When Socrates was asked to define an educated person, he did not mention the accumulation of knowledge.
“Education, he said, is a matter of behavior. So which people do I consider educated?
- First of all those who control unpleasant situations, instead of being controlled by them…
- Those who face all events with bravery and reason
- Those who are honest in all their dealings
- Those who face unpleasant events and unpleasant people with good intentions
- Those who control their pleasures
- Those who are not defeated by their misfortunes and failures
- Finally those who have not been worn out by their successes and glory”.
After all, isn’t education so much a matter of universities as… education… And education is passed on mainly during childhood, from the family, social interactions, school and everything else the child learns. Education is knowing how to handle disparate situations, becoming wiser and being able to manage your passions.
Who was the great philosopher Socrates?
Socrates was a Greek, Athenian philosopher, as well as the founder of Western philosophy. He was the son of Sophronikos and Fainareti and was born in Ancient Athens, in 469 BC. In the early years he was engaged in the art of his father, who was a stonemason (marbler), but later, “education” won him over.
He was introduced to philosophy by the philosopher Archelaos, whom he met at the age of 17. Philosophy for Socrates was not a simple matter. It was a great work and was considered a divine command. He used to say that everything he does and doesn’t do is dictated to him by a voice – otherwise he called it a demon – which tells him what is not good to do, to avoid it. Many tried to explain this voice, but in the end they concluded that it is an inner voice, which does not urge you to do any action, but only to avoid actions that were not good.
Socrates was different from other “teachers”. At first, he did not teach continuously, but was chosen with various people of every social group, throughout the city. He did not take money from his students – unlike the sophists – but he had formed a group with a young audience, who admired him and wanted to listen to him. The subjects for which he was elected were of all kinds, but mainly socio-political, moral and religious.
Unlike the rest of the Athenian citizens, he did not want anything to do with politics, but always stood up for his country. For this reason, he fought in three campaigns during his lifetime, during the period of the Peloponnesian War. He was a good citizen and person. In the campaigns he participated in, he had saved the lives of many people, endured hardships and was always just.
In 399 BC, Socrates is accused of corrupting the young with his teaching and showing disrespect to the Gods. The court of Iliaa found him guilty of this charge and sentenced him to death. The trial was described by many as a “travesty”.
The reason was that the real motives behind it were nothing more than the fact that Socrates had an anti-jealousy with the great men of his time, such as Critias. The second was one of his most important students and an important figure of the thirty tyrants, with whom Socrates did not have a particularly good relationship.
