Iretomiwa Hassan

The Enigmatic life and long lasting legacy of Socrates

Introduction

Despite his humble and poor life, with no piece of writing himself. Reason being, during

this time Athenians did not write books because of the tragedies that were imposed upon them.

However, despite these shortcomings, Socrates is one of the most revered and respected names

throughout history. This is due to the philosophical and intellectual impacts that he had on people

that came after him. However, because he had no records himself, most of his life is known

through accounts of later writers, especially his students, Plato and Xenophon. Through these

writings, one can figure out why he was truly so admired. There are several distinct details that

discern him from people during his era, such as: his conflicting interpretations, and his unique

way of thinking and questioning, which would be seen as introspective and profound.

Early Life

According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Socrates was born in Athens in

469 B.C.E., and was not wealthy. He would receive an education in poetry, music, and athletics,

which he would excel at. He was also taught to trade as part of the Athenian custom, but he did

not use this but instead went to the marketplace to ask questions from those who would listen.

Through this, he would come to a realization that he knows nothing, and the supposed wise

people he was talking to know nothing as well. This would lead to his quote that states, “I know

that I know nothing.” He believed that the factor that differentiated wise people from others was

the ability for them to admit that they knew nothing. More details about him were that he had
distinct facial features: “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. In other words, he was not very attractive, but in spite of that, he was able to

marry a woman known as Xanthippe, and had three sons. He would also fight in the

Peloponnesian War, but his participation would not be acknowledged due to scandals that

occurred later in his life.

Socrates’ Strangeness

Socrates had a very bizarre and enigmatic youth. He was a very strange man, and he

disregarded everything it meant to be an Athenian male. Many say he looked very unappealing

with strange facial features, and this was a lot more impactful at the time because good looks

were linked to a man’s political prospects. Despite this, Socrates was able to be well respected

during his time because his intelligence and philosophical pursuits were what truly made him

distinct. This was already abnormal during his time because he was never supposed to have that

much political prowess, but he somehow managed to accomplish it. Moreover, “One of the

things that seemed strange about Socrates is that he neither labored to earn a living nor

participated voluntarily in affairs of state,” The Socrates Encyclopedia of Philosophy asserted,

“Rather, he embraced poverty and, although youths of the city kept company with him and

imitated him.” This shows how he would be looked upon as unconventional, and how some

people followed him despite his strange ideals. This is still the case today because he still has

followers, and some of them preach and engage in his methods. In addition, he had other

unprecedented ideas, such as having a higher opinion of women. This was not precedent because

at the time women were not considered equal, with most of them not getting a formal education.
Showing how advanced his thinking was because of the fairly equal society we have today,

confirming that he was ahead of his time.

Socrates’ death and infamy

However, his differing ideals did not end there, but this differing belief would cost him

his life. This is because of his known blasphemous behavior. An example of this was in Diogenes

Laertius' statement, he declared, that “Socrates does criminal wrong by not recognizing the gods

that the city recognizes, and furthermore by introducing new divinities; and he also does criminal

wrong by corrupting the youth.” That accusation might seem innocent, but during the era that it

was said, Athens was highly religious, and this would be considered a hefty crime that was

punishable by death. Knowing he would be executed, he would willingly kill himself through

hemlock poisoning. Through this, he was able to die on his own terms and not the judgment of

Athens. Further adding one more layer of his complex and different way of thinking.

The Socrates Problem

One can conclude that Socrates had a very bizarre and enigmatic life. However, it would

not end after his demise. This is due to the different interpretations that several people were able

to deduce from his life. Due to his lack of account and writing during his life, many people

would come up with different details, with both sides claiming to be right. However, despite

these disagreements, he would influence several philosophical schools with each claiming him as

the founder of their ideal. In other words, “The Socratic problem is a rat’s nest of complexities

arising from the fact that various people wrote about Socrates whose accounts differ in crucial
respects, leaving us to wonder which, if any, are accurate representations of the historical

Socrates.” This was the conclusion that the Socrates encyclopedia of Philosophy concluded

around the conflicting interpretations of Socrates' life, comparing it to a rat’s nest of

complexities.

Different interpretations

Some of the most known reiterations of his story are from Aristophanes, Xenophon,

Plato, and Aristotle. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Aristophanes’ play

“The Clouds” portrays Socrates as a corrupting influence that teaches students to argue for a

weaker side of a case. Xenophon’s interpretation was a lot more appealing, with him

emphasizing self-mastery, endurance, and self-sufficiency. In addition, Socrates is not poor in his

depiction, but rather wealthy due to his limited needs. Plato’s dialogues are a lot harder to dissect

because of the order in which he portrayed Socrates. One has to focus on the ones that correlate,

and they would get a consistent Socrates, who is the principal speaker, challenging his

conversation partner to critically examine their views. Lastly, Aristotle attributes to Socrates the

method of questioning without providing an answer. He focuses on ethical questions and asks

“what is it?” This shows that they all had different views on Socrates, with some positive and

some negative, some critiquing and some praising him. However, one constant is the Socratic

method and his beliefs, further solidifying his intellectual and philosophical prowess.

The Socratic Method

Another idea that outlived Socrates besides the Socrates Problem is something known as

“the Socratic method.” In a research paper, Hugh Benson would deduce that “one may object

that myth is not an argument, but it is hard to deny that myth does not compose part of Socrates’
Method of philosophizing in the elenctic dialogues.” He was able to refute some of the

arguments made against myth not being able to be acceptable as an argument. However, the

Socratic method does implement myth. He also defines the Socratic method as elenchtic

dialogue: questioning someone to test the cogency, consistency, and credibility of what he or she

has said, which would be seen in the life of Socrates when he would question the people at the

market, likewise his disciples.

Conclusion

Socrates, despite his humble origins, is a revered philosopher. He is known for his unique

way of questioning and thinking, which is now known as the Socratic Method. His unique way

of thinking would eventually lead to his death; however, his profound impact is still felt today.

His life and teachings have influenced various philosophical schools, and his legacy continues to

be debated due to the multitude of interpretations that exist. His life was an example of not

conforming to societal norms, which he upheld till his last breath. In addition, his life is also

filled with enigmatic and unprecedented events that were never supposed to happen, but his

unique line of thinking paved the way for them. It is important to learn about his life of

questioning because it is relevant in the era that we are living in today, with most people being

fed information without asking questions and attempting to research.

Ambury, J. M. (2014, October 4). Socrates | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Internet

Encyclopedia of Philosophy. [Link]

Benson, H. (2013, July 5). Socratic Method. [Link].

[Link]

Nails, D. (2020). Socrates (E. N. Zalta, Ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Metaphysics

Research Lab, Stanford University.

[Link]

Taylor, A. E. (2024). Socrates. Google Books.

[Link]

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