Socrates

Socrates was an Athenian philosopher of the fifth century BCE, known chiefly through accounts by his students. His questioning examined claims to knowledge and the meaning of virtue.

Socratic method: A form of inquiry that tests claims through disciplined questions and examination of assumptions. This questioning practice is the most recognizable feature of Socrates’ philosophical activity.
Classical Athens: The Greek city-state of Athens during its cultural and political prominence in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Socrates’ life and public questioning unfolded amid Athenian democracy and civic debate.
Alcibiades: An Athenian statesman and general who appears as Socrates’ associate in Plato’s dialogues. His relationship with Socrates features prominently in Plato’s portrait of the philosopher’s influence.
Trial of Socrates: The Athenian prosecution of Socrates in 399 BCE on charges of impiety and corrupting the young. The trial brought his public questioning into conflict with Athenian civic authority.
Elenchus: A method of cross-examination that tests a person’s claims for contradiction. Plato’s dialogues often show Socrates using this method to expose inconsistencies.
Socratic problem: The difficulty of distinguishing the historical Socrates from the different portraits in ancient sources. Conflicting accounts make it difficult to reconstruct his exact teachings and character.
Crito: An Athenian associate of Socrates who appears in Plato’s dialogue about remaining in prison. The dialogue named for him stages his attempt to persuade Socrates to escape.
Death of Socrates: Socrates’ execution by drinking hemlock after his conviction in Athens. His refusal to escape became a lasting example in debates about law and conscience.
Socratic ignorance: The recognition that one lacks knowledge one had assumed oneself to possess. Socrates contrasts awareness of ignorance with confident but unsupported claims to wisdom.
Plato: An ancient Greek philosopher whose dialogues often present Socrates as their central speaker. Plato’s dialogues are the fullest and most influential source for Socrates’ philosophical image.

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