Socrates and Plato are probably the two most prominent philosophers to ever live. It would be impossible to review all of their teachings in one essay, so I will cover one aspect of each philosopher’s career. Specifically, Socrates’ disagreement with the Sophists and Plato’s allegory of the cave. 

Socrates was intrigued by matters of morality and interpersonal relationships. Since Socrates had no writings of his own, most of what we know about his teachings come from his student, Plato. Socrates was strongly opposed to the Sophists, mostly because they taught subjective truth: the idea that what was true for one person could be untrue or false to another. Socrates argued that truth was objective and no matter what someone believed or didn’t believe that doesn’t change the reality of truth or falsity of that belief. While debating with Sophists, Socrates rightly argued that it was against their own teachings to tell opponents that their beliefs were untrue or wrong because they did not believe in objective truth, and therefore contradicted the foundation of their argument. Because of his teachings and his disagreements with the Sophists, who held more mainstream views at the time, Socrates was sentenced to death for charges of impiety and corrupting the youth. He was convicted by a jury and executed by drinking poison. 

After Socrates’ death, Plato succeeded him. Plato argued that everything has non-essential traits, but people are still able to determine that a thing is part of a certain group. He used the example that a triangle is still a triangle whether it’s scalene, isosceles, equilateral, whether it’s written in red or black pen, whether it’s thick or thin. Everyone will still be able to identify a triangle since all triangles share common characteristics. For example, they all add to 180 degrees. Plato also taught that even if all triangles disappeared, the idea and truths of triangularity would still exist. He thought this same logic could be applied to concepts like justice and goodness, believing these were not man-made invented concepts, but rather are unchanged standards that existed before us and will exist after.  

Most of Plato’s beliefs are summed up in what he called “the allegory of the cave.” In this parable, prisoners are chained in a cave, unable to turn their heads. They are only able to see a wall in front of them. Behind them there is a fire burning and a bridge on which puppeteers walk and cast shadows on the wall. The prisoners would be unable to see the puppets, or real objects, that passed behind them, but would only be seeing the shadows and echoes cast by the real objects. Plato asserted that these prisoners would certainly mistake the appearance of the shadows as reality. They would have no idea the shadows they perceived as reality were really just shadows cast by real objects behind them. Plato’s point is that people may acquire concepts of physical objects, but those concepts are not on the same level as the things we perceive. 

Although Plato and Socrates lived thousands of years ago, their teachings are still relevant today. These philosophers held many views and beliefs. However, Socrates’ arguments against the Sophists and Plato’s allegory of the cave are critical to grasping their worldviews and our reality today.

From their government to their beliefs on creation, the Greek’s influence in Western Civilization cannot be understated. Sometimes earlier Greek philosophers are overshadowed by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. However, that doesn’t negate their prominence in Greek culture and Western Civilization as a whole. 

The Greeks loved two things: reason and asking questions. Greek philosophers often pondered and discussed the meaning of life and existence. This is reflected in their institutions: religion, literature, government, and the Olympics. These institutions were often intertwined with each other. For example, the Olympics were not just a show of one’s strength and athletic ability, but it was also a religious event, including sacrifices to Zeus and other gods. The Olympics also represented the Greeks’ rugged individualism. All of the games were one-man competitions, with no team events. This individualism is too shown in their government. Being one of the first ever democracies, the city-state of Athens created the basis for a type of government that is still used in many nations today. 

When one thinks of ancient Greek philosophers, people imagine men like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, although there were philosophers that predated these men and are just as important. These pre-Socratic thinkers mostly discussed matters of the foundation and cause of life. 

Thales of Miletus was of the belief that water was the cause of all things and that the Earth is a discus floating on water. Even though this sounds ridiculous, he was able to correctly predict eclipses and explain them factually. Later a man named Anaximander challenged Thales’ views. He taught that no physical thing could be the source for everything because that would mean that thing would have to be the source of its opposite. For example, water would have to be the source for fire, which he thought to be impossible. Anaximander believed the cause of everything was something he called the “unbounded” or the “limitless.” The Sophists came along later, teaching that all laws are mere convention, agreed upon arbitrarily. In saying this, they had effectively rejected the idea of morality and embraced the idea of subjective truth. Subscribing heavily to inherited morality, the Sophists would later be vehemently opposed by Socrates. 

Not all the pre-Socratic philosophers’ teachings were correct. However, it’s still vital to study and understand what they taught. Socrates and Plato would later oppose many of these early philosophers, so you must listen to the arguments for and against their beliefs. These teachers also influenced stances of religion, government, and sports, the impact of which can still be felt to this day.