Aristophanes The Legend Of Socrates

The Legend of Socrates “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think”, said Greek philosopher, Socrates. This quote truly embodies Socrates because his whole purpose was to make you question what you assume you know best. He believes that one who acknowledges that they know nothing is the true beholder of knowledge. Socrates was a man who many can agree is the father of western philosophy. He was never afraid of speaking his mind and teaching his beliefs, no matter what the penalty was. Although, Socrates was very strong-minded and possibly ahead of his time, he never actually documented his words. Socrates is depicted by three principal sources, one of them were written by his most famous student, Plato, the other two were

Aristophanes was a very witty and comical writer. In The Clouds Socrates was very sarcastically portrayed. Nonetheless, Aristophanes depicts Socrates as an atheist with a quick temper who lacks patience. In the writing he’s in charge of “The Thinkery”, this is a school that consists of pupils who have a materialistic take on the possible ideas of the world, however, Socrates isn’t a teacher, rather he is an “overseer”. The character Strepsiades is a student that is used to bring out the impatience in Socrates. This tactic works because Strepsiades is unable to grasp the concepts taught in the school. Aristophanes’ comical writing on Socrates can decipher him as a bad person, however, there is no specific statement where he states Socrates is a bad person. The only part of the passage that may indicate that Socrates is “morally bad” is in the second scene, where he’s quick to give up on Strepsiades. This context also covers the topic of just and unjust, which happens in front of Pheidippides. In regards to the topic of just versus unjust, Socrates doesn’t necessarily say which side he picks, he just leaves it up to the students to decide which path they choose to follow. By doing this Aristophane showcases Socrates’ ability to establish a sense of aporia, which is a state of puzzlement or being puzzled. This is a consistent characteristic of Socrates because this is achieved in Euthyphro when he questions the

However, they all are different in a sense. Xenophon’s was written by word of mouth but nonetheless he still quoted what he was told, and tried to explain what was going on and almost animate what could’ve been going on. Aristophanes’ was a humorous, sarcastic representation of Socrates. This could’ve easily been mistaken as a negative point of view on him, when in reality it was all pure sarcasm. And lastly, there was Plato, who seemed to have grasped Socrates the best. He displayed what could possibly have been Socrates in the purest form, and word for word. Plato carried us through the trials and tribulations of Socrates, quote for quote. Through Plato we are able to see Socrates’ tactics and approaches on proving his notion that admitting you have no knowledge is to have all knowledge. And his ability to make you realize that what you think you know best is something you know nothing of is showcased in Plato’s work. Overall, Socrates was a highly controversial philosopher but he will forever be a memorable and huge part of philosophy. His tactics, subconsciously, are used by people to this day. And although some people may not agree with points of view he never gave up on his own beliefs, even down to his last moments. Socrates redefines the definition of philosophy, to me. Philosophy is the study of knowledge, but to Socrates his approach and use of philosophy was to understand the key to