Ancient Philosophy &

Socratic Method

SARA DE LEONARDIS
1. What is Ancient Philosophy? Why is it
important?

2. Where does Ancient Philosophy begin?

3. Socrates and the Socratic Method

4. Q&A
What is philosophy?

• Outlook on life, perspective on life

• Study of reality
Philosophia
philo = love sophia = wisdom
‘love of wisdom’
What is Ancient Philosophy?

• Ancient Greek Philosophy- first philosophy we study at school

• Many disciplines: biology, cosmology, chemistry, politics, ethics,

nature of knowledge

Various aspects of reality

Why is Ancient Philosophy important?

NOT • methods of justification

body of doctrines • ways to construct arguments
BUT • ways of reasoning
Method of inquiry
Where does philosophy begin?
Why Miletus?

1. Rich, trading city

2. In constant touch with other

cities and cultures

3. Knew about ancient science

and speculation in the Middle
East. They were the first
people to wonder about
things…

4. More intellectually advance

than the conterpart on the
mainland
The theater of Miletus was built in the 4th century B.C. after Alexander
the Great defeated the Persians.
 Who was Socrates?
• Was an Athenian (469 – 399 BCE)
• Humble birth
• Wrote nothing (main source Plato’s
dialogues, but also Aristophanes,
Aristotle, and Xenophon)
• He used to spend his time in the marketplace, where he asked Athenian people
philosophical questions

• Socrates was put on trial for

asking ’annoying’ questions

and making people

uncomfortable
Socrates’ death
• Socrates was accused of two crimes:
1. Lacking respect for the city’s gods
2. Poisoning young men’s mind
• He was found guilty of the crimes and
executed
Socratic method

• Method of elenchus (series of questions, ex. ‘What is virtue?’)

• Makes people notice their own ignorance (knowledge begins when
one admits her ignorance!)
• Provokes genuine curiosity & critical thinking
• Helps to reach the truth by constantly questioning assumptions that
underly all we do
 Let’s practice…
1. Method of elenchus
2. Makes people notice their own
ignorance
3. Reaches the truth by constantly
questioning assumptions
S. Do the gods know everything?
E. Yes, of course
S. Yet they disagree sometimes?
E. Very true, the are always fighting
S. So they might disagree about what is
right and wrong?
E. I suppose
S. So the gods don’t know everything!
(extract from Plato’s Euthyphro)
What we learnt…

(1) What we mean by Philosophy and Ancient Philosophy

(2) Philosophy is important because it is a method of inquiry

(3) Where philosophy begins and why

(4) Socrates & Socratic method

Q&A