Who Was Socrates? A Look at the Philosopher’s Life and Impact

Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher and scholar from Athens and a founding figure in the history of Western philosophy. Though he left no written works behind, the philosophy of Socrates influenced thinkers, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Benjamin Franklin, for centuries after his death in 399 BCE.

His most notable teachings were the “Socratic method,” which promoted critical thinking through question-and-answer debates between students and teachers.

Socrates was born in ancient Greece around 470 BCE. Here is an overview of his life:

• Early life: Socrates was born in Athens, Greece, and lived most of his life in the capital city. According to accounts, he lived in modest wealth with his father, Sophroniscus, a stonemason and sculptor, and his mother, Phaenarete, a midwife.
• Interests: Education and philosophy were among the philosopher’s early interests: Plato, one of Socrates’ students, wrote that Socrates studied the writings of the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras—a notable natural philosopher and scientist—as a young man. Socrates is also thought to have studied rhetoric under Aspasia, the famed teacher and partner of Pericles, an Athenian statesman and general.
• Personal life: Socrates may have worked as a stonemason before launching his career as a teacher and philosopher. Accounts vary as to whether he received money for his educational efforts, but Plato claimed that he lived in poverty. His financial status ultimately hurt his marriage to his wife—a younger woman named Xanthippe— with whom he had three sons: Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. Socrates claimed to have little involvement with his sons and focused instead on the young men he taught.
• Military participation: Laws in ancient Athens required all men between the ages of eighteen and sixty to serve in the military. Socrates served in the armored infantry as a hoplite, or foot soldier, in three campaigns during the Peloponnesian War, including the battles of Delium and Amphipolis and the siege of Potidaea, where he reportedly saved the life of future Athenian politician Alcibiades.
• Career: Following his military service, Socrates drew the attention of his fellow citizens of Athens as a member of the Boule, a citizen’s council that oversaw the city’s legal and administrative issues. His opposition to capital punishment in two high-profile cases earned him a following among the youth of Athens, who admired his self-described status as a gadfly—a person who persistently critiques the status quo. The philosopher, who often challenged and debated long-standing tenets of Greek philosophy and life, had many critics: The Clouds, a 423 BCE play from Aristophanes, portrayed Socrates as a sloppy con man who used dialectic discussions to get out of debt.
• Trial and death: Socrates died during a turbulent period in Athenian democracy when a conquering army from Sparta replaced the government with an oligarchic group called the Thirty Tyrants. A poet named Meletus charged Socrates with impiety, or lack of religious reverence, and corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates served as his own defense at the trial, which lasted a day before he was found guilty. According to some accounts, he offered a portion of his assets, but his accusers, including the powerful politician Anytus, demanded the death penalty. Socrates was sentenced to death by hemlock poisoning, and the court carried out his execution shortly after.

Socrates was a rare figure in the history of philosophy without any published works. Everything publicly known about his life comes from posthumous works published by friends, former students, and fellow Sophists, or teachers, including the philosopher Plato and the historian Xenophon, and Plato’s student, the philosopher Aristotle.

Like the writer Phaedo, many of his admirers also published “Socratic dialogues,” or snippets of conversations with Socrates and interlocutors like students, politicians, and fellow philosophers. Only Xenophon and Plato’s dialogues exist to this day.

Plato and Xenophon published the most complete writings about Socrates. Plato wrote three works about the last days of his teacher, including Euthyphro, an imaginary discussion about religion, and Crito, which concerns Socrates’ thoughts on his own death. Plato’s Apology offers his interpretation of Socrates’ defense at his trial, while Critias, one of the dialogues of Plato, features Socrates in a discussion of the fall of Atlantis. Xenophon’s four works, which include the Memorabilia and Symposium, feature everything from a defense against Socrates’ accusers to his thoughts on agriculture.

Each of the authors presents a different interpretation of Socrates in their works, which causes scholars to question which version is the most accurate. Ancient history scholars refer to the dichotomy between depictions of Socrates and the confusion it causes as the “Socratic problem.”

There are many principles of philosophy associated with Socrates, including:

1. 1. The unexamined life: The idea that the unexamined life is not worth living—which Socrates reportedly said at his trial—suggests that a good life is only attainable if you question your actions and beliefs. According to this principle, self-examination reveals the truth about being human and the path to happiness.
2. 2. Thought and action: Socrates said there are valid principles of thought and action that you must follow to live in truth and happiness. Distracting yourself with self-interest or pointless goals and disconnecting from the people around you is unimportant and does your life a disservice.
3. 3. The truth lies within: Searching for truth in popular opinion, history, or mysticism is a futile effort. Everyone already knows their own essential truths. It takes self-examination to discover these truths.
4. 4. Teachers ask questions: Although no one can learn about truth or morality from another person, a good teacher or philosopher points students in the right direction by asking questions. They can also guide the process of self-examination, having already done it themselves.

There are several philosophical movements associated with Socrates. Among them are:

1. 1. Cynics: Cynicism was a school of philosophy in ancient Greece that supported the idea of happiness through a simple life. Cynics rejected wealth and power in favor of living in harmony with nature. Though Socrates was not a Cynic, Antisthenes, one of his students, was a founding figure in its development. Socrates also supported Cynical tenets, such as a devotion to virtue and the abandonment of wealth.
2. 2. Presocratics: Pre-Socratic philosophy, or early Greek philosophy, is a largely lost philosophy from the sixth century BCE. It served as a preamble to Socratic thought by questioning the universe’s origin and issues of religion and ethics. Like the work of Socrates, it’s mostly known from writings by other authors.
3. 3. Skeptics: Philosophical skepticism suggests that asking questions about accepted beliefs leads to real knowledge and even happiness. The story of the Oracle of Delphi illustrates Socrates’ own skeptical nature. When told that the Oracle considered him the wisest man in Athens, he responded that the wisest men are the ones that accept their own ignorance.
4. 4. Stoics: Stoicism is a form of Pre-Socratic philosophy that the philosopher Zeno founded in the third century. The Stoics believed that wisdom and happiness were attainable through self-control and an understanding of one’s purpose. Socrates shared similar beliefs in the importance of wisdom, justice, and courage. One of his students, Antisthenes, who helped found cynicism, contributed to later forms of Stoicism.

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