Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence.

The enigmatic Ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, is considered to be the founder of Western philosophy. His ideas have had a profound influence on philosophical history, yet he left no written record of them. 

Throughout this course, we will review material from sources attempting to reconstruct Socrates. Our earliest extant source—and the only one who can claim to have known Socrates in his early years—is the playwright Aristophanes. His comedy, The Clouds, was produced in 423, when the other two writers of our extant sources, Xenophon and Plato, were only infants. We will also consider Socrates as he appears in Plato’s dialogues, many of which feature him as the main character. Moreover, we will discuss how to unravel the contribution of the teacher from the pupil by discussing the changes between Plato’s early, middle, and late works.

Lastly, we will look at the ‘idea’ of Socrates through philosophical history. Famous quotes attributed to him such as: "Wonder is the beginning of wisdom"; "The unexamined life is not worth living"; and "To know what you do not know is the first step to knowledge", along with the ‘Socratic Method’, make up a body of philosophical ideas with a distinctive approach, attitude and method. Socrates’ place in the history of philosophy is so important that the Western tradition before him was named Pre-Socratic.

Outcomes

By the end