Who Is Socrates?

Who is Socrates? Was he nothing more than a 70 year old man who became an infamous figure in history due to his refusal to be part of the Athenian norm? How about a senior citizen during roman era who caught the eyes of many through quick thinking and persuasive rambling? Or maybe, he really was that great knowledgeable speaker destined to introduce the whole concept known as philosophy, who just happened to open the eyes of many; such as Plato and Aristotle. Socrates, now known as the father of western philosophy became most known for the series of events that occurred around the time of his trial. His decision making and quick sly problem solving was the reason that the world remembers this specific event throughout his life, yet many fail …show more content…
Plato describes Socrates as a man who was attempting to pursue knowledge by dedicating himself toward the mission of pursuing the “Truth”. Plato explains that Socrates’ main way of philosophizing was by calling everything into question until it led to an accurate account of that exact question or word, somewhat of a definition. Many philosophers would say that the majority of Socrates’ ideas toward philosophy were made from the views of Plato, but in reality both Plato and Socrates had the same ideas. Socrates attempted to establish a system based on ethical principles rather than the theological doctrine that the Athenian people would follow. Socrates emphasized on the idea that human choice during that specific time in history was strongly based off what people with the strongest power wanted and not what was morally correct. To Socrates’, true happiness was what people should be aiming toward and this could only be achieved through knowledge and …show more content…
Socrates made many references to his age when reciting his apology toward the men of Athens, as well as used it as an excuse to not escape from jail when persuaded by Crito. At the age of 70, in the 5th century, the majority of men would have been dead, but for some reason Socrates was still living and functioning at his full potential. Today 's medical research has discovered the positive and negative correlations between age and cognitive function, in which age has large factor in decision making directly correlating with Socrates and his age. Truthfully, Socrates was a highly respected man, but his age and timeline in the 5th century points to flaws in his decision making both at a physical level and a scientific level, meaning that age was a deciding factor in his life ending decision