Father of Western Philosophy

Socrates(469 - 399 BC), often said to have been the wisest man of the ancient world, was born in Athens. He was the first of a succession of the three great Greek philosophers. He taught Plato, who in turn, instructed Aristotle.

Socrates was a thinker of great originality. He gave extensive lectures on the various aspects of human life, and believed humans existed for a purpose. Socrates ideas on the forms and functioning of an ideal government are also of great value.

Socrates believed in the idea of a single unified and transcendent force behind the natural world. He was accused of corrupting the youth and interfering with the religion of the city. This eventually led to his arrest and ultimately he was sentenced to death by drinking the deadly poison hemlock. His ideas, beliefs and thoughts influenced and gave a direction to the philosophy of those times and consequently formed the basis of Western philosophical thought.

Tags: Socrates, philosophy, great philosopher