Unlike the Pre-Socratic philosophers, Socrates (470–399 BCE) focused less on explaining the nature of the cosmos and more on investigating morality and ethics (see here). His ideas helped establish ancient Athens as the cradle of Western civilization and his influence on the development of human thinking is incalculable. In particular, his method of intellectual investigation changed the path of philosophical thought.
Virtually single-handedly, Socrates shifted the axis of philosophy, so that it was no longer dominated by an abstract ‘looking out’ at the cosmos. Instead, its gaze was redirected towards the nature and conduct of individuals and society as a whole. Confronting such fundamental questions as what constitutes good and evil and what is justice, he shone a light into dark corners. Suddenly, philosophy was the stuff of public debate, with the conduct of individuals placed under unprecedented scrutiny. It was, as may be imagined, a sometimes uncomfortable environment in which to be operating.
Alas, none of Socrates’ personal writings remain, so our knowledge of him derives solely from the accounts of others (most notably those of his student, Plato, who depicted his master in imaginary conversations in works such as Republic). From these, we may draw certain conclusions about Socrates’s various philosophical positions. We know, for example, that he considered self-knowledge to be vital to the health of the soul. He called knowledge ‘the most valuable of possessions’, since it guides the individual to live a virtuous life, which he considered the ultimate goal of existence.
The dialectic method
Arguably Socrates’ greatest contribution to philosophy was his development of what we now call the Socratic (or dialectic) method – a revolutionary form of inductive argument. Socrates compared his role in the birthing of ideas to his mother’s profession of midwifery. The dialectic approach demands that a topic, idea or argument is subjected to probing questioning, during which the precise terms of reference of any given philosophical position are tested to breaking point. Should an idea fall down, it must either be discarded or else reviewed and revised. Via this process of robust cross-examination, those involved in the dialectic use the answers reached to further their base of knowledge. If this sounds like it has much in common with the Scientific Method (see here), it does.
Socrates was a master of the method. When the oracle at Delphi famously proclaimed him as the wisest person alive, he set about disproving the assertion by entering into debate with other prominent ‘wise people’ to show himself less wise than them. However, time after time he exposed their philosophies as flawed. Furthermore, he asserted his own wisdom by recognizing its limits. As Plato quotes him in Apology: ‘What I do not know, I do not think I know.’