What is philosophy, and how does in differ form myth and religion - Essay Example

Quite interestingly, there are no writings of authored by Socrates that propagated during his lifetime. What’s more, his life has been the subject of a bitter ending but needless to say that his tragic ending ended in vain. Though he had not been popular or rich in his endeavors, he was gifted with students who carried with them the teachings of their ostracized and misunderstood teacher. Charged with corrupting the mind of the youth, Socrates came to suffer a painful death. Yet it is his fervent passion in teaching that has transcended the centuries up to this day where the ‘Socratic method is being widely used as the preferred system of teaching among progressive schools.

The asking of the ‘why’ in all that we do is the penultimate requisite in all the things we do as he had emphasized. This proves the idea that it is more often in the questions that we ask that we are searching than the answers we provided or are provided that lies where the truth is. And in the process, we figure out who we truly are and why we do the things that we do. According to the Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, Socrates while living in Athens, saw how the children were educated.

Sophists, who were paid for their vocation, taught their students on ways to be successful in life (pp. 375-379). How they are to be rich later on in their lives. But they never questioned the right way. Socrates was more intent on showing the right way. He contended that there are general principles that should justify the behavior of man. These principles should be taught and that they must be the main focus of their life’s education in the process. Though without any paper with his name affixed on it, the influence of Socrates can be traced on the writings of Plato.

Through him, the teachings of Socrates were passed down through the generations. It is in the ‘’Dialogues’ of Plato that we came to be