Category: Socrates
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Socrates’ summary for beginners
If Socrates (469-399 BC) was so accomplished, why did he not write anything? If he was such a great thinker, why did he not make a systematic presentation of his ideas? And why did he become so famous, if he spent most of his life in Athens, debating people in the marketplace? Those questions will…
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Socrates’ false dichotomy and paradox
Hollywood movies about the mafia often portrait threats, intimidation and extortion. In those movies, criminals attempt to extort money from the victims by putting them in front of a false dichotomy. The victims are given the choice of paying for fake insurance or having their shop burned down. At the end of those movies, the…
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Socrates’ life and teachings revisited
When reading about the trial against Socrates (469-399 BC) and the exchanges between accusation and defence, I’m always amazed at the poor logic employed by Socrates. His defence in the trial was not only incompetent, but counterproductive. If he had left Athens beforehand and let the trial take place in his absence, I don’t think…
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Who was Socrates and what did he teach?
The writings of Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes portray Socrates (469-399 BC) as a real historical figure, not a literary invention. However, most of what’s said about Socrates doesn’t come from the original sources, but from later elaborations. If we trust history and philosophy professors, Socrates is to be credited for the key ideas underlying Western…
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