The Father Of Western Philosophy

Let me talk a bit about Democracy first.

Democracy first came into existence first in Greece, 2500 years ago.
And the problem in a democracy lies in its people. If the people are not well adverse will the process it will lead to nothing more than demagoguery.

Socrates

Also, I mentioned Socrates in Democracy- a Failure. The famous philosopher who hated democracy.
Let's dive into the life of Socrates, also called the Father of Western philosophy.

He was born in the golden age of Pericles, the golden age of democracy. Pericles was the ruler who helped in establishing democracy. But even in this golden age, Socrates had a peculiar habit of questioning everything. He believed in rational thinking rather than set rules and norms.

Being In the first age of democracy he questioned democracy. He believed that If people were not educated, it will lead to nothing more than an authoritative rule.

One famous example- After World War 1, Germany was humiliated by the Allies. It had to give away most of its army, its wealth. People were filled with hatred, fear. The Nazi party used this hatred and gained influence. Hitler influenced masses and because of his influence, he was made the chancellor of the country by the President of Germany. He once invoked emergency rights and granted himself the absolute power of a dictator. Rest is history.

BUT Democracy powered Hitler.

Maybe Socrates was right?

He had a peculiar style of teaching. He never answered the questions but added more questions for the person to introspect and find the answer.

His method of philosophy, dialectic method or Socratic method involved questioning and critical thinking. Because of his methodology, at one point, he had thousands of followers.

But Socrates never wrote anything about himself and his philosophy. All we know of him today is because of his philosophy disciples. Plato, another famous philosopher, and his student, recorded his dialogues.

Plato' s student Aristotle was the person who guided the most successful military commander, Alexander the great. Everything is interlinked.

Socrates and his questioning led to his own demise. He was put on trial and further sentenced to death for corrupting the minds of Athenian youths. But his works inspired many leaders, from his time and ours.

There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.- Socrates

I have also written about The Father of History, do give it a read.