Unless you were a classics major in college, your main exposure to the Greek philosopher Socrates may have been the Socratic Method, a technique that uses probing questions to eventually lead to the critical analysis of a given topic. It’s an effective tool for engaging a classroom, and it’s still used by many college professors today.
But while the Socratic Method was likely Socrates’ most enduring contribution to society, there’s much more to learn about this legendary figure: For many, he's viewed as the founder of Western philosophy itself — and the most exemplary of all the Greek philosophers.
Since Socrates never wrote anything himself, what we know about him is filtered through the philosophical texts of a few followers and contemporaries, like the historian Xenophon and the philosopher Plato.
Still, we do know that he lived from 470 to 399 B.C. His father, Sophroniscus, was a well-liked stone cutter ...
