SOCRATES (469-399 BC)
Socrates was an Athenian citizen whose mother was a midwife and father was a sculptor. He would ask people questions about what virtue was and what good was, and make them question themselves on topics they thought they knew very well. He wanted to wake the Athenians from their dogmatic sleep. By acting as a ‘Gadfly’ and saying ‘If there is one thing I know, it is that I know nothing.’ , he tried to demonstrate the right path to Athenians the right path . His method is known as maiotic (giving birth); it is the act of revealing the knowledge in oneself on his own or with the help of a good teacher. He was tried and sentenced to death with the charge of corrupting the youth by creating new gods.
According to Socrates, a person should take care of his soul. Material pleasures are not permanent, he should live a moral and righteous life. An unexamined life is not worth living. Wisdom is not knowing a lot of things , but knowing how to live a happy life, in other words, how a virtuous life should be. The wise king is a supporter of constitutional monarchy or aristocracy. He criticizes democracy and equal voting rights.
According to him, speaking was better than writing. He did not try to establish a school. He did not leave any written work. The schools of Plato and Aristotle who came after him are called the “Great Socratic Schools”. The Minor Socratic Schools are the Megarian School, the Elis-Eretrian School, the Cynic School and the Cyrine School.
The Megarian School; its founder is Euclid. The only being is God. The one who is identical with Reason and Comprehension is good. “What is the one is good”.
The Elis-Eretrian School; its founder is Phaedo of Elis. Philosophy is a spiritual healing guide to freedom.
The Cynic School; its founder is Antisthenes of Athens. Cynics do not follow any customs or rules of courtesy. For them, the sole purpose of life is virtue, and all values that lead to the limitation of the individual are rejected.. Cynics do not propose a prescription for social salvation. Diogenes, one of the leading Cynics, was visited by Alexander the Great and asked if he had any requests. Diogenes pointed to the sun with his index finger and replied, "Do not withhold from me what you cannot give me."
Cyrene School; founder Aristippus. Another name for the school is the Hedonist School. He evaluated the value of knowledge solely on the basis of its practical usefulness. Our perceptions cannot tell us anything about the true nature of things or the sensations of other people. Pleasure is identical with good and is momentary. Hegesias recommended suicide to people who could not gain pleasure due to poverty, illness and difficulties. Like the Cynics, the members of the Cyrene School rejected the values specific to society and the state.