The Socratic view of the world

A brief overview of the philosophy of the most famous philosopher

Socrates and Confucius, two of humanity’s sages, amiably conversing in the Athenian agora, just below the Acropolis. Photo by the Author.

When someone mentions “ancient Greek philosophy,” chances are Socrates is the first name that pops into your head. In fact, this barefoot philosopher from Athens (470-399 BCE) was such a game-changer that we still divide Western philosophy into two eras: before Socrates and everything after. But what made him so special? As the Roman philosopher Cicero would later put it:

“Socrates was the first who brought down philosophy from the heavens, placed it in cities, introduced it into families, and obliged it to examine into life and morals, and good and evil.” (Tusculan Disputations, 5.4)

Socrates never meant to start a movement—he was more interested in having good conversations than founding a school. But his impact was huge. Think of him as the philosophical equivalent of a rock star—everyone wanted to copy his style. His followers went on to create some of history’s most influential schools of thought: Platonism, Aristotelianism, Cynicism, Stoicism, and Academic Skepticism. The Stoics especially saw themselves as Socrates's true heirs, referring to themselves explicitly as “Socratics.”

Here’s where things get interesting: Socrates himself never wrote anything down. Everything we know about him comes mainly from two of his students: Plato and Xenophon. Think of them as ancient biographers who followed their teacher around, taking mental notes of his conversations and ideas.

Plato went on to become the philosophical superstar that we all know. Xenophon was more like a skilled journalist who wrote detailed accounts of Socrates's teachings. His book “Memorabilia” (think of it as “Conversations with Socrates”) was so powerful that it inspired Zeno of Citium to start the entire school of Stoic philosophy.

To really understand Socrates, we need to look at Plato's earliest writings about him. These are called the "Socratic dialogues" because scholars think they capture the real Socrates, before Plato started using his teacher as a mouthpiece for his own ideas. The greatest hits include: the Apology, Socrates's dramatic speech at his trial; the Crito, a jailhouse conversation about doing the right thing; the Euthyphro, a witty debate about the nature of goodness; and the Laches, a chat with two generals about what courage really means. Plato wrote these in his early 40s, about a decade after Socrates's death.

Let's start with The Apology—it's like the pilot episode of the Socrates show. Picture this: Socrates is on trial for his life, and instead of begging for mercy, he uses the opportunity to explain his whole philosophy. And it turns out that he has quite a story to tell. It all started when his friend Chaerephon went to the oracle at Delphi and asked, “Is anyone wiser than Socrates?” The oracle’s answer? “Nope!”

Socrates just couldn’t believe it. In fact, he was so skeptical that he did something pretty gutsy—he decided to fact-check the oracle. He went around Athens interviewing people who were supposed to be wise: politicians, poets, craftsmen, you name it. His discovery? Everyone claimed to be an expert, but when he dug deeper, they couldn't really explain their expertise.

That’s when it hit him: the oracle was right, but not in the way everyone thought. Socrates was wisest simply because he was the only one who admitted he didn’t have all the answers. As he famously put it: “I know that I know nothing.”

[The Temple of Apollo at Delphi, where the oracle pronounced Socrates to be the wisest man in Greece.]

Then there’s the Crito, which reads like a prison drama. Socrates’s wealthy friend Crito shows up at the jail with a plan: he’s bribed the guards, arranged for safe passage out of Athens - all Socrates has to do is say yes to the jailbreak.

But Socrates, being Socrates, turns it into a philosophical discussion. His argument? “Look, I’ve lived in Athens for 70 years, benefiting from its laws and society. What kind of person would I be if I only followed those laws when convenient? That would be like respecting your parents only when they give you what you want.”

Ever wonder if ancient Greeks had political satire? Meet the Menexenus—not one of Plato’s greatest hits, but a dialogue in which Socrates’s take on political spin doctors. Imagine Jon Stewart or John Oliver in a tunic, and you’ll get the idea. In the dialogue, Socrates mocks how politicians give fancy funeral speeches during wartime, saying whatever the crowd wants to hear rather than telling hard truths. Some things never change, right?

One of Socrates’s favorite moves was playing what we might call “Define That Thing!” Here’s how it worked. He’d find someone who should be an expert on something: two generals? “Great! You must be experts on courage.” Two best friends? “Perfect! You can explain friendship to me.” A priest? “Wonderful! You obviously know all about holiness.” Then he’d ask them to define these concepts. Sounds simple, right? But here's where it gets fun...

Socrates wasn’t interested in examples—he wanted complete, foolproof definitions. It’s like he was looking for a recipe that would work 100% of the time. Modern philosophers might say he was asking for the impossible. After all, trying to define something like “courage” or “friendship” perfectly is like trying to catch a cloud—these ideas are just too complex and shifting to pin down completely.

Think about it: Can you define “love” in a way that covers every type of love there is, without leaving anything out? That’s the kind of challenge Socrates was setting up for his conversation partners.