PROLOGUE
This prologue will concentrate on Socrates (469–399 B.C.), Plato’s mentor, who is perhaps the most famous of all philosophers. Why is Socrates so well known? He was not the first philosopher; he did not write a philosophical treatise. Our knowledge of Socrates comes from four principle sources: Plato’s dialogues, in 20 of which Socrates is the main character; Xenophon, who wrote the Memorabilia, which claims to record several Socratic conversations; Aristophanes, who wrote a comedy, the Clouds, featuring Socrates; and, finally, Socrates is mentioned many times by Aristotle. Socrates is portrayed best in the early dialogues of Plato, which reveal something of his extraordinary character.
Socrates’ fame is due to the remarkable force of his personality, which is in many ways the embodiment of the philosophical approach. Socrates does not profess to have special knowledge. On the contrary, he claims to be ignorant. He is fascinated by philosophical questions, and, rather than forming fixed views, he asks brilliantly penetrating questions. He engages those around him in thinking, and, in these dialogues, he goads his interlocutor into offering a definition of a key idea, such as justice, courage, or knowledge. He persists with his questioning until either he arrives at a satisfactory answer or he has shown that the proposed theory cannot be true because it contains a hidden contradiction. Socrates’ method, often called elenchos, or refutation, challenges us to face our ignorance and stimulates us to think more deeply. In summary, Socrates’ way of being makes him the best-known of all philosophers.
This does not mean that Socrates did not advance any philosophical claims. His views are reflected in Plato’s early dialogues, a point that is confirmed by the works of Xenophon and Aristotle. Among the early dialogues are the following: the Laches, Charmides, Hippias Major, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Protagoras, as well as the Gorgias, which was probably the last work of this early period. Plato has no part himself in any of his works; Socrates usually takes the leading role, and in the early dialogues, Plato restricts himself to portraying Socrates’ way of thinking and conveying the master’s views. It is only in the dialogues of the middle and later periods that Plato argues for his own theories. As portrayed in the early dialogues, Socrates was almost exclusively concerned with the question ‘How should a person live his or her life?’ In the Laches, Charmides, Hippias Major, and Euthyphro, he searches for an answer to these questions, but the dialogues end inconclusively.
Socrates was concerned with virtue or excellence (àreté), regarding which he advances three main claims. First, he argues that knowledge of goodness is necessary and sufficient for virtue. This implies that no one does wrong intentionally: we always will what we perceive as good. As a consequence, there is no such thing as weakness of the will (akrasia). Second, Socrates argues for the unity of the virtues. A person who is virtuous cannot lack any of the virtues; for example, a just person must be also courageous and temperate. Third, Socrates argues that there can be no higher good than virtue: a virtuous person is bound to be happier than one who is not. Given these three claims, we can see why Socrates and Plato thought that study of the good was supremely important for our lives.
Socrates’ questioning was perceived as threatening and rebellious. In 399 B.C., he was charged with corrupting the youth of Athens and not recognizing the gods of the city. Once convicted, he was condemned to drink the poisonous hemlock that killed him. These dramatic scenes are immortalized in some of Plato’s dialogues. The Euthyphro portrays Socrates on his way to court; the Apology, the trial itself; the Crito shows Socrates’ refusal to escape from prison; and the later Phaedo, the last conversation and death of the old master.
