Both The Iliad and The Republic present a form of hero. Achilles of The Iliad embodies the conventional idea of the hero: physically strong, warlike, and honor-loving. However, Socrates of The Republic, with his never-ending search for wisdom,...

The central argument in Euthyphro implies that the concept of 'good' must be independent of the concept of 'God' such that "God must love that which is good because it is good." Grube argues that the implication of this is that God has no choice...

Novelist Rossiter Worthington Raymond once said, "Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight." A horizon, by definition, is no more than the range of one's knowledge or...

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren once said, "Mere unorthodoxy or dissent from the prevailing norms is not to be condemned. The absence of such voices would be a symptom of grave illness in our society." This message combined with the...

There are several parallels between the ideas presented in the Socratic dialogue Meno by Plato and the ideas suggested by Walt Whitman's poetry in the first edition of his work Leaves of Grass. Though the Meno is presented as a work of philosophy,...

The Socratic method of investigation, the elenchus, is explained by example in Plato’s Five Dialogues. In Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, Plato’s character of Socrates employs the elenchus as a way to challenge interlocutors. If an Athenian claims...

In the Apology, Socrates tries to convince the jurors that, if they kill him, they will only be harming themselves. This argument is part of Socrates’ larger defense of his actions as he seeks to avoid drinking the hemlock. Socrates makes two...

Alternatively dubbed that “despotic logician” and “the vortex and turning-point of so-called world history,” Socrates represents a radical departure point in the history of philosophy. To Friedrich Nietzsche, the father of rationalism puts forth a...

Socrates found Euthyphro in the agora and after very brief rapport launched straight into asking the question of what is virtue; in the case of Euthyphro, the specific virtue being discussed is piety. Socrates was able to look at his subjects,...

From historical sources it is known that Socrates was Plato’s teacher and that Socrates was Plato’s elder by at least a few decades. Other than this, things become far less clear when examining the relationship between these two founders of...

The four dialogues Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo were all authored by Plato in order to give insight into the trial and death of the famed philosopher Socrates. Each work focuses on a different aspect of Socrates’ personal teachings and...

Civil Disobedience in the Mind of Socrates

Civil disobedience is a practice that has been studied and exhibited for thousands of years. This practice is defined as “the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of...

A major controversy in the philosophies of both the modern philosopher Sartre and the ancient philosopher Socrates is the argument regarding how life will unfold. Either every choice someone makes determines the next thing that may happen to that...

Piety was an important concept in ancient Greek civilization, as it shaped the culture and actions of Greek citizens. What exactly piety means has varied over time, and the definition differs throughout Greek literature. Characters such as...

Aristotle’s definition of the virtue of high-mindedness in Nichomachean Ethics, and of what constitutes the excess and deficiency of this virtue, poses a problem when applied to Socrates' in Plato’s Apology. On one hand, Socrates is high-minded...

A seemingly excited lad initiates Plato’s Meno. Meno appears to have learned what virtue is and is eager to share this knowledge with the renowned Socrates. Thus, Meno tactically lays out calculated questions to Socrates: “…is virtue something...

Socrates, the father of modern Western philosophy, once said, shortly before his own death that “[Those] who happen to have gotten in touch with philosophy in the right way devote themselves to nothing else but dying and being dead” (Phaedo 64A)....

In the prior conversations, Cebes proposes that even though the soul is long-lasting, it can be worn out and destroyed (91d). In response to that, Socrates investigates the cause of generation and destruction (96a) and proposes his final argument...

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates’ views on death (in that he does not fear it) result in his defense being more about being righteous and showing the truth rather than actually defending himself. This legitimizes his defense because he is not simply...

The character of Socrates in Plato’s dialogues can be viewed as a distinct form of excellence. However, as seen through comparisons with such works as Aristotle’s Ethics, not all models of excellent people are the same, nor would many people who...

In Crito, Plato depicts a dialogue that takes place between Socrates and an old friend, Crito, who has come to convince Socrates to escape from jail. In response, Socrates labels an escape as an act of retaliation and disobedience, instead...

In the Phaedo, Plato presents a dialogue that occurs as Socrates awaits his execution. Although the scene begins with a conversation between Phaedo and Echecrates, the bulk of the story lies in Phaedo’s recantation of the philosophical...

The Gorgias by Plato has long been considered a disparaging dialogue that denounces both rhetoric and its practitioners for the unethical wielding of eloquence. However, numerous scholars have agreed that Plato's account of rhetoric is both...

It has been said that the success of any democracy is incumbent upon the participation of its citizenry. Indeed, our governmental, economic, and social institutions (explicit or otherwise) require the cognizant and informed participation of us...