Video Review: Socrates & Plato's Greece

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Of Socrates' Period in Antiquity
"I know nothing at all."
- Socrates, 469-399 B.C.E.

Socrates, they say is the father of modern thought, the originator of critical inquiry, of philosophy. He was that gadfly that made Athens look into itself, asking questions, prodding thought, forcing people to reflect and analyse reality and the state of things. For this reason, his wisdom attracted many followers whose questions about life, reality, knowledge and meaning found answers in Socrates' thoughts, answers that cannot be found in faith and the daily challenges of surviving Ancient Greece. While he has not left us with written manuscripts, his ideas live on to us to this day thousands of years from his time because of the works of his varied students highly, deeply influenced by Socrates. Among the many of his students is Plato who was Aristotle's teacher who in turn became the tutor and mentor of Alexander the Great of Macedonia, conqueror of the then known world. Plato's work, the republic analysed the many facets of Athenian society - politics, social situation, morality, ethics, order and other lofty topics like meaning, knowledge, truth and reality. In many of the instances in Plato's work, Socrates surfaces as a character 'speaking' narratives and ideas. Socrates was assassinated due to his 'radical' ideas that many in Athens found 'libellous' and dangerously influencing the youth and the masses. His assassination, officials declared, was for the good of Athens. The thing is however, Socrates lived on in his students, immortalized in many of their works, particularly those belonging to Aristotle. Socrates was jailed by Athenian elders because of his 'teachings', encouraging his students to use logic and reason, to think, to criticise and question. In a society that needs social harmony and a uniform set of values and beliefs', doing so is subversive as for the Athenian elders, free thinking creates rebels and mocks the general consensus creating problems for society. The many themes in his teaching include: knowledge is virtue, the pursuit of self-development is much more important than the pursuit of wealth, that leaders must be ...