most often find Socrates. It was here that he taught his philosophies. Socrates was described
as ugly. He was potbellied with large bulging eyes and a snub nose. Anyone who knew him
knew that inside he was “perfectly delightful.” Socrates considered himself a "philo-sopher," or
one who loves wisdom. He thought he was different from other philosophers of his time,
according to him most bragged about how much they knew about their particular subject, when
in fact they knew very little. Knowing this, Socrates considered himself a true philosopher- one
who knows they know little about life and is troubled by knowing that. In 399 BC, Socrates
was convicted of “introducing new gods and corrupting the youth.” When Socrates was given
the choice to leave Athens or to be put to death Socrates chose to stick with his values that cost
him his life. Socrates is portrayed mostly through Plato, one of his students. Most people
know that who Socrates was is rather unimportant- it was his philosophies that inspired most
Western world thinkers for nearly 2,400 years.
Socrates’s methods are quite confusing yet their concept is rather simple and his
philosophies are still used today. Socrates simply put on a facade or feign of ignorance of not
wanting to teach people. He often began his conversations with questions to make one think he
was ignorant or knew nothing. To prove his point he would make the person he was conversing
with realize the weakness of their argument and then thoroughly convince them of what was right
and wrong. Socrates firmly believed that “he who knows what is good will do good” and that
one only does wrong because he does not know any better. He simply believed that one can
not live a happy life if one continues to do wrong things such as lie and cheat. In other words,
Socrates philosophy was just to follow your conscience. Socrates methods and purpose
clearly are extremely effective. One can not go wrong by following their conscience.
Many people use the Socratic method in everyday life including me. I, myself, have
used the Socratic method several times in my life, practically on a day to day basis. There was
one instance when I was trying to decide whether or not I should ditch my friend who I had
made plans with and to go do something more exciting with someone else. I used the Socratic
method to help me decide what to do. My conscience told me that I had already made plans
with my friend and that I couldn’t just ditch her because that would hurt her. I felt bad about
declining the other person though. Eventually, I decided to tell both friends my dilemma and I
ended up winning both ways. I hung out with both of my friends and did something more
exciting. Looking back to analyze the effectiveness, I realized that if I had lied to my friend we
could have ended the relationship due to my insensitivity, which proves Socrates idea- one can
not live a happy life if one continues to do wrong things.
In conclusion, Socrates was a superior thinker who was ahead of his time. He believed
in a simple concept that changed the way people live today. He also
