SOCRATES

1. My choosen Classical thinker
I am Socrates

3. WHO AM I
oBorn around 470 B.C.
oLived in Athens at the height of
its civilization
oDescribed as a very ugly man,
who often walked barefoot and
wore the same king of clothes
whatever the weather

4. WHO AM I
oExcellent soldier – I had great
physical power and could endure
a lot
oI was a very disciplined person
oI was interested in the
development of a person’s moral
character
oI lived a virtuous life

5. o I am basically the father of Western
philosophy
o I never wrote down any of my teachings,
my student, Plato, did this for me
o My philosophy arosenout of my negative
feelings in relation to the teahing of the
Sophists.
WHO AM I

6. My Philosophy
I am concerned with the question of ETHICS ( moral
behaviour)
Unlike the Sophists, I believed that there was definite
right and wrong
I believed that people could accept it and apply it into
their daily lives
I believed it was up to people (society), as a whole, to
establish those things that are right and those that are
wrong
I dedicate my life to searching for standards by which
people could live a virtuous / good life

7. MY SOCRATIC STYLE
 My style was distinctive
 I questioned people through discussions or
dialogues
 I chose people who were experts in their field
and who fully understood the topic being
discussed
 I adopted the role of ignorant questioner
 I pretended I do not know and wanted to be
educated

8. MY SOCRATIC STYLE
I asked tactful questions which could bring the
experts to a dead end – they would run out of
answers
This showed them, and others, that they did
not have all the answers and, so, were not
experts
Therefore, the alm of this method was to get
to the truth of how a person could live a good,
moral life

9. Other important issues for me

10. My Thinking in Action
I believed that an action is right when it promotes humanity’s true
happiness
 My Spoke of alcohol
 Drunkenness – only short term pleasure is gained
 Whatever you are escaping from, when you drink, will come
back
 Drunkenness – has a long term effects
 Leads to ill health
 Can enslave the body - become addicted to it
 The drinking of alcohol goes against reason – why would you
willingly want to damage your body?
 Alcohol and drunkenness does not produce true pleasure – the
negative effects far outweigh the temporary happiness

11. My Thinking in Action
I believed that an action is right when it
promotes humanity’s true happiness
I believed true pleasure could only be
attained through living a moral life

12. MY EDUCATIONAL THEORIES
 Theory of Value
 Theory of Knowledge
 Theory of Human Nature
 Theory of Learning
 Theory of Transmission
 Theory of Society
 Theory of Opportunity
 Theory of Consensus

13. MY EXECUTION
 I was executed in 399 B.C.
 I saw Athens was in danger of destruction
 I became critical to the government
 I was a social and moral critic
 I attemted to improve the Athens’ sense of justice
 My pursuit of virtue and my strict adherence to truth clashed
with Athenian society
 I claimed I was the wiser one since I was the only person aware
of my own ignorance
 I was put on trial and found guilty
 Heresy
 Corrupting the minds of the youth

14. MY EXECUTION
I was forced to drink a lethal poison ( HEMLOCK)
I was given the opportunity to escape, but I chose not to and
drink the poison and died.