Socrates

[sok-ruh-teez]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

469?–399 b.c., Athenian philosopher.

Socrates

/ ˈ��ɒ��əˌ�پ�ː�� /

noun

?470–399 _bc , Athenian philosopher, whose beliefs are known only through the writings of his pupils Plato and Xenophon. He taught that virtue was based on knowledge, which was attained by a dialectical process that took into account many aspects of a stated hypothesis. He was indicted for impiety and corruption of youth (399) and was condemned to death. He refused to flee and died by drinking hemlock

Socrates

An ancient Greek philosopher who was the teacher of Plato.

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Socrates said that an oracle of the gods had pronounced him the wisest of all people, because he knew how little he knew.

When Socrates was an old man, the citizens of Athens (see also Athens) condemned him to death, alleging that he denied the reality of the gods and corrupted the youth of Athens. Socrates calmly drank the poison he was given — hemlock — and died a noble death.

The Socratic method of teaching proceeds by question and answer as opposed to lecture.

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Other Word Forms

anti-Socrates adjective
pro-Socrates adjective

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

This concept is not new: The Greek philosopher Socrates was afraid that the invention of writing would make humans dumber because we wouldn’t exercise our memory as much.

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Philosophers recognized drama’s power too: Although Plato critiqued theater’s emotional pull, he admitted that “the comedy of Aristophanes” had deeply influenced Socrates’ public image.

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Socrates was really complex and really simple at the same time.

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No admiration from Socrates then, but perhaps plenty from Aristotle.

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Off the pitch Vinicius Jr won the second ever Socrates Award last year, given to the footballer who has performed the best humanitarian work worldwide.

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Socotra Socratic

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