Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, known for his method of questioning and for being sentenced to death by the city of Athens.
He never wrote down a single one of his own ideas, meaning almost everything known about his philosophy survives only through the accounts of the students who outlived him.
A Philosopher Who Wrote Nothing
Socrates left no writings of his own; nearly everything known of his philosophy and teaching comes through the accounts of his students, most notably Plato, who documented extensive dialogues in which Socrates appears as the central figure exploring questions of ethics, justice, and knowledge.
The Socratic Method
Socrates developed a distinctive method of teaching through persistent, probing questioning, now known as the Socratic method, designed to expose contradictions and gaps in a person's beliefs and guide them toward clearer understanding — a technique still widely used in education and legal training today.
A Gadfly to Athens
Socrates famously compared himself to a "gadfly" stinging the complacent Athenian state into self-examination, a role that earned him both devoted followers among Athens's youth and considerable resentment among the city's political and religious establishment.
Trial and Conviction
In 399 BCE, Socrates was tried by an Athenian jury on charges of corrupting the youth and impiety toward the city's traditional gods, charges widely believed to have been politically motivated rather than genuinely religious in nature.
Death by Hemlock
Socrates was sentenced to death and, according to Plato's account, accepted his fate calmly, drinking a cup of poison hemlock surrounded by his grieving students — a death scene that has become one of the most famous episodes in the history of philosophy.
