Socrates Legacy

It is difficult to overstate the significance of Socrates, the historical figure. In one respect, Socrates can be viewed as the founder of critical thinking, as those who wrote about his life depicted Socrates questioning individuals’ presuppositions. German political philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel takes this reverence of Socrates a step further, crediting Socrates not only with the advent of critical thinking, but also with the revelation of “subjective consciousness”. According to Hegel, before Socrates the prevailing political and religious institutions that governed individuals’ every day lives went largely unexamined and implicitly accepted. However, after Socrates took to the streets of Athens questioning the origins and validity …show more content…
Perhaps the most important historical aspect of Socrates, however, is his role as a teacher. Despite never writing any works himself, Socrates legacy is survived by the accounts of his disciples. Socrates’ students, however, did more than simply preserve the memory of their teacher. Socrates’ students such as Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes furthered Socrates’ inchoate introduction to philosophy, transforming it into a legitimate field of study and producing the worlds’ first true philosophical works. The most famous of Socrates’ disciples, Plato, paid homage to him by prominently featuring Socrates in all of his works save the Laws. Socrates can be viewed through Plato’s dialogues in two distinct ways. In one respect, Plato’s characterization of Socrates is primarily used as a vehicle to convey Plato’s own beliefs. While on the other hand, Plato’s consistent incorporation of Socratic principles—such as critical examination and bewilderment via investigation—demonstrates the historical Socrates’ unambiguous influence on Plato’s …show more content…
Each of your forms will no longer be one, but unlimited in multitude” (Parmenides