Socrates - World Thinkers Translation Series

Author: Hope May
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-04-01
Features: This book discusses Socrates (Socrates) and the basic points of his philosophy, involving both history and philosophy. In terms of Socrates' philosophy, I mainly discuss the Socratic method and the importance of this method (and its results) to self-awareness, morality, and human happiness. However, in chapters that are more historical than philosophical, readers will also learn about some political factors that are often overlooked and played a certain role in Socrates' trial. Additionally, the author explores the "Socratic Problem," which is how to determine who the real historical Socrates was based on the conflicting testimonies of Aristophanes, Plato, and Xenophon. The descriptions of these three classical authors will be discussed by the readers, and some reasons supporting the accuracy of Plato's testimony will be provided.
The theme of Chapter 2 is Socrates' trial and his defense. During the trial, Socrates faced two accusations: an earlier informal accusation and a later formal accusation. When discussing Socrates' defense and refutation of these accusations, we will also examine the two accusations. In this chapter, readers will learn about Socrates' life, why he believed others misunderstood him, and why he defended the life of a philosopher.
Chapter 3 discusses the Socratic method, the elenchus. Readers will learn about the three different logical techniques Socrates used in refuting others: (1) demonstrating the logical consequences of certain beliefs; (2) proving the inconsistency of someone's beliefs; (3) refuting through counterexamples. Examples from Plato's early dialogues will show readers how Socrates applied these techniques. The benefits of the elenchus are also mentioned in Chapter 3. Readers will learn that the elenchus can help eliminate false beliefs and resolve inconsistencies in beliefs, as well as improve one's moral concepts. The author will also comment on the benefits of these results for moral perception (moralperception), and this theme will extend to Chapter 4, involving Plato's Crito.
In Chapter 4, the debate between Socrates and Crito about Socrates' escape should be understood as reflecting more of a difference in moral perception than a difference in moral principles. Additionally, readers will see that the debate between Socrates and Crito changed Crito's understanding of whether Socrates' escape was just, and we will discuss some key features of Socrates' ethics and briefly compare them with our own moral views.
This book can be read independently or used as a supplementary text for Plato's dialogues. At the end of each chapter, there are review questions and discussion questions to facilitate classroom discussions and reader reflection. If used for teaching, the classroom effectiveness of an introductory philosophy course will certainly not be lacking. This is because, in the book, I discuss the characteristics of Socrates' philosophy—the logical method of refutation and its impact on human understanding and perception—which are the general features of philosophy.