Ancient philosophy. Life and creativity of Socrates. /part 2/

in #godflesh5 years ago (edited)

Socrates did not belong to any philosophical school, nor did he intend to create his own, but he used the Athenian custom to discuss all scientific and public matters publicly and to be in spiritual communion with everyone. He was impressed by his ugly Silennae appearance, sharp humor, and invincible wit. All the eminent persons of the time, especially the youth, were fascinated by his kindness, cordiality, generosity and unlimited devotion to the comrades and deeply honored him. Having abandoned his homework, Socrates fully devoted himself to his high duty. Around him a circle of admirers, among whom there were admirers of the noble youth. Such a admirer was Alcibiad.

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Socrates did not take an active part in political life and was content to only honestly fulfill his duty as a citizen. He participated in three military campaigns. But at the age of 70, Socrates was accused of trying to introduce new deities into religion, and that he was devastating youth. At first, the accusation came out of his opponents and was personal, but later attributed him a political character. He, who belonged to the aristocratic stream, was represented by the Democrats as the most popular and active sophist, and blamed on him for the decline of folk morality. The Heliists tended to punish Socrates weaker, but his boldness irritated them and condemned him to death. Execution of the sentence was postponed for 30 days, due to the celebrations. Socrates was given the opportunity to escape, but he did not want to take advantage of it and remain faithful to the law until the last moment of his life. In 399 BC, in May he calmly drank his poison.

Democrats' experience of killing Socrates, returning old time, was in vain because Socrates was at least guilty of his passing. On the contrary, he pointed out to his contemporaries that the most appropriate means of improving the existing situation is moral reform. Socrates' death, instead of the expected results, had the opposite effect. The end of the philosopher was a great triumph for his work, a shining climax of his life, the apotheosis of philosophy.Sources and Methods of Socrates Philosophy. Socrates did not leave any writings. His doctrine is known to us from the works of Plato and Xenophon. Because Plato puts his teacher and his views in the mouth of his teacher and Xenophon has no philosophical abilities, and many historians doubt that he has conveyed the exact meaning of the Socratic teaching, Socrates' teachings and philosophical images are restored only by comparison, which Plato and Xenophon give. Socrates, as the Sophists do not appreciate natural science.

He seeks a philosophy that has as its object the human good and recognizes as the first necessity anyone who, through his own thought, freely creates convictions, regardless of customs and traditions. But he does not deny the objective truths and generally binding laws as the Sophists did, but on the contrary, he considers that the dignity of our ideas and the correctness of our actions depend on their consent to what is inherently real. For him, the correctness of the actions depends on the correctness of thinking, and therefore aims to reform moral life through real knowledge. It ought to dominate the actions and indicate their goals. But by putting moral life into knowledge, first of all, the question arises: how can real knowledge be obtained?

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