As we examine the life and impact of Socrates, we can see that there are many similarities between Jesus and Socrates. However, it’s important to note that the two men were not on an equal plane. According to Christian […]
Monthly Archives: October 2020
8. Socrates and the Unexamined Life
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”1 -Plato’s Apology, 38a This now famous line, which Socrates spoke at his trial, has rippled throughout Western Civilization. If I could sum up Socrates’ legacy in one maxim, it would be […]
7. Socrates a Philosopher of Virtue and Truth
What is the legacy of Socrates? For not leaving any writings behind, he had a tremendous impact on those who followed him1.
6. Socrates, Martyr for the Truth
The Presocratic Philosophers and Socrates Socrates died for his beliefs and this set him apart from all other Presocratic philosophers that preceded him. He changed the course of Greek philosophy1.
5. Socrates an Ambassador of Truth to Athens
Previously, I discussed how Socrates was convicted of “corrupting the youth” and “impiety.”1 He was accused of impiety because he tried to expand the meaning of piety beyond mere ceremony into intellectual understanding and the development of virtue. What good is honoring the gods if you are ignorant of what you are doing and […]
4. Socrates the Humble Revolutionary
Socrates Upsets the Status Quo In the previous post, we saw that there were real and contrived reasons for why Socrates was brought to trial. Even though he was implicated in support of the previous tyrannical regime, he probably would have been fine if he had kept his head down and stayed under the radar. […]
3. Socrates the Wisest Man in Athens
Why was Socrates executed? He was tried in front of 501 of his Athens peers who, acting as judge and jury, declared him guilty and sentenced him to death.1
2. Socrates’ Death and the Triumph of Reason
On the appointed day of his death, Socrates, at 70 years old, is in a jail in Athens, Greece. His friends and family are allowed to see him. Socrates calmly discusses matters of the afterlife before drinking the hemlock.
1. The Harmony and Tension Between Faith and Reason
“What does Jerusalem have to do with Athens? -Tertullian, Church Father (155A.D.-220A.D.) After his 51 A.D. encounter with the Greek philosophers at the Areopagus, the Apostle Paul would probably have answered the above question with, “Not much.” Up until this time, Hebrew faith and Greek philosophy had been developing on parallel paths. It seems as […]