The Death of Socrates by David
Very little is know about the life of Socrates, what we do know was written down by his studen, Plato, who wrote down Socrates' discussions with his students. Socrates lived in Athens around 470 to 400 BCE. From what we can see in Plato's dialogues, he was dedicated to his philosophy, getting people to examine their way of thinking, and to explore their ideas. When looking at Plato's dialogues, it is hard to tell how much is Plato, and how much is actually Socrates.
Socrates developed the style (not too surprisingly) called the Socratic Method, which involved asking questions about what others thought. Through the process of intense questioning, Socrates was always able to poke holes in people's ideas.
Soon to come, a look at dialetics, the dialogues, and Plato's Republic.
The 4th Tetralogy: Exploring Plato's Middle Dialogues