Socrates lived in Athens during the Periclean Age until his death in 399 B.C. He was a well known philosopher who would express his knowledge to anyone who cared to listen. Socrates was a clever and intelligent man, while at the same time very modest. He was truthful and spoke not in fancy phrases, but in random words that came to his mind. During the time in which "The Trial and Death of Socrates" took place, Socrates was seventy years old.

Socrates lived in a time when people did not really question things. Socrates', on the other hand, main method of philosophizing involved asking many questions. By questioning people and making them think he was able to obtain knowledge and understanding of life and its values. At the same time, Socrates was helping the people he was questioning understand the reasoning of his concept

Another theory of Socrates was that he was a blessing for the city of Athens. He believed that his practice of questioning people and discovering wisdom and truth was what the gods ordered him to do. Socrates believed he was persuading people to care for their soul and not personal wealth as a service to the gods. He explains that " Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively"(Ap 30b). Socrates also claimed that because he told the truth during his trial, which was not what the jury wanted to hear, he will be taken care of by the gods. He did not apologize for his approach at the trial because he " would rather die after this kind of defense then live after making the other kind"(Ap 38e).

One of Socrates' main goals in questioning people like this was intellectual pursuit. In other words, he was on a search for human wisdom. Socrates believed " The understanding of life and its values....was the very basis of the good life and philosophy"(Grube 1). The main intention of all Socrates' conversations with people was to discover the unknown truth. He was trying to find the real answers to difficult questions and define ethical terms through discussions with the people of Athens. Another goal of Socrates' methods of philosophy, " Was to expose the ignorance of those who thought themselves wise and try to convince his fellow citizens that every man is responsible for his own mo

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Approximate Word count = 1000
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)