. He led a poor and modest life. People called him a tireless debater who refused to accept expensive gifts and preferred old clothes. Judging by the notes and memoirs of his conversations that have survived to this day, it can be noted that Socrates was so educated and wise that he could discuss on completely different topics: from crafts and arts to military affairs and justice.

Many people know how the life of the famous philosopher ended. He himself took the poison, as he was sentenced to death for disrespecting the local gods, introducing new idols, and corrupting the minds of young people.

General characteristics of the doctrine

Socrates believed that the strengthening of society occurs through a deep knowledge of the human essence in general and human actions in particular. For him, the theoretical and the practical are inseparable. Because of this, it is impossible to designate as a philosopher one who has wisdom, but is devoid of virtue in terms of behavioral characteristics and lifestyle.

Thus, true “love of wisdom” is realized in the desire to combine knowledge and virtue. Therefore, philosophy is not limited only to theoretical teachings, but also to practical activities. Wise men should cultivate good deeds, right living, and encourage others to do the same.

It should be noted that Socrates refused to study the phenomena of nature and the cosmos, because he believed that people could not influence them in any way, and, therefore, it was not worth wasting time on such things. At the same time, the philosopher recognized the importance of mathematical discoveries, the achievements of astronomy, medicine, geometry and other sciences, advising only not to get too carried away in these areas, paying attention to the humanitarian spheres.

If we talk about his ideas about the state and society, then Socrates spoke out for the rule of noble people without involving philosophers and sages in such matters. However, since he actively defended the truth, he was forced to take part in the public life of Athens. After the establishment of dictatorship and tyranny, Socrates condemned them with all his might, and also ignored political events.

Socratic Method

The most significant contribution of Socrates to the philosophical thought of that time was the dialectical method of research. He did not teach others any coherent system of knowledge, but he helped to find the truth by probing it with leading questions. Initially, in the discussion, Socrates pretended to be ignorant. After that, the philosopher began to ask skillfully formulated questions, forcing people to think and reason. When they came to absurd or ridiculous conclusions, Socrates demonstrated exactly how to resolve the situation and answer correctly.

This method is extremely important and interesting, because it encourages a person to use his mind, arouses interest in the problem, and also helps to develop intellectually. It is interesting to note that Socrates considered the activities he carried out to be similar to the work of his mother (she was a midwife): after all, he contributed to the birth of people not of children, but of thoughts.

On what other foundations were Socrates' dialogues built?

• irony - it is found in all his conversations, the philosopher seems to be subtly mocking his opponent. For this reason, the "Dialogues" transmitted by Plato are full of funny scenes and hilarious situations. However, Socrates laughs for a reason, but at people who are too confident in their knowledge, and also extremely arrogant. The irony of the philosopher is also directed at those who are blindly faithful to traditions, not recognizing anything new;
• hypotheses - Socrates in his discussions periodically builds any assumptions, trying to prove or disprove them, and not just for the sake of creating a dispute and conducting controversy, as the sophists used to do;
• definition is extremely important, because before talking about something, you need to clearly define all the terms and concepts used, especially if they are ambiguous. Without this, it is absolutely impossible to reach a consensus.

Doctrine of good and evil

The right and true choice occurs only in the process of knowing good and evil, as well as finding one's place in the world. The main value and importance of good and bad lies in their direct impact on the human personality. It is the awareness of virtue that is able to control people: one who has realized the good and the bad will continue to act as knowledge tells him.

So, we can conclude that Socrates considers a person to be initially non-evil, and also not committing evil deeds voluntarily. In addition, the philosopher argued the identity of good and good, which are essentially one and the same term. Later, some schools interpreted such statements in the spirit of utilitarianism and even hedonism, however, in fact, Socrates did not reduce everything to material gain. He only meant the "true", as it were, sublime benefit of such feelings.

ethical doctrine

Happiness, according to the ancient Greek philosopher, consists in a prudent and virtuous existence. Thus, only those who have a high level of morality can achieve it. Ethics, as Socrates says, should help people become moral, and therefore happy.

The main virtues, according to Socrates, were:

• courage, or knowing how to get out of a dangerous situation with intelligence and fearlessness;
• justice - understanding how laws work, how they are applied and observed by people. At the same time, they are divided into written (the basis of state power) and unwritten (given by God to all mankind in all countries);
• temperance (or moderation in everything) - this means that a person must be able to cope with his passions, as well as subordinate all his aspirations to reason.

He considered ignorance to be the source of immorality. Thus, the concepts of truth and goodness in the philosophy of Socrates are identical and inseparable.

So, the main and most important contribution of Socrates to philosophy was the introduction of a special dialectical method of research. According to this approach, a person thought and received new knowledge only when he tried to find an answer to a question posed both by others and by himself. During the dialogue, various points of view, arguments are considered, and in a dispute, as you know, the truth appears.

Socrates urged not to get too carried away with the natural sciences, concentrating on the humanities, since it is they who help us to know ourselves, our activities in general, and also make people really noble. The subject of philosophy is also aimed at the study of man, his way of thinking and life. Therefore, the motto of Socrates became the well-known phrase: "Know thyself."

- an Athenian, born in a simple family, became the most famous ancient Greek thinker of his time. What was the philosophy of Socrates, biography and statements in the material of the article.

Biography of Socrates

Socrates was born into an ordinary family in the 5th century BC. His father worked as a sculptor, and his mother worked as a midwife. The future philosopher studied independently. From his father he took over the skill of a sculptor. He gathered young people who were eager to gain new knowledge. He conducted conversations on walks, squares, influencing the environment. Speaking as a teacher, he did not take money for conversations, considering it unacceptable to trade in wisdom. His biography was conducted by listeners, students and friends, since he himself did not write anything down. Philosophy is set forth in the writings of Xenaphon and Plato. But Plato inserted his own reasoning into the notes, presenting them as discussions between Socrates and the participants in the conversation.

The personality of Socrates is attractive to contemporaries. They formed other philosophical schools. Each continued his teaching. He was seen as the founder of a new philosophy. He was a teacher, a model of a clear mind and inner peace. His outward mediocrity refuted the ingrained notions of the Greeks that a beautiful soul is found only in a beautiful body. The sage's nose was flattened, his nostrils wide and upturned.

He talked with people from different social classes, and for everyone he tried to put the question in such a way that the interlocutor could correctly understand the meaning of what was said. Questions forced the interlocutor to think. Conversations with those who wished led him to the dungeon. He was charged with anti-state activities and serving the demon. The demon was the inner voice that prompted the philosopher to reason and think. He refused to escape from prison, despite an escape plan organized by his students and associates. In the spring of 399 BC. the philosopher drank from the goblet, which contained a poison that paralyzed the breath. Until the last day, he was calm and continued philosophical conversations and reasoning with himself.

The Significance of Socrates' Philosophy

Socrates is remembered by history as a reformer of theoretical and practical philosophy. Aristotle noted that it was Socrates who founded scientific methodology in the form of inductive reasoning and definition.

Socratic Method

The main idea of ​​the Socratic method is the search for truth through conversation or argument. From it came the idealistic dialectic. Dialectics is the art of finding the truth through the disclosure of contradictions in the interlocutor's reasoning and overcoming them. The method is based on two parts:

1. irony.
2. Mayeutics.

The Socratic method is based on systematic questions asked of the interlocutor, the purpose of which was to lead him to an understanding of his own ignorance. It's irony. But the ironic presentation of contradictions is not the essence of the method. The main thing in it is to find the truth through the disclosure of contradictions. Maieutics continues and complements the Socratic method.

The thinker himself said that his method, like a midwife, helps to give birth to truth. Thought is divided into links. From each, a question is formed, to which there is a short, or pre-clear answer. Simply put, this is a dialogue with the interception of the initiative.

We list the advantages of the Socratic method:

1. The attention of the interlocutor is concentrated and not scattered.
2. The illogicality in the chain of reasoning is quickly noticed.
3. The participants in the dispute find the truth.
4. In the chain of reasoning, other questions are resolved that are not related to the original topic.

Socrates' doctrine of goodness

Consider how Socrates understood goodness. Improving the conditions of education is the sacred duty of people. The most important thing is education, both personal and other people. The highest human wisdom is in the ability to distinguish good from evil. Every person should be guided by justice in actions. The doctor will not give useful advice to someone who monitors health. Knowledge is the only good, and ignorance is the only evil. One who follows his pleasures will not be able to keep his body and soul clean. Whoever wants to move the world must first move himself.

Women's love is worse than men's hatred. It is a poison dangerous with sweetness. Wisdom rules the world and heaven. Drunkenness reveals vice, but happiness does not change character. The ability to enjoy the little is a sign of a rich nature. Evil arises when a person does not know good.

About truth

Others' opinion doesn't matter. It is not the decision of the majority that wins, but the decision of a single person.

Socrates' doctrine of God

Theology was the completion of the philosophy of the sage. He claims that people are not capable of understanding the truth, only God knows everything. The Athenian philosopher did not feel fear of death, because he did not know whether it was good, evil, or the highest good, and said that a person in the face of death can prophesy. The sign does not leave him on the way to court and leaving the courtroom, everything happens as it should. Otherwise, he would have been stopped by a sign. The gods protect a good person during life and after death, taking care of his affairs. Socrates said about God: "I know he is and I know what he is." Matter in his definition is the expression of divine thoughts. He rejected the study of nature, considering it interference in the affairs of the gods.

People combine in themselves two opposites - soul and body, of which they are composed. The soul strives to know knowledge and virtue, the body strives for comfort and base desires. The difference of goals suggests a conflict between the soul and the body. It is necessary to take care of the soul, and ignore the bodily needs. The ideal is higher than the good, even under the threat of life and health.

The moral character of the mind puts it above the body. Reason has a supra-personal universal part. This part is the Universal Mind, or God.

The philosopher put the one God above the recognized Greek ones. The divine manifests itself in the soul of man, and the truth is hidden within him. God is not a person, but a world order endowed with reason. The wisdom of a man is worth nothing.

Ethics

What is the ethics of Socrates? The ethical meaning in his philosophy is virtue, knowledge of the good and actions in accordance with this knowledge. A brave man knows the right action and does it. A just person is one who knows how to act in public affairs and does so. A pious person knows the religious rites and observes them. Socrates spoke of the inseparability of virtue and knowledge. Acting immorally, people are mistaken and suffer from a misunderstanding of good and evil.

Virtue is achieved only by noble people. Among the virtues, the philosopher singled out:

1. Restraint is the ability to control passion.
2. Courage is the ability to overcome danger.
3. Justice is the observance of the law of people and God.

Virtues philosopher considered unchanging and eternal.

Consider the philosophical ethics of Socrates:

Cognition of the cosmos is impossible, man will not find a way out of contradictions. He is able to know what belongs to him - his own soul. Hence the demand of the philosopher "Know thyself." The purpose of knowledge is to guide a person in life. The value of knowledge of phenomena in the ability to live intelligently.

Socrates quotes

His statements combine wisdom and simplicity. Here are the words of an ancient philosopher:

1. "Marriage is a necessary evil."
2. “Get married. A good wife will make you an exception, with a bad wife you will become a philosopher.”
3. "Working without a goal is better than doing nothing."
4. "Force does not preserve friendship." Friends are caught and tamed through love and kindness.”
5. "Eat to live, don't live to eat."

Socrates' philosophy is an attempt to know oneself and other people of one's era. The theme of the human personality for the first time became central for the entire period of the development of philosophy as a science, which began to be called "Pre-Socratic".

Man becomes the only form. The last period of philosophy was focused on the search for being outside of man. This was a radical revolution in the development of the problems of worldview. Socrates was the first to formulate questions of the relationship between subject and object, spirit and nature, thinking and being. Philosophy considers not the division of concepts among themselves, but their relationship with each other.

Socrates spoke about the objective nature of knowledge, gave importance to man from the point of view of a being with morality. He believed in the kinship of the spiritual and the divine, thought about the immortality of the soul. God is the source of virtue and justice, a moral, and not a natural force, as was previously believed.

He was engaged in the strengthening and improvement of ethical idealism, but was not limited to this. The purpose of the philosophical search of Socrates is to understand virtue and follow it.

Socrates said that the relationship between the state and man is comparable to the relationship between parents and children. Children are obliged to obey their parents, and a person is obliged to express submission to the state. Based on this principle, the philosopher did not avoid the death sentence and did not escape from prison. Following truth and justice cost him his life, and death showed that the sage went to the end in his reasoning and lived in accordance with them.

Socrates is an ancient Greek thinker, a philosopher with innovative views. He changed the vector of studying nature, paying attention primarily to man. Natural phenomena and everything that surrounds people does not matter as long as a person does not know himself. The philosophy of Socrates explores the nature of man, and its object is the personality.

Socrates: biography of the philosopher

The first thinker who looked for answers in his own head was born in Athens, around 470 BC. Since then, a lot of water has flowed. No wonder some people don't know who Socrates is. Our informative article will briefly tell about the fate of the philosopher.

The future genius was born in the family of the mason Sophronix and the midwife Fenareta. Socrates grew up in the family not alone, but with his older brother, Patroclus. Parents made sure that the children received a decent education by those standards. So, the future philosopher knew the alphabet and knew how to write, read the modern philosophical works of Anaxagoras and went to lectures.

Socrates showed interest in the culture of the body and military affairs. He kept fit, received combat skills and learned to use weapons. The head of the family considered that a military career for the youngest son would be a prestigious occupation. So the thinker ended up in the ranks of the foot soldiers (hoplites), where he repeatedly showed courage and courage.

Service in the army did not discourage the desire to study. Socrates was equally proficient with both the spear and the word, which was quickly learned in Athens. In the intervals between service and wars, the philosopher often returned home to the city. The youth of that time loved to listen to his reflections on the personality of a person. However, not everyone liked the new philosophy.

The Sophists and Socrates were cruelly ridiculed in Aristophanes' play Clouds. In it, the thinker himself is depicted as a rogue and idle talker. His worn clothes and dirty, bare heels did not fit in with the teachings that the philosopher propagated. As a result, we got a bright character of a shoemaker without boots, moreover, demanding a lot of money for his “imaginary” knowledge.

Socrates, whose years of life were spent in Athens, was disappointed by the performance. Being at one of the productions of "Clouds", the philosopher went up on stage and addressed the audience, offering to compare the image with himself. The thinker was a master of the art of rhetoric and could always surprise his listeners. It remained only to have time to write down his smart thoughts.

Socrates was married twice and raised sons after his second marriage. He was surrounded by outstanding people who played a big role in history. Socrates sowed a seed of doubt in their heads: is this really the case, as politicians present it to them? Own opinion in ancient Greece since childhood was not honored.

Reflections in the form of answers to one's own questions seem to be an idle exercise, this way of knowing was called "Socratic paradoxes." We know well how Socrates died. He died through the fault of his life principles - not to have any principles. Even when he could save himself at trial by paying a fine, the philosopher accepted the execution as inevitable.

The biography of Socrates has come down to us in the form of records of his famous students - Plato and Xenophon. However, even in their views there is a significant difference:

• Xenophon assures that Socrates was a supporter of harsh measures. Violence should beget more violence and nothing else.
• Plato assures that the philosopher strove for world peace. Evil should not become a disease and infect everyone it gets.

In this regard, the school of Socrates was divided into two currents - aggressive and pacifist. It is easy to explain such an abyss in the views of one person, knowing his biography. Judge for yourself:

• With the commander Xenophon, Socrates fought on the battlefield, shed blood and saw the horrors of war. Of course, in such circumstances it is stupid and dangerous to talk about humanism.
• The philosopher had conversations with Plato in peaceful Athens over a glass of red wine. Socrates could afford to be restrained and generous. He remembered him as kind and considerate.

The writings of Socrates have been preserved mainly through the notes of his students. He himself took little writing materials and preferred oral speech. The idea of ​​his teaching was to know oneself and search for answers not in the surrounding world, but in the mind. He had no time to deal with appearance and wardrobe: he walked in rags on his naked body, without shoes and jewelry.

The overall picture of an untidy, powerful bum with bright thoughts and delivered speech was very surprising. Socrates considered the main evil not poverty, but ignorance. The philosopher did not hammer hackneyed facts into the heads of listeners, but wanted to teach them to think independently. In deep thought, he could stand in one place for a whole day and not budge.

The trial of Socrates was held precisely because of his free-thinking. The established principles of the society of Ancient Greece were threatened by the new teachings of the philosopher. If the rulers lost control over the people, then the fate of the state would be in jeopardy. The bold statements of the philosopher about the ancient gods gave rise to a lawsuit.

Socrates was accused of "corrupting youth (youth) and blasphemy". In those days, family customs said that young men should obey their fathers in everything. When the philosopher gave his lectures to everyone, young people eagerly listened to his reasoning. To some extent, Socrates was a nihilist of those years and violated the laws of Athens.

During the trial, Socrates defended his rights himself without a lawyer. There are two works describing the trial of a philosopher:

1. "Protection of Socrates in court" (author - Xenophon).
2. "Apology of Socrates" (author - Plato).

They describe in detail the court and the behavior of the thinker on it. The works also describe the defensive speech of the defendant. Socrates was sentenced to death by taking poison. Thus died the great thinker of antiquity.

Socrates: quotes about the meaning of life

Statements about the life of the philosopher were carefully recorded by his students and have survived to this day. Even after many years they do not seem outdated.

Socrates raised questions that will trouble people forever. There is no person who has never thought about the meaning of life. Science still does not know how to correctly answer this question. If you answer from the point of view of biology, then we are born to continue our race. However, unlike animals, we are given a developed brain to understand our existence.

Life came from outer space, where it will eventually be transferred. Socrates believed that earthly life was not the only one, but, in contrast to the accepted version of the gods, pointed to the existence of a Higher Power. He was not afraid to die, and indeed believed that death is a liberation from earthly shackles. He accepted the execution with a smile on his face and calmly waited for the end.

Socrates, whose quotes can be found in huge numbers on the Internet, never wrote them down himself. He had no time to take notes during the flow of thoughts. He is credited with outstanding ability to think logically. He could question everything, always looking for the second bottom and what hides from a superficial glance.

We list the most famous statements of the philosopher:

All I know is that I don't know anything, but others don't know that either.

Only good is knowledge, and only evil is ignorance.

Only stupid people look for meaning in everything.

The highest wisdom is to distinguish between good and evil.

People demand freedom of speech in exchange for freedom of thought, which they don't have.

Life without trials is not life.

Who wants, he is looking for opportunities, who does not want - looking for excuses.

I eat to live, others live to eat.

Wisdom is the realization of how little we know.

Drunkenness does not give rise to vices, it reveals them.

It is surprising that the philosopher was accused of a bad influence on young people. Judge for yourself how Socrates put it on the question of fathers and children:

Our young people love luxury, are badly brought up and do not respect the elderly. Today's children have become tyrants! Simply put, they are very bad.

Socrates lived a long life and left behind a significant mark in history. His philosophical ideas still inspire young people to new discoveries. Try to delve into yourself and find your meaning in life.

It is to him that the phrase "I know that I know nothing" is attributed, which in itself is a philosophical treatise in a condensed form. After all, it turns out that already in antiquity the idea of ​​the multidimensionality of the world and the limitations of any knowledge, which is relevant to this day, matured. Socrates was destined to give his life for his views, which he did not renounce until his last breath - like many wise men, he was far ahead of his time.

No works of Socrates have come down to us, and this is explained by his principled position - it is in oral form that truth is born, and written speech contributes to the creation of patterns of thinking and violates the principle of fluidity and immediacy of thought. That is why the figure of the ancient sage is overgrown with legends, and all that we know about the philosopher is the perception from enemies and students or just contemporaries. Plato, his student and follower, a prominent representative of idealistic philosophy, wrote a lot about Socrates. After the famous trial of Socrates, numerous "Apologies" were created, among which the works authored not only by Plato, but also by Xenophon are especially significant. Socrates is mentioned by Aristotle in his Metaphysics. Apparently, the philosopher managed to have a huge impact on his contemporaries: the desire to talk about the higher issues of being with absolutely any person, the attitude to dialogue, openness of thinking, admiration for knowledge and at the same time a feeling of the impossibility of achieving it, the unpretentiousness of external life and even his bright appearance made him a landmark figure. By 423 B.C. e. Socrates becomes so famous that his image is recreated in the comedies of Aristophanes and Ameipsius. But true admirers went to him for wisdom and for learning to think, his dialogues fascinated and eliminated social differences for a while. And Socrates willingly entered into conversations anywhere: in the squares, in the gardens, on the streets - anywhere.

The main facts of the biography of Socrates

The years of Socrates' life are tentatively determined by the period from 469 to 399 BC. He was born in Athens, in ancient Greece, in a family, apparently, of a wealthy citizen Sophronix, who was engaged either in sculpture or in the craft of a stonemason. Socrates' mother was Phenarete.

In the enlightened era of Pericles, Socrates communicated with many intellectuals - the musician Damon, the scientist Archelaus, the sophist Protagoras, and the philosopher Anaxagoras. He was friends with the politicians Theramenes, Charmides, Critias and Alcibiades, which later did him a disservice by compromising him in court. Zeno of Elea taught Socrates dialectics, Prodicus taught sophistry, Socrates also took part in disputes with Gorgias, Thrasymachus and Antiphon. Socrates participated in the Peloponnesian War, but military affairs turned out to be completely alien to him.

Already in adulthood, Socrates married Xanthippe, who was perhaps no less famous for her quarrelsomeness. From this marriage (probably Socrates' second) three children were born.

Features of the worldview of Socrates

This is not about some well-established philosophical system, but about the totality of ideas that became the basis for the perception of the world and the way of life of Socrates.

• Socrates believed that truth can be born only in dialogue. He very wisely believed that he knew nothing about the world, and in order to find out, he entered into a dialogue with a variety of people. Socrates called this way of obtaining knowledge “maieutics”, comparing knowledge with obstetrics and believing that genuine knowledge is born in dialogue. The main methods of conducting the dialogue of Socrates are paradoxicality, skillful reduction to contradiction, irony. Any complete and clearly articulated thought seemed incomplete, very limited, if not absurd knowledge, and the fact that this thought, as a rule, was expressed by Socrates' interlocutor, added sharpness to the dialogues and came down to a feeling of the imperfection of human knowledge in comparison with universal wisdom and multidimensionality. It is this ability not to take a single dogma on faith, the desire to rid one's thinking of patterns and stereotypes that make Socrates surprisingly modern even now.
• Goodness and knowledge are the unshakable values ​​of the Socratic world. The philosopher believed, for example, that it is impossible to be pious without realizing what it means. The root of all evil is ignorance, an error of reasoning, and if it is clarified, then the soul will again come into harmony and love for the world will triumph. According to Socrates, virtue is a state of mind.
• The principle of knowledge "from small to large". Socrates was one of the first to turn to the world of abstractions (which Aristophanes ridiculed in the comedy "Clouds"), and the basis for thinking about the categories of good and evil, about knowledge, was just examples from the surrounding reality.
• Rejection of previous natural-philosophical teachings that tried to explain the origin of the world. Arguing with the sophists. Socrates believed that it was the moral and ethical issues that should come to the fore in philosophical systems, because it is this aspect that affects everyday life, and therefore is the most important. Socrates sought to reveal a clear ethical understanding in each specific case and in each specific person, considering this the key to a harmonious life. "Knowledge - benefit - pleasure" - this is the triad that became the basis of Socrates' anthropology.

Ethics of Socrates

• Socrates considered knowledge to be the highest form of virtue, and in this sense acted as a consistent rationalist. Most often, Socrates talked about the essence of love and friendship. At the same time, love was inseparable from knowledge - only by loving a person, you can constantly wish to know him better, without losing your disposition and sympathy for him. This is the key to harmony - every soul is a priori good.
• In addition, Socrates was one of the first to exalt the value of inner knowledge, calling it the “patron demon” of a person whose voice should be heeded (there is no mysticism here, the “demon”, according to Socrates, is a mixture of conscience, reason, moral ethical sense). It was this postulate that subsequently became the reason for accusing Socrates of impiety. Interestingly, after many centuries, Nietzsche perceived Socrates almost as a negator of ethical canons.
• Another “sedition” of Socrates was the doubt that the younger generation should receive life experience by humbly listening to the elders and learning virtue from them. This "exploded" the established tradition of education in ancient Greece. Socrates saw real piety in self-knowledge and spiritual perfection, which is what the maxim attributed to him “Know thyself” says. At the same time, according to Socrates, a person who acts badly, most likely, simply does not know what good is, or still does good.
• Speaking about the state, Socrates emphasized that only the best representatives of society, highly moral and living on the principle of good, should be in power. It is easy to imagine how critically Socrates perceived the current government and how objectionable he therefore turned out to be.

The fate of Socrates

His life was free and bright - too much attention was attracted by the "uncomfortable", independent, talkative eccentric, free from the material world, who influenced entire generations of Greeks. In 399 BC The Athenian court sentenced Socrates on charges of deviating from the religion adopted by the state, undermining the foundations of the state and a bad influence on the younger generation. Associates of Socrates tried to save him by arranging a jailbreak, but Socrates refused. He drank hemlock in recognition of his sentence, and died a few minutes later, remaining conscious. This example of unbending will and absolute consistency, fearlessness and inner strength has become an integral part of the myth of Socrates, which in the 21st century arouses keen interest in the personality of the ancient sage.