Questions tagged [socrates]
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Plato's dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity.
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Is Socrates wrong in 'Euthyphro'?
I'm trying to understand 'Euthyphro', a popular book by Plato about Socrates. I believe I'm understanding what Socrates is saying; however I do not think it is correct.
Referring to 10d to 11b
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'the unexamined life is not worth living' [duplicate]
Apparently, Socrates claimed the following:
the unexamined life is not worth living
What is "unexamined life" supposed to mean in this context, could you please elaborate?
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Confusing name-dropping --- Is Socrates known to have walked in a garden with his "pupils"?
Source: In an episode on education of the philosophical documentary The advantage of the doubt, which I displayed here (search for "documentary") for pedagogical consultation; Veerle Jochems (an ...
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Meno's paradox - Did Socrates contradict himself?
[Source:] Meno then proffers a paradox: "And how will you inquire into a thing when you are wholly ignorant of what it is? Even if you happen to bump right into it, how will you know it is the ...
user8572
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Allegory of the Cave Free Will [closed]
Does the prisoner in the cave in Plato's allegory in The Republic have free will?
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What would Socrates have said if the trolley problem was asked to him?
Imagine a situation a wagon carrier asked to Socrates a variation of the Trolley Problem. What will be the Socrates' answer in terms of being just and being a good man?
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How can there be order without intelligence to understand it?
Chicken or the Egg argument.
TLDR update
Is the ability to reason, which is required to understand our surroundings (as explained with science below), proof of reason existing prior to our own ...
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What social class was Socrates from?
Its well known that Plato was from the aritocratic elite of Athenian society. In his writings Socrates figure as his pre-eminent philosophical spokesperson.
There is a adage, which might be a truism ...
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Why is Nietzsche so against Socrates?
Nietzsche recalls the story that Socrates says that 'he has been a long time sick', meaning that life itself is a sickness; Nietszche accuses him of being a sick man, a man against the instincts of ...
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What was Socrates/Plato's view on free-will?
Socrates (or, rather Plato, through the voice of Socrates) leads us to the conclusion in the dialog Protagoras (see this for example) that our actions are entirely determined by our beliefs of what is ...
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Irony in Friedrich Nietzsche?
Wikipedia defines verbal irony as
a statement in which the meaning that a speaker employs is sharply
different from the meaning that is ostensibly expressed. The ironic
statement usually ...
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best Phaedrus edition to start with for beginner
I'm interested particularly in Socrates' condemnation of written words and its propensity to create a false and superficial sense of intelligence which seems so prescient in light of how people use ...
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What are some tools for overcoming bias within a participant when engaged in a Socratic debate? [closed]
Given that bias is not easy to argue with and an embedded unconscious obstacle to critical and logical debate.
What tools are there to overcome bias in a Socratic debate?
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Are there any listings of Plato's dialogues in internal chronological order?
Traditionally, the dialogues of Plato have been listed in the order in which Plato is thought to have composed them, because it's believed that Plato presented a more accurate picture of Socrates' ...
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Why are the hellenic philosophers before Platos time referred to as pre-socratic?
It seems plausible to me that they could equally have been called pre-Plato. Whats the significance of Socrates? Did he instill an ethical turn in Hellenic philosophy (or be seen to do so)?
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Summary of Callicles and Thrasymachus's arguments regarding injustice
I find somewhat odd to find out that there does not seem to exist concise summary or review of Callicles and Thrasymachus's arguments for supporting injustice, so I ask this question: what would be ...
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Why was Socratic epistemology diminished?
My question is a follow-up from reading this answer;
"Roughly speaking, Socrates believed truth could not be discovered with certainty, Plato believed that truth could only be known via ...
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Was Socrates a fictional character invented by Plato?
I have read a lot of websites that suggest Socrates was a fictional character created by Plato (albeit without the citation of any corroborating evidence), but I have also read the opposite (and by "...
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'Daemons' vis-a-vis transcendental personification of self-will
Greek mythology, classical philosophy and early theology is teeming with things referred to as 'daemons'. Many, such as those of Plato's Socrates, hint at an externalised transcendental corollary of ...
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Which of Plato's Dialogues should I read to learn about Socrates' views on science and epistemology?
Which of Plato's Dialogues should I read to learn about Socrates' views relevant to the philosophy science and epistemology? I'm quite a beginner in these things and the titles of the Dialogues are ...
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Does the Euthyphro dilemma apply to secular ethics?
The original statement of the dilemma is found in Plato's Euthyphro:
Just consider this question:—Is that which is holy loved by the gods because it is holy, or is it holy because it is loved ...
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What makes a good question?
Most philosophy begins with a question. I'm wondering why certain questions provoke more profound thoughts than others. What characteristics do good questions share with each other? How can we go ...
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What were the government ideals for the Socrates and Aristotle?
Winston Churchill famously quipped, "The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter." Plato also seems to have held such a view, where he wrote in The ...
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Is there a correct or better order to read Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates?
I would like to read the text written by Aristotle, Plato, Socrates and so on. Is there any reference of the best order to read them? Is the chronological order the best or correct one? Or is there a ...
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Does Apology's Socrates contradict Crito's Socrates?
In Plato's Apology Socrates clearly indicates he would continue to philosophize even if the court ordered him not to:
if now, when, as I conceive and imagine, God orders me to fulfil the philosopher’...
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Are all philosophers subject to a variation of the Socrates problem?
Obviously, the specific problem of knowing who Socrates was and what he taught is wholly unique to the man. However, reading books and articles about philosophers and philosophy, I'm struck by the ...
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Are the unexamined lives of others worth examining?
Socrates continually admonished his interlocutors to become more introspective, arguing passionately for self-examination:
The unexamined life is not worth living.
But an examined life is painful, ...
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