THE GREAT ONES
Socrates
V.K. SUBRAMANIAN
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Socrates’ (470 B.C. – 399 B.C.) main teaching was “Know thyself”.
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Illustration: V.K. SUBRAMANIAN
Socrates, the Greek philosopher, is considered one of the world’s wisest men. In the eloquent words of his disciple, Plato: “He was truly the wisest, and justest, and best of all the men whom I have ever known.”
Socrates’ major contributions to civilisation are:
A new method of philosophic enquiry (known as Socratic method), an emphasis on moral conduct and ethics, a conception of the soul as an immortal entity and existing in harmony with an ordered universe, based on a principle of good.
Beliefs and ideas
Socrates’ philosophic ideas clashed with prevalent beliefs and he was sentenced to death for corrupting the young people of Athens. There is a story (told by Voltaire) about two Athenians talking about Socrates: “That is the Atheist, who says there is
only one God!”
Socrates’ main teaching was: “Know thyself” (which is identical with the ancient Upanishadic teaching).
He considered death to be a migration of the soul from one place to another.
When Socrates drank the poison given to him and was about to die, he told Crito, his disciple: “I owe a cock to Asclepius. Will you remember to pay the debt?” Crito said: “Yes.”
Some years back, a teacher asked the school children to write an essay on Socrates. One young boy wrote” “Socrates was a good man. He asked others also to be good like him. They poisoned him and killed him.”
This is an extract from the book The Great Ones by V.K.Subramanian, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi
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