Socrates was born in an ordinary citizen family in Athens. Socrates' language is simple, his appearance is ordinary, his nose is flat, his lips are thick, his eyes are protruding, his body is clumsy and short, and his thoughts are sacred. He asked people some questions in the streets of Athens, for example, what is piety? What is democracy? What is virtue? What is courage? What is truth? What is your job? What knowledge and skills do you have? Are you a politician? If so, what do you know about governance? Are you a teacher? How to conquer your ignorance before educating the ignorant? Wait a minute. For the purpose of asking this question, Socrates said, "My mother is a midwife, and I want to follow in her footsteps. I am a spiritual midwife, helping others to generate their own thoughts. "
He inherited his father's footsteps in his early years, engaged in carving stone statues, and later studied philosophy. In Athens, he discussed philosophical issues with many wise men at that time, mainly about ethics, education and politics. He was regarded as the cleverest man at that time. As a citizen, he joined the army three times and showed tenacity and courage in the war. In addition, he served as a jury officer in the Athens citizens' assembly. After the restoration of slave-owner democracy in Athens, Socrates was accused and sentenced to death on charges of flouting traditional religion, introducing new gods, corrupting youth and opposing democracy. He refused the advice of friends and students asking him to beg for mercy and go out to escape, and committed suicide by drinking poisoned wine. In the history of European culture, he has always been regarded as a saint who devoted himself to the pursuit of truth, almost like Confucius in the history of China. For many years, he was regarded as an anti-democratic philosopher who defended the interests of reactionary slave owners and nobles. Recently, some people have put forward different views on this.
As a teenager, Socrates studied handicrafts with his father, became familiar with Homer's epic and other famous poets, and became a self-taught scholar. He made a living by imparting knowledge. In his thirties, he became a social morality teacher who didn't get paid or run a library. Many children from rich families and poor families often gather around him to learn from him and ask him for advice. Socrates often said, "I only know that I know nothing."
Before Socrates, Greek philosophy mainly studied the origin of the universe and what the world was made of, and was later called "natural philosophy". Socrates thinks that re-studying these problems has no practical significance for saving the country. Out of concern for the fate of the country and people, he turned to study human beings themselves, that is, to study human ethical issues, such as what is justice and what is injustice; What is courage and what is cowardice; What is honesty and what is hypocrisy; What is wisdom and how knowledge is acquired; What is a country, what qualities a person should have to govern a country well, how to cultivate talents for governing the country and so on. Later generations called Socrates' philosophy "ethical philosophy". He opened up a new field of philosophical research and made philosophy "return from heaven to earth", which is of great significance in the history of philosophy.
Socrates' philosophy is mainly embodied in the following aspects:
Change of thought
Starting from the wise, ancient Greek philosophy turned from paying attention to nature itself to paying attention to social ethics and people. But they only stay in the perceptual stage and can only draw relativistic conclusions. It was not until Socrates that this situation was fundamentally changed. Socrates called for a "turn of thought" to turn philosophy from studying nature to studying self, which is often said later to bring philosophy back from heaven to earth. He believes that the pursuit of natural truth is endless; I feel that the world is constantly changing, so the knowledge gained is also uncertain. Socrates wants to pursue an unchangeable, definite and eternal truth, which cannot be sought from the outside of nature, but only from himself and himself. Since Socrates, self and nature have been clearly distinguished; Man is no longer just a part of nature, but another unique entity different from nature.
Immortality of soul
Socrates' theory of soul further clarifies the difference between spirit and matter. Philosophers before Socrates have long said that the soul is immortal, and the opposition between idealism and materialism has sprouted. However, philosophers before him still had vague views on the soul, and some even regarded the soul as the finest substance, so the boundary between idealism and materialism was not clear. Until Socrates clearly regarded the soul as a spiritual entity that is essentially different from matter. In Socrates' view, the emergence and disappearance of things is just the aggregation and dispersion of something. In this way, he clearly opposed spirit and matter and became the founder of idealistic philosophy in the history of western philosophy.
Seek a universal definition of things
Aristotle believes that Socrates gave up the study of nature, wanted to seek universal truth on ethical issues, and began to seek a definition for things. He opposed the relativism of wise men and thought that there could be various opinions, but there was only one truth. "Viewpoint" can change with everyone and other conditions, but "truth" is eternal. In Plato's early dialogues, almost all the topics discussed were how to define ethics. Socrates pursues the understanding of "beauty itself" and "justice itself". This is a universal definition of beauty and justice, real knowledge, Plato's "idea of beauty" and "idea of justice". This is the original form of "idealism" in the history of western philosophy. Socrates further pointed out that the causal series of nature is endless, and if philosophy only seeks this causal series, it is impossible to know the ultimate reason of things. He believes that the ultimate cause of things is "goodness" and goodness is the purpose of things. He replaced the study of causality with teleology, which opened the way for later idealism philosophy.
Midwifery and Dialectics of Exposing Contradiction
Socrates believes that all knowledge comes from problems. The harder you make progress, the more problems you have and the greater your progress. Socrates admitted that he had no knowledge, and he wanted to teach others knowledge. He solved this contradiction in this way: this knowledge is not what he instilled in people, but what people already have; People have a "fetus" in their hearts, but they don't know it yet. Socrates is like a "midwife", helping others to produce knowledge. Socrates' midwifery is concentrated in the form of "cross-examination". He often uses cross-examination to expose the contradictions in various propositions and theories put forward by the other party, so as to shake the foundation of the other party's argument and point out the other party's ignorance. In the cross-examination, Socrates himself did not give a positive answer, because he admitted his ignorance. This way is generally called "Socrates' satire". Socrates' method is developed from the logical reasoning of Elijah School and Zhi Nuo's reduction to absurdity in Elijah. In the negative form of Socrates' satire, there is a positive result of dialectical thinking that exposes contradictions. Sue compared herself to a midwife, and used the method of cocoon reeling from the conversation to let the other side gradually understand their ignorance, discover their mistakes and establish a correct view of knowledge. This kind of conversation also has several characteristics: first, the conversation finds out the other party's thoughts by asking and answering questions, so that they can discover the truth themselves. Only in conversation, Sue focuses on asking questions, and he doesn't answer each other's questions easily. He only asked the other party to answer his questions. He asked questions with humility, and the other party elicited information about other questions in his answer, until finally, due to constant questioning, the youth admitted his ignorance. In the process of asking questions, Sue gave students the highest wisdom, which is the famous Socratic irony. Socrates' method is the earliest form of dialectics in the history of western philosophy. Regarding the content of education, he advocates cultivating people's virtue first, and teaching people to learn to be human and become virtuous people. Secondly, we should teach people to learn extensive and practical knowledge. He believes that rulers must have extensive knowledge. He said that in all things, those who are respected and praised are the most knowledgeable people, while those who are condemned and despised are the most ignorant people. Finally, he advocated teaching people to exercise. He believes that a healthy body is very important for physical activities and thinking activities, whether in peacetime or in wartime. And a healthy body is not born, only through exercise can people be strong.
Socrates' method is always in the form of questions and answers between teachers and students, so it is also called "question and answer method". When Socrates taught students to acquire a certain concept, he did not tell them directly, but first asked the students questions and asked them to answer. If a student answers wrong, he doesn't correct it directly, but asks other questions to guide them to think, so as to draw a correct conclusion step by step.
The question-and-answer teaching method advocated by Socrates has a great influence on later generations, and it is still an important teaching method until today.
debate
Socrates often argues with others. In the debate, he made the other side correct and give up the original wrong ideas by asking and answering questions, and helped people produce new ideas. This question and answer is divided into three steps: the first step is called Socrates' satire, which he thinks is a necessary step to make people smart, because unless one is humble and "knows his ignorance", he can't learn real knowledge. The second step is called definition. After repeated questions and induction in question and answer, a clear definition and concept are obtained. The third step is called midwifery, which guides students to think for themselves and draw their own conclusions. As Socrates himself said, although he is ignorant, he can help others acquire knowledge, just as his mother is a midwife. Although she is old and barren, she can deliver a baby and help a new life to be born.
Socrates never gave students ready-made answers, but made students unconsciously accept the influence of his thoughts by asking questions and refuting them. Please look at an interesting example of him answering questions with students.
Student: Socrates, what is good?
Socrates: Stealing, cheating and selling people as slaves are good deeds or evil deeds?
Student: It's evil.
Socrates: Is it evil to cheat the enemy? Is it evil to sell captured enemies as slaves?
Student: This is a good thing. But I'm talking about friends, not enemies.
Socrates: As you said, stealing is evil for friends. However, if a friend wants to commit suicide, you steal the tools he is going to use to commit suicide. Is this evil? Student: This is a good thing.
Socrates: You said it was evil to cheat friends, but in the war, the commander-in-chief of the army told the soldiers that reinforcements were coming to boost morale. But in fact, there are no reinforcements. Is this deception evil?
Student: This is a good thing.
This teaching method has its advantages. It can inspire people's thoughts and make people actively analyze and think about problems. He used dialectical methods to prove that truth is concrete and relative, which can be transformed into his own negation under certain conditions. This epistemology is of great significance in the history of European thought.
kill
As a citizen of Athens, it is recorded that Socrates was finally sentenced to death by the Athens court, because he did not believe in God and corrupted the thoughts of the young people in Athens. Although he had the opportunity to flee to Athens, Socrates chose to drink the poisonous violet juice and die, because he thought that fleeing would only further weaken the authority of Athenian law, and at the same time worried that Athens would not have a good tutor to educate the people after fleeing.
One night in June 399 BC, a 70-year-old man was about to be executed in Athens prison. I saw him in rags and barefoot, but his face was very calm. After seeing off his wife and family, he chatted with some friends, Kan Kan, who seemed to have forgotten the upcoming execution. It was not until the jailer brought in a cup of poisonous juice that he stopped talking, picked up the cup and gulped it down. After that, he lay down, smiled and said to his friend who came to say goodbye, he ate the chicken from his neighbor's house and hasn't paid him yet. Please give it back to him. With that, the old man closed his eyes peacefully and fell asleep. This old man is the great philosopher Socrates.
Friends of youth
Socrates likes to associate with young people and hopes that young people can get a good education. He believes that after receiving education, a person will not only be happy, manage his own family affairs well, but also make others and the polis happy. He often gives different education to young people according to different situations. Socrates told those who despise learning because of superior genetic conditions that the more talented they are, the more they should be educated. This is like a fierce and unruly thoroughbred horse. If trained from an early age, it will become the strongest and bravest swift horse. Otherwise, it will always be difficult to control. If a person has a low education level, the stronger his will, the easier it is to commit crimes. Socrates taught those who boast of their wealth that they don't need education, and wealth will satisfy their wishes and bring them happiness. Only a fool would think so. He pointed out that happiness lies not in wealth, but in knowledge and contribution to mankind. Only in this way can people gain their respect.
It is said that Plato's cousin Ge Laokong, when he was less than 20 years old, longed to be the leader of the city-state government and gave a speech to many people with great honor and intelligence. It stands to reason that it is not a bad thing for a young man to have such an ideal. Unfortunately, Ge Laokong lacks knowledge and talent in this field. Everyone in the family knows that he is ambitious, daydreaming. I'm afraid he rushed into the forum rashly and was dragged down by others, leaving a laughing stock. But no one can persuade him not to do so. Socrates knew about it, and in view of his relationship with Plato, he decided to enlighten the young man.
One day, Socrates saw Ge Laokong coming face to face and shouted at a distance. "Hey, Ge Laokong, I heard that you are determined to be the leader of our polis. Is this true? " In order to make Ge Laokong happy to listen to his own words, Socrates deliberately pretended to be very enthusiastic and chose the topic that Ge Laokong was most interested in.
"yes. I really think so, Socrates. " Ge Laokong replied.
"That's great. If there is any good thing in the world, it is another good thing. Because, if your goal can be achieved, you will get what you want; You will be able to help your friends; Make a name for your family and win glory for your motherland; When your fame spreads all over the city, it will spread all over Greece and even abroad. At that time, no matter where you go, you will be admired by people. "
Sure enough, Ge Laokong was very happy and stopped to talk to Socrates.
Seeing Glaucon stay, Socrates went on to say, "Glaucon, it seems obvious that if you want people's respect, you must contribute to the polis."
"Just like you said." Ge Laokong replied.
So Socrates asked Ge Laokong to talk about his plans to make contributions. When Ge Laokong was thinking, Socrates asked him if he wanted to make the polis rich first, and the way to get rich was to increase taxes. Ge Laokong agreed. Socrates asked again, where does the tax come from? What's the total? What is the supplementary source of emptiness? Ge Laokong replied that he had not considered these issues. Subsequently, Socrates asked his views on issues that must be considered in governing the country, such as spending reduction, national defense forces, national defense strategies, and food supply. Ge Laokong either didn't consider the answer, or he couldn't say it clearly, or he didn't have to take care of it himself.
Seeing Ge Laokong's predicament, Socrates further enlightened him and said: "The state and the family are harmonious. The country has a large population, and some problems are really hard to say, but if you can help a family, you can start helping more people. Why don't you try to improve your uncle's welfare? "
Ge Laokong said, "As long as my uncle will listen to my advice, I will definitely help them."
Socrates smiled; "Why? You can't even convince your uncle. Do you still want all Athenians, including your uncle, to listen to your advice? Be careful, young man. You want to be famous, but don't do the opposite! Look at the reality, in all things, those who are respected and praised are the most knowledgeable people. On the contrary, they are the most ignorant people. If you really want to be famous and praised in the polis, you should try your best to get the widest knowledge about what you want to do. Because only in this way can you surpass others; When dealing with affairs, you will easily get what you expect. "
Ge Laokong, who is proud and determined to be a leader, was persuaded.
Socrates' classic quotations
A doctor came to ask Socrates that everything he ate was tasteless. Socrates said: You just need to stop eating.
Before Socrates was executed, his friend said sadly, My dear Socrates, how I don't want you to be executed so unjustly! Socrates said quietly, friend, do you want to see me executed fairly?
The following is the story of Socrates.
The largest wheat
There was a great Greek scholar named Socrates. One day, he led several disciples to a wheat field. This is a mature season, and the fields are full of heavy ears of wheat. Socrates said to his disciples, "Go and pick the biggest ear of wheat in the wheat field. Only allowed to enter, not to return. I will wait for you at the end of the wheat field. "
After understanding the teacher's requirements, the disciples went into the wheat field one after another.
The fields are full of barley ears, which is the biggest? The disciples walked forward with their heads buried. Look at this and shake your head; Look at that and shake your head. They always think that the biggest ear of wheat is still ahead. What about you? Although the disciples also tried to pick a few ears, they were not satisfied and threw them away. They always think that there are still many opportunities, and there is no need to make a decision too early.
The disciples walked on with their heads down for a long time, picking and choosing carefully.
Suddenly, everyone heard Socrates' old Hong Zhong voice: "You have come to the end." At this time, the empty-handed disciple woke up like a dream.
Socrates said to his disciples, "There must be an ear that is the biggest in this wheat field, but you may not meet it;" Even if we meet, we may not be able to make an accurate judgment. So you just picked the biggest ear. "
Socrates' disciples listened to the teacher and realized this truth: a person's life seems to be walking in a wheat field, looking for the biggest ear. Some people saw the full grain of "wheat ear" and took it off without losing time; Others look around and miss the opportunity again and again. Of course, the pursuit should be the greatest, but it is true to hold the ears of wheat in front of you in your hand.
Socrates and his house
Once upon a time, there was a very clever man in Greece named Socrates. Young people from all over the country come to him to study. He said many happy things. The way he told the story was so vivid that no one who listened was bored.
One summer, he built himself a house The house is so small that his neighbors are confused. How can this house satisfy him?
"You are such a big shot, but you built your house into such a small box. Is there any reason? "
"It really doesn't make any sense." He said, "But this place is small, but if I can make it accommodate real friends, I will consider myself very happy."
Socrates (469-399 BC), an outstanding philosopher in ancient Greece, was Plato's teacher. He had a far-reaching influence on the development of western philosophy. Socrates has been exploring the truth all his life. Because he is good at rhetoric, he often refutes shallow people who think they are knowledgeable. Therefore, he enjoys high prestige among young people. Unfortunately, in 399 BC, he was publicly tried by conservative nobles on charges of inciting young people and insulting the Athenian god, and was sentenced to death.
Socrates had a large number of fanatical admirers and fierce opponents before and after his death. He left no works in his life, but his influence was enormous. Philosophers often regard him as a watershed in the history of the development of ancient Greek philosophy, and call his previous philosophy pre-Socrates philosophy. As a great philosopher, Socrates had a great influence on later western philosophy.
Socrates himself has never written any works. His behavior and theory are mainly passed down through the records in the works of his students Plato and Xeno Finney. About Socrates' life and theory, because there are various records and statements since ancient times, it has always been the most discussed issue in academic circles.
Ancient Greek philosopher.
According to the laws of Athens at that time, the way to execute a prisoner was to give him a glass of poisoned wine, but within one month before the execution, the court allowed relatives and friends of the prisoner to visit the prison. At that time, many young people visited Socrates in prison every day. When a young man named Critto asked Socrates what his last words were, Socrates replied, "I have nothing but what I usually said to you. Please remember it. You must keep moral integrity. If you don't live according to what I say, no matter how many promises you make to me now, you can't comfort my dead. " Then he got up and took a bath.
On the night when Socrates was about to be executed, he sent his wife and daughter away to talk with his students Fido, West Mias, West Pass and Critto about the immortality of the soul. Soon, the jailer came in and said, "Every time I order the prisoners to take poisoned wine, they hate me and curse me, but I must carry out the orders of my superiors." You are the noblest prisoner here, so I think you will never hate me, only those who want to execute you. I'm under orders now. I hope you'll suffer less. Goodbye, my friend. "Say that finish, she burst into tears and left the cell. Socrates looked at the jailer's back and said, "Farewell, friend, I will do as you say." Then he turned around and said kindly to the young man, "What a good man. He has visited me every day since I went to prison, and sometimes he talks to me kindly. Now he is crying for me. What a kind person! Clitoris, come here. If the poisoned wine is ready, send someone to get it at once, otherwise please do it quickly. " Crystal replied, "It is said that when some prisoners hear that they are going to be executed, they always try their best to delay the time so that they can enjoy a sumptuous dinner. Please don't be impatient, there is still time! " Socrates said at this moment: "You are right indeed, those people are beyond reproach for doing so, because in their view, they have gained something by delaying taking poisoned wine;" "But for me, I can't get anything by delaying taking poisoned wine. On the contrary, in my opinion, saving lives and having a good meal should be despised. Go get the wine. Please respect my request. "
After a while, the person who sent the poison came. Socrates remained calm and did not change his face. He picked up the cup and gulped it down. All the people present wept for the loss of such a good friend. Socrates was very unhappy when he saw this scene. He said, "How could you do that? To avoid such a scene, I sent my family away. As the saying goes, you are not afraid of danger, and you are dead. Please be strong! " Socrates then strolled indoors for a while, saying that his legs were numb and he lay down. The wine delivery man came over and touched his body, feeling no heat. Suddenly, Socrates murmured, "Critto, come here. We borrowed a rooster from Creppi uz. Please don't forget to pay him. " With that, the great philosopher closed his eyes and passed away quietly.
There are two kinds of people in this world, one is a happy pig and the other is a miserable person. Be a miserable person, not a happy pig.
The best person is yourself.
I follow the footsteps of truth like a hound.
* On June 5438+ 10, 2002, European institutions, 30 participating countries, some universities and academic and student organizations participated in the commemorative celebration of Socrates-Erasmus students' breakthrough in one million people.
From 2006 to 2002, 32,000 students and 6,000 teachers from 30 countries including Europe participated in the study and teaching of Erasmus and Socrates in Germany.
Socrates put forward the proposition that knowledge is virtue 2000 years ago, trying to unify truth and goodness.
* 2000 years ago, Socrates asked people to know themselves, only to find that the result of this understanding was to realize their ignorance. Plato advocated the rational method, but people didn't know this idea in advance, and people's rationality encountered fundamental problems, so ancient Greek philosophy went to skepticism.
* As early as 2000 BC, there were records of budding self-consciousness in Indian religious documents; In Socrates' era, "know yourself" gradually evolved into a declaration of human independence, which marked human's conscious understanding of self; The real study of human self began with the modern French philosopher Descartes, who first put forward the concept of "self-awareness" and the incisive conclusion of "paying attention to yourself with the eyes of the soul".
* A research project conducted by the Association from July 2000 to May 2006 at 5438+0 was "Exploration of European Higher Education Certification Scheme", which was partly invested by Socrates Plan.
(4) Strengthen technical training and improve the quality of personnel. During the period of 1995- 1999, the EU will allocate 2.87 billion ecus to support the implementation of vocational training and retraining projects such as Socrates Plan, Da Vinci Plan and Adaptation Plan, and vigorously advocate the new concept of lifelong vocational training to ensure lifelong employment.
* 1995, Nozick published The Essence of Rationality, analyzing the code of conduct in daily life; 1997 The Puzzlement of Socrates is a collection of Nozick's essays, papers, comments and philosophical short stories.
* 1995, the EU began to implement a four-year Socrates education plan with a total investment of 6.5 billion francs. One of the important contents is to actively promote language teaching in EU countries and create conditions for language teachers to go abroad for training.
* Since 1995, the scope of this plan has been further expanded and incorporated into the new plan of the European Union-Socrates Plan, which includes all kinds of education and all levels of education, emphasizing the concept of "education for all in Europe".
* Starting from 1995, the EU allocated 2.87 billion ecus to support the construction of vocational training and retraining projects such as Socrates Plan, Da Vinci Plan and Adaptation Plan.
* Starting from 1995, the EU has implemented two new four-year education and training programs, namely Socrates Program and Da Vinci Program.
* 1995, the European Council put forward two five-year education action plans, collectively known as Socrates. The project includes eight education-related projects, including Erasmus, Lingua and Comenius.
* From the Socrates Plan implemented by the European Union in 1995 and the Bologna Declaration published in 1999, it is not difficult to see that in the process of forming a relatively unified European higher education market or system, teaching in English, providing a wide range of international courses, encouraging students and teachers to study and teach abroad, and establishing mutually recognized and exchanged credits and degrees will become more and more important.
* 1995 The European Council systematically reorganized various education plans within the EU in an integrated way and put forward a comprehensive "Socrates Plan".
* 1995, the European Union launched two important cooperative education and training programs, namely Socrates Program and Da Vinci Program.
* Since 1989, ECTS has been used in some areas, especially in schools participating in Socrates-Erasmus project.
* Ye Xiushan, 1982: A Study of Pre-Socrates Philosophy Joint Publishing Company.
* As early as 1976, hillis Miller described the opposition between the two. Now we can clearly distinguish the following kinds ... On the one hand, Socrates-style, theoretical or cautious critics, on the other hand, Apollo-style/crazy tragic or weird critics.
* 1969, Kohlberg was surprised to see that Brett's Socratic class moral dilemma discussion in middle school for one semester was successful. One third of the students who participated in the discussion moved up one stage, while the students in the control group remained in the same place.
* 1966, Strauss published Socrates and aristophanes to explain aristophanes's 1 1 comedy, among which Clouds and Birds used the most ink, and the first explanation was the cloud with Socrates as the theme.
*1in March, 930, the left-wing writers' alliance was established in Shanghai, and the left-wing literary trend of thought soon influenced Hangzhou, which is close at hand. National Hangzhou Art College is no longer a Socratic college.
* Nietzsche died in 1900, and Freud's Interpretation of Dreams came out in the same year. This accidental overlapping of years symbolically shows Freud's objective inheritance and realization of Nietzsche's hope to return to the pre-Socrates era, that is, to liberate the wildness.
* 1870 "case study teaching method" and "Socrates teaching method" initiated by Randall, Dean of Harvard Law School, have become important teaching methods to be followed by universities.