Socrates was and is one of the most influential figures in the history of Western philosophy. He was a philosopher of Athens, generally regarded as one of the wisest people of all time. As if to fill the gap, successive individual philosophers and philosophical traditions - from Plato to Aristotle and beyond - construct a range of different Socrates, to serve either as a model for emulation or as a target of attack. It is this idea of the truth being pursued, rather than discovered, that characterizes Socratic thought and much of our worldview today. Socrates thinking became the heart of philosophy because it submitted us to question the decisions we have or will have made and the lives we choose for ourselves.Socrates, unlike Plato, was always conscious of how much he did not know, and claimed superiority to unthinking people only in that he was aware of his own ignorance where they were not:The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing The wisest of you men is he who has realized, like Socrates, that in respect of wisdom, he is really worthless. (p. 15)Socrates wrote nothing because he felt that knowledge was a living, interactive thing. Because he felt he had no special wisdom or knowledge of his own, Socrates did not write any works or charge for his services:He is not, he says, a man who teaches for money, like the professional 'Sophists' with whom Aristophanes has confused him. (p. 13) He held open discussions with any citizen who was willing to converse with him. His questioning still lingers to the present day because he was the first person to open our eyes to perplexity of wisdom. At that time, Socrates wanted to discuss what people already thought they knew which made the citizens of Athens question their knowledge on everything. Their topics included love, politics, war, friendship, poetry, religion, science and government but all centered around a central theme of "how should a man live his life:" The important disc...
