Which thinker was sentenced to death. MIT Student Forum - show message separately - political science

At all times, the authorities did not like dissident people, such was the great philosopher of antiquity - Socrates. He was accused of corrupting youth and believing in new deities. In this article we will talk about how Socrates lived and how he died.

The philosopher lived in 470-399. BC e. He was a free citizen of Athens. The family into which he was born was not poor. The mother was a “midwife,” today she would be called a midwife. My father worked long and hard as a stonemason. The son did not want to continue his work. He chose his own path. Socrates became a philosopher and gave people the truth, having long conversations with them about the meaning of life, and taught the people morality. In conversations with his opponents, he tried to find a path to perfection.

In the ideas of Socrates, the city of Athens is a lazy, strong horse, but fat from abundant food, which must be teased all the time, not given rest. He saw himself as such a gadfly, teasing an animal. He believed that the Lord assigned him to the inhabitants of Athens in order to travel and communicate with them constantly, to persuade them to live life to the fullest, to strengthen in each of them faith in themselves and the Lord. He was ready to discuss moral philosophy with any passerby at any time.

Appearance of Socrates

There is information that one famous physiognomist of those days, when he met the philosopher, read on his face signs that were not very flattering at that time. He told Socrates that he had a sensual nature and a penchant for vices. The philosopher’s appearance really was such that in those days it was considered a sign of a tendency towards adultery. He was short, but broad in the shoulders, slightly plump, had a bullish neck, bulging eyes, and full lips. All this, according to the physiognomist, was a sign of a base nature. When he told Socrates about this, those around him condemned the physiognomy specialist. Socrates, on the contrary, stood up for the man and said that he was a real professional, because he really had a naturally developed sensual principle, but he was unable to curb it. Socrates told people that he himself sculpted his own image and developed enormous fortitude.

Socrates is an honest citizen

Having, like all citizens, certain obligations to the family, city, and country, Socrates always fulfilled them in good faith. It respected public law, but tried to act responsibly and was distinguished by always expressing its own opinion. For example, when he was on the jury of about 500 people, he alone did not agree with the imposition of the death sentence on the strategists who won the Battle of Arginus. They were accused of not burying the bodies of the soldiers killed in the battle.

Fighting in the Peloponnesian War, he proved himself to be a very courageous warrior. Twice he risked his life to save his comrades. Socrates had many such feats to his name, but he never boasted about them. He believed that this was called “living according to conscience.”

Caring for the soul

The primary thing for Socrates was spiritual purity; he disdained everything worldly. He did not need wealth, power, he thought little about physical health and the opinions of others. Socrates believed that all these things are secondary. His soul always came to the fore.

Accusation of Socrates

Unfortunately, he ended his days tragically. Next, let's talk about the causes and circumstances of Socrates' death. Three citizens of Athens accused him of teaching young people not to recognize the gods worshiped in Athens and telling the younger generation about some new geniuses. The names of the people who accused Socrates were:

• Melet (sings);
• Anit (owner of leather workshops);
• Likon (speaker).

Citizens demanded the death penalty for him. It cannot be said that the accusation was without basis. Socrates really taught young people to use their own reason and not rely entirely on the will of the gods, as was customary then. But in this way he deprived parents and teachers of authority and undermined the foundations of the traditional education of the Athenians.

Who did Socrates believe in?

Before we find out how Socrates died after his sentence, we must figure out who he believed in. According to him, there was a demon living inside him that told him how to live and protected him from doing wrong things. Therefore, Socrates’ behavior often went beyond moral principles; he had his own morality, which did not bring harm to anyone, but went against what the inhabitants of Athens were accustomed to. In short, the cause of Socrates’ death was dissent, although it did not bring grief to anyone, the authorities and the inhabitants of the city were not happy with it.

The philosopher treated his accusers, judges and all the townspeople who did not support him as little children. He considered himself right, although he understood that his values ​​differed greatly from the values ​​of his contemporaries. He treated people with love, considering them foolish children. He identified himself with his older brother or father. He was not angry with those who sentenced him to death, but until the last moment he tried to tell the judges the truth.

Socrates in court

In the courtroom, he behaved differently than usual. He himself noted with surprise the behavior that was unusual for him. More than 500 people tried him. The so-called department of political and state crimes. Here they were supposed to confirm his guilt and pronounce a sentence. 253 people found Socrates guilty. This was not a prerequisite for the death penalty, but Socrates himself ruined everything. According to the rules of judging, before sentencing, the defendant received the floor to admit his guilt and repent. This mitigated the sentence. As a rule, the accused himself had to express himself in court that he was terribly guilty and deserved capital punishment. This was supposed to mollify the court, and usually in such cases the defendants were released.

So why did Socrates die? He gave a speech that all his deeds were a benefit for the Athenians. And that he should be rewarded, not judged. He told the judges that this was his life's work and when he was released he would continue his educational work. The philosopher greatly angered the judges with his insolence. The second time, another 80 people voted for his execution.

This behavior was strange even for the philosopher himself, who studied himself very well. He was characterized by humanism and philanthropy. In life he was very sociable, but he always proved that he was right. He did this very carefully so as not to hurt anyone. Although he was uncompromising when it came to morality and ethics, he expressed his own opinions modestly. He was gentle with his interlocutors and treated them with respect, emphasizing their merits in every possible way and putting his own into the shadows.

At the trial, the philosopher behaved completely differently. He carried himself proudly, his gaze was stern, like a teacher's. He spoke of his mission as something extremely important. The philosopher critically assessed the moral principles and way of life of the Athenians.

What is the heroism of Socrates' death? In the hall, the philosopher does not give the judges the opportunity to cut him some slack because of his age and peacefulness in general, because he has not committed terrible crimes. He dismisses all possible mitigating circumstances, wanting to be judged fairly. Socrates was afraid that people would say that he himself was not bad, but his teachings were bad. He tied himself inextricably to his beliefs. The philosopher himself does not leave any escape routes for the judge, and he is given a terrible sentence - the death penalty.

The story of the death of Socrates

Socrates was supposed to die from the “state poison” - hemlock, a plant with the Latin name Conium maculatum, i.e. spotted hemlock. The poisonous substance in it is the alkaloid horsemeat. Some historians are of the opinion that this is not a hemlock, but a Cicuta Virosa, that is, a poisonous hemlock. The toxic substance in this plant is the alkaloid cicutotoxin. In principle, this did not affect the way Socrates died.

Before the sentence was carried out, Socrates remained in prison for another 30 days. To many, the waiting will seem the most terrible thing, but Socrates endured it steadfastly, believing that there is nothing terrible in death.

Why did you have to wait so long?

The fact is that the court made a decision when the inhabitants of Athens sent a ship with ritual gifts to the island of Delos. Until the ship returned to their hometown, they could not execute anyone.

Refusal to Escape

Since the waiting period dragged on, the philosopher’s friends were looking for a way out of this situation, because they loved Socrates and considered the verdict a terrible mistake. More than once during this month they offered him to organize an escape, but he categorically refused. This is the heroism of Socrates' death. He believed that since this happened, it was God’s will.

On the last day, Plato, a friend and student of Socrates, was allowed to have a conversation with him. These were conversations about the immortality of the soul. The discussion was so emotional that the jailer several times asked the opponents to be quiet. He explained that Socrates should not excite himself before his execution, that is, “get excited.” It was believed that anything that was “hot” could prevent the poison from affecting the condemned person, and he would die in terrible agony. In addition, you will have to drink the poison two or even three times.

Description of the death of Socrates

Socrates was sentenced to death at the age of 70. He bravely endured the entire execution process. Until now, Socrates' behavior in the face of death is considered the canon of courage. While the philosopher was waiting in prison for his time, he asked the gatekeeper how to behave. When he was presented with a cup of poison, he calmly drank it.

After that, he walked around the cell until his thighs began to go numb, then he had to lie down. What were the words of Socrates before his death? In his dying hour, he turned to his friend Crito. Socrates reminded him that he owed Asclepius a rooster and asked him not to forget to give it back.

Conclusions drawn after the death of Socrates

So you learned how Socrates died. His death crippled the European spirit. For thinking Europeans, it became a sign of misfortune and the triumph of injustice. The greatest minds of the time, such as Plato, began to wonder how imperfect the world was that killed such a righteous man as Socrates. It was Plato who concluded that there should be a more perfect world beyond the heavens, in which such virtues as Socrates should live.

Conclusion

In this article you learned how Socrates died. It is a symbol of fortitude and one’s own convictions. When the philosopher was told that the Athenians had condemned him to death, he replied that nature itself had sentenced them to death long ago.

It seems to us that people have changed little since ancient times. We think that if one of us had been in ancient Athens, he might well have come to terms with the Greeks of that time. If only I knew ancient Greek!

Error! Not only do different languages ​​divide us, but - more importantly - we think completely differently than the inhabitants of Ancient Hellas. Many logical conclusions that seem completely obvious to us and do not require explanation would be absolutely incomprehensible to, say, contemporaries Socrates (469–399 BC), who is rightfully considered the first of the philosophers. Not so much in terms of time (there were philosophers before him), but in terms of the importance of the contribution to this science. In fact, it was with Socrates that modern philosophy began.

In the time of Socrates, 2,400 years ago, people were just beginning to master the logical connections between concepts and did not always know how to make correct judgments about what they saw around them and what they felt. Therefore, the mythological view of the world became widespread, when people could believe a fairy tale, as long as this fairy tale was well told. They believed the word of authoritative people. Moreover, many believed that knowledge is the accumulation of various stories. The more stories you remember, the greater your knowledge. It is now obvious to us that such “knowledge” is no good. Firstly, it is full of contradictions, and secondly, it is difficult to convey to others. In order to teach another, you should tell him everything that you know yourself, force him to learn and check whether all this has been learned correctly. In some ways, it’s reminiscent of today’s school, isn’t it?

It was precisely because of the mythological nature of the consciousness of that time that the ability to speak beautifully and convincingly was highly valued. The ancient Greeks were generally extremely social creatures. Their lives were spent in squares and in assemblies, public (from which the famous democracy was born) or entertaining (from which the theater originated). In their opinion, this is how they should live. If a person appeared who preferred private life to public life, who did not participate in general meetings of city citizens and did not go to mysteries either in the temple or in the theater, he was called an “idiot” (“ignorant”).

Because of the sociability of the ancient Greeks, their ability to speak well, convincingly, to attract other people to their side, as they would say today, to excite the masses was highly valued. During the time of Socrates, even special teachers appeared, sophists, who themselves knew how to convince other people (at the same time, often using not entirely honest tricks) and could teach this to others. Naturally, the sophists were well paid for teaching sophistic techniques and skills. Sophistry was a profitable business.

Socrates himself was a sophist. He knew a lot and had a lively mind and a large supply of eloquence. However, from the point of view of the sophists, he behaved very unreasonably. He taught the ability to reason and persuade for free to everyone who wanted to listen to him and learn from him.

Socrates' method of teaching philosophical wisdom was “dialectics,” that is, conversation. He did not proclaim the truth, but asked his interlocutor questions, with the help of which, like a donkey with a stick, he drove him to an independent conclusion about the subject of conversation. This method was not only very effective, but also very useful. She taught the interlocutor not to memorize the speech of a respected person, but to draw conclusions himself. In conversations with Socrates, doubt was constantly present. He taught those talking to him to question the seemingly most obvious truths and words of seemingly the most authoritative people.

Socrates himself said that he only knows that he knows nothing. That is, he did not put on the mask of an oracle and did not demand that they believe him unquestioningly. Since, with the help of the questions that Socrates asked his interlocutor, he independently came to the desired conclusion, Socrates’ statement about his ignorance had a certain meaning. He did not convey knowledge, he conveyed the ability to reason correctly.

Socrates himself did not write any books. The essence of his conversations was conveyed to us by his student Plato. And Plato’s student was Aristotle, who was able to formalize Socrates’ skill in the form of techniques of a special science, logic. Thanks to logic, any person who mastered it could make correct, and most importantly, informed judgments on any issues. Logic helped to find errors in judgment. But most importantly, thanks to logic, people’s view of the world around them has changed. It turned out that words “living” in a person’s head can reflect the world external to a person, real, as Aristotle believed, or ideal (Plato held this opinion). In general, modern science actually began with the conversations of Socrates.

Socrates' favorite topic was virtue, that is, the question of how to behave correctly. In his opinion, in order to act morally, one should know what morality is. A person must perform a moral act consciously and with conviction. Roughly speaking, if someone asks a person why he did something this way and not another, he should explain it, and not say that “everyone does it that way.” Everyone can behave wrongly, and reference to customs cannot be the basis of virtue. In matters of morality, just as in matters of knowledge, one cannot rely on the opinion of the majority.

Such judgments of Socrates were perceived by the supreme authorities of Athens as distrust of “democracy.” And his reasoning that in matters of morality one should consult first of all with one’s “demon of conscience” was regarded as undermining traditional religious beliefs. Translated into modern Russian newspeak, “an insult to the feelings of believers.”

Perhaps, at another time, the Athenian leaders would not have paid much attention to Socrates’ speeches. Just think, some kind of Socrates! But the times were difficult. In 403 BC. Athens was defeated in the Peloponnesian War with Sparta, and power in the city was seized by thirty tyrants, led by Critias, one of those who listened to Socrates' conversations. After the overthrow of the Spartans, Socrates was brought to trial, accusing him of undermining the foundations of his glorious homeland, Athens: “Socrates is guilty of not recognizing the gods recognized by the state, but introducing other, new deities; is also guilty of corrupting the youth.”

According to the court verdict, Socrates drank hemlock poison. It was a merciful death, the poison acted within a few minutes, and death occurred from cardiac arrest. Until the very last moment, Socrates was fully conscious and had a conversation with the students gathered around him.

The ability to live well and die well is one and the same science.

Epicurus

SOCRATES

(470/469-399 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher

Antonio Canova. Death of Socrates (late 18th century, Possagno, Gipsoteca Canoviana)

Socrates was sentenced to death on official charges of “introducing new deities and corrupting the youth in a new spirit,” that is, for what we now call dissent. About 600 judges took part in the trial of the philosopher. 300 people voted for the death penalty, against 250. Socrates had to drink the “state poison” - hemlock (Conium maculatum, spotted hemlock). The toxic element in it is the alkaloid horsemeat. This poison causes paralysis of the motor nerve endings, apparently with little effect on the cerebral hemispheres. Death occurs due to convulsions leading to suffocation. Some experts, however, believe that hemlock was not called hemlock, but poisonous weed (Cicuta Virosa), which contains the poisonous alkaloid cicutotoxin. However, this does not change the essence of the matter.

Antonio Canova. Socrates defending himself in court (late 18th century, Possagno, Hypsoteca Canoviana)

For some reason, Socrates' execution was postponed for 30 days. Friends tried to persuade the philosopher to run away, but he refused.

Canova. Socrates sending away his wife and children (late 18th century, Possagno, Hypsoteca Canoviana)

As Socrates’ student and friend Plato narrates, the philosopher’s last day was spent in enlightened conversations about the immortality of the soul. Moreover, Socrates so animatedly discussed this problem with Phaedo, Simmias, Cebes, Crito and Apollodorus that the prison servant several times asked his interlocutors to calm down: a lively conversation, they say, gets hot, and Socrates should avoid anything that gets hot, otherwise the prescribed portion of poison will not work and he will have to drink the poison twice and even three times.

As a matter of fact, the entire month from the day of sentencing to the day of execution was for Socrates a continuous monologue in dialogues about the essence of death. The beginning was given at the trial when, after the verdict was passed, Socrates said: “... It seems, in fact, that everything happened for my good, and this cannot be so that we correctly understand the matter, believing that death is evil.. .

To die, to tell the truth, means one of two things: either to cease to be anything, so that the deceased does not experience any sensation from anything, or this is some kind of transition for the soul, its relocation from here to another place... And if this were the absence of any sensation, like a dream, when one sleeps so that one does not even see anything in a dream, then death would be an amazing acquisition. It seems to me, in fact, that if someone were to take that night in which he slept so that he did not even dream, compare this night with the rest of the nights and days of his life and, after thinking, say how many days and he lived better and more pleasant nights in his life than that night, then, I think, not only every simple person, but even the Great Tsar himself would find that counting such days and nights in comparison with the rest is worth nothing. So if death is like this, I, for my part, will call it gain, because in this way it turns out that all life is no better than one night.”

On the eve of his execution-suicide, Socrates admitted to his friends that he was full of joyful hope - after all, as ancient legends say, a certain future awaits the dead. Socrates firmly hoped that during his just life, after death he would end up in the society of wise gods and famous people. Death and what follows is the reward for the pains of life. As a proper preparation for death, life is a difficult and painful business.

“Those who are truly devoted to philosophy,” said Socrates, “are, in essence, occupied with only one thing - dying and death. People, as a rule, do not notice this, but if this is still the case, it would, of course, be absurd to spend their entire lives strive for one goal, and then, when it appears nearby, be indignant at what you have been practicing for so long and with such zeal.”

Socrates' version of living in anticipation of death was not indifference to life, but rather a conscious determination to carry out and complete it with dignity. It is clear, therefore, how difficult it was for his opponents, who, when faced with him, saw that the usual arguments of force and methods of intimidation did not work on their opponent. His readiness for death, which gave unprecedented strength and steadfastness to his position, could not help but confuse all those with whom he encountered in dangerous skirmishes regarding polis (city, in the sense: state) and divine affairs. And the death sentence, which so logically ended the life of Socrates, was to a large extent a desired outcome and provoked by him. The death of Socrates gave his words and deeds, everything connected with him, that monolithic harmonious integrity, which is no longer subject to the corrosion of time...

The Socratic case of crime allows us to trace the difficult vicissitudes of truth, which enters the world as a criminal in order to then become a legislator. What was obvious to us in historical retrospect was, in perspective, clear to Socrates himself: wisdom, unjustly condemned to death in his person, will yet become a judge over injustice. And, having heard from someone the phrase: “The Athenians condemned you, Socrates, to death,” he calmly replied: “And nature condemned them to death.”

The philosopher spent his last day as calmly as the previous ones. At sunset, leaving his friends, Socrates retired to his dying ablutions. According to Orphic-Pythagorean ideas, this ablution had a ritual meaning and symbolized the cleansing of the body from the sins of earthly life. Having completed his ablutions, Socrates returned to his friends and family. The moment of farewell has arrived. The relatives received the last instructions from the philosopher, after which he asked them to return home. The friends remained with Socrates until the end. When they brought the hemlock in a cup, the philosopher asked the prison servant: “Well, dear friend, what should I do?” The minister said that the contents of the cup should be drunk, then walk until a feeling of heaviness arises in the thighs. After this you need to lie down. Having mentally repaid the gods for the successful transmigration of the soul to another world, Socrates calmly and easily drank the cup to the bottom. His friends began to cry, but Socrates asked them to calm down, reminding them that they should die in reverent silence.

He walked a little, as the minister ordered, and when his legs became heavy, he lay down on his back on the prison trestle bed and wrapped himself up. The jailer from time to time approached the philosopher and touched his legs. He squeezed Socrates' foot tightly and asked if he felt pain? Socrates answered in the negative. Pressing his leg higher and higher, the attendant reached his thighs. He showed Socrates' friends that his body was growing cold and numb, and said that death would occur when the poison reached the heart. Suddenly Socrates threw off his robe and said, turning to one of his friends: “Crito, we owe Axlepius a rooster. So give it back, don’t forget.” These were the last words of the philosopher. Crito asked if he wanted to say anything else, but Socrates remained silent, and soon his body shuddered for the last time.

Crito covering Socrates' eyes (fragment)

An interesting commentary on the last words of the Greek thinker belongs to Nietzsche: “I admire the courage and wisdom of Socrates in everything he did, said, and did not say. This mocking and loving Athenian freak and pied piper, who made arrogant young men tremble and burst into tears, was not only the wisest talker who ever lived: he was just as great in silence. I wish he had been silent at the last moment of his life - perhaps he would then have belonged to an even higher order of minds. Whether it was death or poison , piety or malice - something loosened his tongue at that moment, and he said: “Oh, Crito, I owe Asclepius a rooster.”

This funny and terrible last word means to those who have ears: “Oh, Crito, life is a disease!” Is it possible to! A person like him, who lived happily as a soldier and in front of everyone, was a pessimist! He only put a good face on life and hid his last judgment, his innermost feeling all his life! Socrates, Socrates suffered from life! And he took revenge on her for this - with that mysterious, terrible, pious and blasphemous word!

Saint-Quentin. The Death of Socrates (1762, Paris, École des Beaux-Arts)

Peyron. Death of Socrates (1787, Copenhagen, State Art Museum)

Peyron. Death of Socrates (Omaha, Nebraska, Joslin Museum of Art)

David Jacques-Louis "The Death of Socrates" 1787
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Antonio Canova. Socrates taking a cup of hemlock (late 18th century, Possagno, Hypsoteca Canoviana)

Systematization and connections

WHO KILLED SOCRATES

The capital of Greece is named after the goddess Athena. According to legend, the first king Kekrop had to decide who would be the patron of the city - Athena or Poseidon. Poseidon struck with his trident, and immediately a spring gushed out of the ground. After Athena's blow, a small olive tree grew from the ground. Cecrops was impressed by Athena's gift and chose her as the patron of the city.

Athens became famous not only for Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum, not only for the legislation of Solon, who laid the foundations of democracy, but also for the fact that in Athens, under a democratic regime, the greatest philosopher of antiquity, Socrates, was condemned to death and executed.

Today's Athens is a modern metropolis, home to almost a third of the country's population (about four million people). Athens has a modern metro (very similar to Paris) and an ultra-modern tram. Dogs are not killed here; they walk wherever they want.

No video can convey the breathtaking beauty of Athens at night, and especially the illuminated Acropolis.

A special attraction is the guard of honor at the Parliament building. The traditional clothing of the guards: skirts, stockings, pom-poms on shoes - all these are symbols of national history, and in particular the four hundred years of Turkish occupation, as evidenced by the four hundred folds on the skirts.

For me, the history of Athens is connected primarily with the personality of Socrates. The monument to the philosopher stands near the building of the Academy of Sciences.

I first learned about Socrates in detail at the age of 18, when I served on a submarine in the Northern Fleet and read the book “Where Personality Begins.” Later I watched Edward Radzinsky’s play “Conversations with Socrates.” Well, then I started reading books on philosophy and, of course, Plato’s Dialogues.

Socrates became for me an example of a true philosopher, for whom philosophizing means living in accordance with one’s convictions.

Socrates was born around 469 BC. e. in Athens. He was the son of the stonemason (sculptor) Sophroniscus and the midwife Fenareta. Thanks to my father, I received a diverse education. He took an active part in the public life of Athens. Participated in the Peloponnesian War. He showed courage and saved the young man Alcibiades, who later became his friend and student.

Socrates was one of the first to direct the attention of philosophers to the unconditional significance of the human personality. Socrates was not a sophist, but a dialectician, that is, a master of clarifying the essence of a subject through questions and answers in a casual conversation (Greek dialegomai - I am talking).

Unlike the Sophists, for whom the main thing was to gain the upper hand in an argument through the ability to argue, Socrates stated that although people think differently and have different opinions, there must be an indisputable, single objective truth.

When one day Socrates' friend Chaerephon visited the oracle at Delphi to ask Apollo for the answer to the question: “Who is wiser than Socrates?” The Pythia replied: “There is no wiser man in the world than Socrates!”

And Socrates said: “I only know that I know nothing...”

Many people know this phrase, but few remember its continuation: “I only know that I know nothing, but others don’t even know that.”

Socrates is the only one who was ready to admit his own ignorance.

Much knowledge is not wisdom. And to be wise, according to Socrates, means to comprehend the essence of things.

Socrates came to the conclusion that his conviction of his own ignorance makes him the wisest, since other people do not even know this.

Plato compared Socrates to a gadfly who, with his sting, makes the horse move. So Socrates, with his questions, excited the Athenians, forcing them to think about their views.

At first, he asked seemingly simple questions, and the interlocutor gave easy answers. However, further questions from the philosopher forced him to refute his own conclusions. Thus, Socrates led his interlocutor to refute his own initial beliefs.

Young people admired Socrates, but many Athenians who considered themselves smart tried to stay away from him.

“Anyone who is of sound mind always strives to be with someone who is better than himself,” said Socrates.

He believed that his calling was to help a person discover the truth in his soul through dialogue with him. This method was called midwifery. Through conversation, Socrates encouraged a person to independently search for answers to the questions he had. “Knowledge is really nothing more than remembering.”

In the 10th century BC, a democratic form of government was established in Athens, which facilitated the free public exchange of opinions.

Socrates tirelessly criticized the Athenian rulers, even going so far as to call for the Spartans to conquer Athens in order to destroy the existing corrupt political system.

And although Socrates never fought with power and for power, he never compromised his principles and always told the truth, which aroused the enmity of the rulers.

Sometimes he received cuffs for his philosophical conversations. Once, having received a kick, Socrates endured this too, and when someone was surprised, he replied: “If a donkey kicked me, would I sue him?”

Socrates lived in constant need. “The less a person needs, the closer he is to the gods.”

He didn't care about supporting his family. “You need to eat to live, not live to eat.”

Socrates always walked around the city barefoot, wearing only a cape. Often, looking at the many things for sale, he said to himself: “There are so many things in the world that I can do without.”

At times Socrates fell into a trance. At these moments, he said that he heard his inner voice, which he called “daimon” and whose commands he obeyed.

Every soul has a good beginning, just as every soul has a patron demon. Socrates heard the voice of his “daimon”, warning him or his friends not to commit certain actions. It was for this doctrine, suspicious from the point of view of the state religion, that he was accused of impiety.

In 399 BC. e., when Socrates was 70 years old, he was accused that “he does not honor the gods whom the city honors, but introduces new deities, and is guilty of corrupting youth.”

We don't know whether Socrates was convicted for pestering everyone with questions or for actual sexual harassment. It is known that the philosophers of that time were distinguished by their predilection for sex with young men. In the dialogue “Symposium” by Plato, love refers specifically to male homosexual love. Although I personally am inclined to believe that Socrates was condemned for his dissent.

Socrates explained the purpose of man in society, his duties, worship of the gods, the need for education, that is, the practical orientation of a person in life, guided by conscience, justice and civic duty.

The exposure of wealth, pride, and ambition aroused anger and even hatred towards Socrates. Aristophanes in the comedy "Clouds" ridiculed Socrates as the head of a certain suspicious school of sophists, a deceiver and inventor, the inventor of a certain new religion and new gods.

For me, the most important thing in Socrates’ personality is his desire for justice and the desire to know himself. “The only thing that every honest person should be guided in his actions is whether what he does is fair or unjust, and whether it is the act of a good or an evil person.”

Socrates believed that happiness is achieved through self-improvement, and not through the accumulation of material wealth. “It is impossible to live better than by spending your life striving to become more perfect.” “Human perfection is a state of mind.”

Socrates did not create a single philosophical text. He did not write anything down, believing that it impairs his memory. He did not charge his students; he did not sell his wisdom.

When I worked at school, in law lessons I talked about Socrates, his philosophy, life position and his death. I already knew what fate awaited me for this, and therefore I organized a production of “The Trial of Socrates” with the children.

In my personal life, I adhered to the advice of Socrates: “Be sure to get married: if you get a good wife, you will be happy; if it’s bad, you’ll become a philosopher.”

Everyone faces a choice: live like everyone else or remain yourself. Socrates' choice is well known.

Socrates understood the famous Delphic maxim “Know thyself” as a call to moral self-improvement and in this he saw true religious piety.

Socrates proceeded from the premise that all evil comes from ignorance. If knowledge and goodness are identical, then by knowing ourselves, we should become better. And if someone acts badly, it means that he does not yet know how to really act, and after his soul is cleansed of false prejudices, a natural love for good will manifest itself in it.

Anyone who wants to understand what love is must fill his entire life with love.

What should a philosopher do if not educating people, that is, conveying the truth that he himself has comprehended?

Virtue is the highest knowledge, and therefore the task of the philosopher, as a person with knowledge, is to teach virtue to other people.

“When you speak incorrectly, it is not only bad in itself, but it also causes harm to the soul.”

In my opinion, the task of a philosopher is, first of all, to comprehend the truth and change himself, and only then help those who want to know in order to change.

“Whoever wants to move the world, let him move himself!” - Socrates taught.

When people talk about the delights of democracy, they forget that it was Athenian democracy that killed Socrates. Not under the oligarchic regime of the “four hundred”, not under the regime of the “thirty tyrants” - Socrates was condemned to death under the most democratic regime.

Already the “political strategists” of that time learned to use all the advantages of democracy to get rid of their political opponents.

“Democracy is the worst form of government,” said Winston Churchill, “until you compare it with others.”

Today, when the issue of reform of the political system is discussed, they forget that all these systems were described by Plato two and a half thousand years ago in the dialogue “State”: oligarchy is replaced by democracy, democracy leads to tyranny, and tyranny is replaced by oligarchy.

In which direction should we improve our democracy: towards democracy or towards tyranny?

We saw “real democracy”, like totalitarian tyranny, in recent Soviet times.

In Russia we have never lived according to written laws, since there has always been a gap between the accepted law and reality.

According to the Constitution, natural resources belong to the people, but in fact to the oligarchs.

The authorities constantly violate the rules they themselves have established.

The authorities turn to the people only when they don’t know what to do.

Ideally, society should not depend on the personality of the ruler, but in fact it does!

Where should our political system develop? Which way? Towards the French "monarchist" party, or towards the Japanese "dominant" party?

The point is not about the advantages of this or that political system, but under which government the people live better. If under a monarch in Sweden people live well, but under democracy in Africa they are poor, then who needs such democracy?

Democracy is not a goal, but a means - a means to provide the people with freedom to live the way they want.

Problems of political structure are of interest only to philosophizing intellectuals. It is important for people that salaries are high and prices are low. Which political system will provide him with this is what he will choose. Hitler managed to significantly raise the standard of living in a few years, which is why the Germans chose fascism. For the same reasons, the Italians chose Mussolini.

And it’s not a matter of leadership, but who the people believe.

I can believe that every ruler wants the best for his people. It’s just that the ideas about the good differ. Oligarchs want one thing, ordinary people want another. Interests do not always coincide, and more often they do not coincide. This is why politics is needed, to resolve conflicts of interest.

But politicians live in their own world, and the people live in theirs, and these worlds do not intersect.

Two and a half thousand years ago, politicians, using the technologies of democratic government, accused Socrates of corrupting youth. And although in ancient Greece love between a middle-aged man and a young man was not considered something reprehensible, I do not believe in Socrates’ homosexuality, because he had a wife, Xanthippe, and three sons.

Accusations of corruption of youth are the favorite weapon of those who want to deal with their opponents. I also heard threats of this kind addressed to me when I worked at school. I described this in the true-life novel “The Wanderer” (mystery).

Socrates' case was tried in a jury of 500 people +1. There were 221 votes for acquittal and 280 votes against.

After the death sentence was pronounced, Socrates' friend Apollodorus, crying, said: “It is especially hard for me, Socrates, that you were sentenced to death unjustly.” To which Socrates replied: “Would you rather see that I was sentenced fairly?”

Socrates is not the only one sentenced to death for dissent. A little earlier, the philosopher Anaxagoras was condemned for philosophical freethinking. The judges made a proposal to “consider as state criminals those who do not honor the gods according to established custom or explain celestial phenomena scientifically.”

The court gave Socrates the right to choose his own fate. He replied that instead of punishment, the government should thank him as a benefactor of Athens and feed him free meals for the rest of his life. Such defiant behavior of Socrates, in my opinion, was explained by the desire to die rather than see how corrupt politicians disgraced Athens. Perhaps the desire to die with dignity was also caused by the refusal to escape from prison, which Socrates was offered by his friends and students.

Socrates lived in prison for several days and calmly awaited death. “Since we don’t know what death is, it’s illogical to be afraid of it,” he said.

In prison, Socrates was visited by friends and students. He told them: “It’s time for me to leave here, for me to die, for you to live, and which is better, no one knows except God.”

When friends and students suggested that Socrates release him from prison, he refused, saying: “The law is harsh, but it is the law.”

In my opinion, for Socrates, death was deliverance from a difficult life struggle with injustice. “It is better to die courageously than to live in shame.”

I think Socrates understood perfectly well that it is no less important to die with dignity than to live with dignity. There is no better death for a philosopher than to die for his convictions. “Those who are truly devoted to philosophy are, in essence, occupied with only one thing - dying and death.”

As a free Athenian citizen, Socrates was not executed, but took poison himself. “I am full of joyful hope that a certain future awaits the dead and that it, as ancient legends say, is immeasurably better for the good than for the bad.”

Good and evil done always come back, sometimes in unpredictable ways. Soon after the death of Socrates, the Athenians came to their senses, expelled his accusers and erected a bronze statue of Socrates.

The Oracle at Delphi was right: “There is no wiser man in the world than Socrates”!

Let life be ready to bring us suffering and torment. Pain dissolves the boredom of life with the desire to be what you are. To love all people without regard and to silently sacrifice oneself, and to help others without bribes, and to have compassion for any creature. To be born, to sacrifice oneself and having accepted death, to be born again, and sending into Infinity everything that your love creates. The Universe is a creation of love, a whirlpool of desires, a smile of tenderness from the Creator, a misunderstood flight of dreams. So let us live without fear of death, without regret of losses. Putting aside the thirst for petty revenge. Loving today and now! (from my true-life novel “The Wanderer” (mystery) on the New Russian Literature website http://www.newruslit.nm.ru

My video "ATHENS" can be seen here:

P.S. Watch and read my notes with videos about traveling around Greece: “How the Greeks Dance”, Ancient Athens Today”, “From Greece with Love”, “At the Oracle in Delphi”, “Wonder of the World - Meteora”, “Holy Mount Athos”, “The Apostle in Thessaloniki”, “Socrates is my friend”, “Mysteries of ancient Greece”, “The Legend of the 300 Spartans”, “Therapeutic Theater Epidaurus” and others.

© Nikolay Kofyrin – New Russian Literature – http://www.nikolaykofyrin.narod.ru

Nikolay Kofirin, February 20, 2010 - 13:54

Greetings to regular and new readers! The article “Socrates: short biography and philosophy, video” is about the life of the ancient Greek philosopher, one of the most important symbols of the Western philosophical tradition. Years of life 469 - 399 BC. e.

Socrates: Brief Biography and Philosophy

Through questioning and interrogation, this philosopher created a new branch of philosophy, which had hitherto been limited to theories of nature, concerning morality and moral education. This new “genre” in philosophical science is called “ethics” (from ethos: personality characteristics and individuality).

For Socrates, moral development was the most important human task. For him, philosophy was not just a bunch of doctrines and dogmas, but a way of life. Living according to his philosophical principles, he did not have time to live “for himself,” refusing to take money for his teaching.

Athens

The future philosopher was born in Athens, in Alopeka. His father, Sophroniscus, was a sculptor, and his mother Fenarete, a midwife. The young thinker had a close relationship with the philosopher Anaxagoras. But his philosophy was influenced by his understanding only insofar as Socrates does not take into account the influence of the gods in human life.

Socrates. Years of life 469 - 399 BC. e.

He believes that a person is the one who makes his life. Socrates was a sculptor in his youth and was invited by Phidias to build three charities on the Acropolis, which was then being rebuilt after being destroyed.

This was a time of impressive cultural, intellectual and political growth in Athens, which flourished under the rule of Pericles, the great strategist and advocate of the development of the city-states.

The philosopher Socrates lives with a sense of belonging to Athens and the Athenian people. He spends his life in constant contact with the polis and the people in it.

Interestingly, his wife Xanthippe is often called an angry woman, but bearing in mind that the husband did not earn money (he never took money for his conversations), nor contributed to the material well-being of his family, it is not surprising that his wife Xanthippe was often angry!

Sophists

In those distant times, sophists, the so-called “teachers of philosophy,” acted in Athens. For whom there was no absolute truth, everything was subjective, and any situation could be proven just as successfully as the opposite.

This relativization of truth did not suit the philosopher, who firmly believed in his ignorance and the attempts of the sophists to turn any lie into truth and distort any truth.

Socrates had frequent disputes with them (which ultimately ended in his death), in which he used the so-called “Maeve art.” The Socratic method is a kind of “assistance in the birth of truth.”

"I know that I know nothing"

In accordance with his maxim: “I know that I know nothing” (“scio me nihil scire” or “scio me nescire”), he asks questions, the answers to which lead to new questions and dialectically reach situations that cannot be denied.

Thus, he strives to show the interlocutor how the truth he adhered to before the start of the dialogue. may differ from the original one. He wanted to show that truth can be born dialectically, passing through all situations that may or may not lead to it.

At the end of his life, Socrates was too embittered by political events and the government of Athens, which was in the hands of oligarchs after the death of Pericles (died during a plague epidemic) and Alcibiades (Pericles' nephew killed by conspirators in Thrace).

But he does not stop to wander the streets of his native city and talk to his friends and everyone he meets.

Accusations and death of Socrates

Because of the great influence he has on the young people and their differences with the opinions of the ruling elite, Socrates becomes an inconvenient figure who can undermine the authority of the rulers, and they file a lawsuit against him, accusing him of perverting the youth and introducing new gods.

His proximity to young people is interpreted as a shame. And the new gods are interpretations of Socrates' "Daimonion", which, according to him, always interferes with him when he is about to make a mistake. This is Socrates' "daimonion" - his conscience, which stops him from immoral and wrong actions.

The thinker himself always argued that the one who does evil does not know what is good, that is, if someone knows what is good, he will follow it and will not make mistakes. Socrates cannot prove his innocence in this trial and is doomed to death by poisoning.

Jacques Louis David "The Death of Socrates". 1787. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Despite his friends' attempts to force him to move to another city (and they organize his escape!), he remains firm in his belief that if he does this, he will be betraying his entire life. Because it would mean retracting everything he said he believed in the absolute truth. Socrates dies after drinking a cup of hemlock poison (hemlock laced with additives).

He did not give up written work; he preferred conversation to this. We have evidence only of his contemporaries and followers. Plato talked about him in his Dialogues, where Socrates is the main character. Xenophant also mentions the thinker; Aristophanes writes in the comedy “Clouds”, where Socrates is seen as a typical sophist.

The sad story of the death of Socrates is reminiscent of the end of the life of the Roman philosopher Seneca.

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