Socrates Absolute And Private Life Analysis

Socrates was a devoted philosopher who lived pursuing truth and wisdom. He was a very important Greek thinker who worked to discover the form of many things. His conclusions were guided by reason, which is within all people. Using this reason Socrates searched for what virtue was throughout his life so he in turn could live with virtue itself. Although, he may have debated on whether virtue can be taught or not it seems that internally he held of a definition of virtue or at least partially grasped it enough for the truth of virtue to seep into his dialogues. In these dialogues Socrates discovered that virtue is a habit towards the good. Even under the threat of death, Socrates orated on virtue and how to live the contemplated life. In he …show more content…
To expand, when Socrates spoke, “[t]hroughout my life, in any public activity…I am the same man as I am in the private life,” (Apology, Plato 33a) expressing the view that virtue is habitual and is not something that is merely chosen every so often. To further how habitual it is Socrates, “would much rather die…than live after [defending himself without virtue],” (Apology, Plato 38e). Using the fact that Socrates himself lived a virtuous life, one can come to the conclusion that virtue is rather habitual being that Socrates acted the same no matter whom he was …show more content…
Socrates states in the Apology that, “excellence makes wealth and everything else good for me,” just as virtue makes things good. He must be speaking of virtue, as virtue is habit towards good. To Socrates if something is virtue is must be excellent. This excellence is expressed in virtues such as justice; for example, say a just man owes another a sum of money when he pays off this debt he is living with excellence in the fact that he excels for the good. Therefore, virtue has to be excellence as when one is virtuous in a specific area they habitually do that good consequently being excellence in that portion of their life. All of these ideas develop into a definition of Socratic Virtue. Socrates believed that virtue is habitual and done repetitively. Also, he even believed that even death could not taint or harm it. To add, virtue was even seen as divinely given, as Socrates concluded with Meno. Virtue is excellence in acting the right way. Socrates believed or at leave displayed that virtue is a divinely given habit, which guides men towards good and away from evil, in other terms it is to behave with excellence even unto the threat of death, as even itself death cannot remove the immaterial