What were Socrates beliefs?

Although he never outright rejected the standard Athenian view of religion, Socrates’ beliefs were nonconformist. He often referred to God rather than the gods, and reported being guided by an inner divine voice.

What authority is Socrates willing to obey?

His conviction that moral values do not conflict drives him to further the search for justice, but with one starting premise: justice prescribes obedience to the laws of one’s city-the only thing that Socrates claims to know for certain about divine laws.

How does Socrates defend the rule of law?

According to Socrates, one should never violate a just agreement (Cr. 49e). Disobedience to Athenian law would be unjust and would harm the laws. Therefore, one should not disobey the laws.

How is Socrates relevant today?

Primarily, Socrates enjoyed the company of people. He loved listening to them, understanding their problems and their ways of thinking. He believed that people had the capability to solve issues through just logical thinking. This is still relevant as ever as his theories are critical to modern Western Philosophy.

What did Socrates do for a living?

Who was Socrates? Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher, one of the three greatest figures of the ancient period of Western philosophy (the others were Plato and Aristotle), who lived in Athens in the 5th century BCE.

Would Socrates be in favor of disobedience?

It is clear, then, that Socrates never intended to break any laws, and certainty not with any political objectives that King might have envisioned. Therefore, since civil disobedience requires the intentional breaking of law to show the injustice of a law, Socrates could not have acted in civil disobedience.

How Was Socrates a dissident?

Socrates is widely considered a great dissident, largely because of his renowned questioning of conventional beliefs. It is to Socrates’ ‘gadfly’ (oistros) role (Apology 30e) that King (1991: 71) likens his own actions. In contrast to King who deliberately broke the law, however, Socrates opts to obey.

Does Socrates believe in breaking the law?

Socrates even argues fervently against breaking any laws and against having willingly committed crimes in the face of his Athenian accusers. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law… Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.

Did Socrates believe law?

Socrates affirms a principle of absolute obedience to the laws in Plato as well as in Xenophon. In Xenophon as in Plato, Socrates emphasises the necessity of laws and obedience of the citizens in order to ensure social order, not to say the very existence of the city.

What Socrates said about democracy?

Plato’s Republic presents a critical view of democracy through the narration of Socrates: “foolish leaders of Democracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequaled alike.” In his work, Plato lists 5 forms of government from best to …

Is Socrates relevant to us today?

Let us, however, be more specific in justifying the relevance of Socrates to us. He lived and acted in a society which, for most of his life, was democratic, and which left us a testimony to his activity and personality.

When was Socrates born and when did he die?

Socrates, (born c. 470 bce, Athens [Greece]—died 399 bce, Athens), ancient Greek philosopher whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence on Western philosophy. Who was Socrates?

What did Socrates look like in real life?

Socrates was exophthalmic, meaning that his eyes bulged out of his head and were not straight but focused sideways. He had a snub nose, which made him resemble a pig, and many sources depict him with a potbelly.

How did Socrates influence other philosophers?

Socrates exerted a strong influence on philosophers in later antiquity and in the modern era. Depictions of Socrates in art, literature and popular culture have made him one of the most widely known figures in the Western philosophical tradition.