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NAME: JAVIER, WILSON S.

SUBJECT: US101

SOCRATES
(c. 470 BCE–399 BCE)

To move the world, we must first move ourselves.

Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher considered to be the main source of

Western thought. He was condemned to death for his Socratic method of
questioning.

Born circa 470 B.C. in Athens, Greece, Socrates's life is chronicled through only a
few sources: the dialogues of Plato and Xenophon and the plays of Aristophanes.
Socrates, a classical Greek philosopher who made a huge impact on Western logic
and philosophy, was born around 470 BC, in Athens, Greece.

Although we know little about his life beyond the information recorded by his
students like Plato, what we do know makes it clear that he had a unique and
powerful philosophy and personality.

Socrates was son of Sophroniscus, a stone mason and sculptor, and Phaenarete, a
midwife.

Because he was not from an aristocratic family, he most likely received a basic
Greek education and learned his father’s craft at a young age before devoting his
life to philosophy. He married Xanthippe and together they had three
sons—Lamprocles, Sophroniscus and Menexenus.

Socrates believed that philosophy should achieve practical results for the greater
well-being of society. He attempted to establish an ethical system based on human
reason rather than theological doctrine.

Socrates pointed out that human choice was motivated by the desire for happiness.
Ultimate wisdom comes from knowing oneself. The more a person knows, the
greater his or her ability to reason and make choices that will bring true happiness.

Socrates believed that this translated into politics with the best form of government
being neither a tyranny nor a democracy. Instead, government worked best when
ruled by individuals who had the greatest ability, knowledge and virtue, and
possessed a complete understanding of themselves.
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SOCRATES QUOTES

“Know thyself.”

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he
would like to have.”

“If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he
employs it.”

“Where there is reverence there is fear, but there is not reverence everywhere that
there is fear, because fear presumably has a wider extension than reverence.”

“They are not only idle who do nothing, but they are idle also who might be better
employed.”

“The greatest way to live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”

“If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take
an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart.”

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is
when men are afraid of the light.”

“The greatest way to live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”

“If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take
an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart.”

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is
when men are afraid of the light.”