Philosophy and Thinking (Q&A)

Answer: Socrates was a Classical Greek philosopher. He is credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. As an enigmatic figure, he is known only through the classical accounts of his students. Plato's dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. Through his portrayal in Plato's dialogues, Socrates has become renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics, and it is this Platonic Socrates who also lends his name to the concepts of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, or elenchus. It is Plato's Socrates that also made important and lasting contributions to the fields of epistemology and logic, and the influence of his ideas and approach remains strong in providing a foundation for much western philosophy that followed. The 'real' Socrates, like many of the other Ancient philosophers, remains at best enigmatic and at worst unknown.

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