What Do You Know About Empedocles And Socrates?

Empedocles: (435-495 B.C.) He was a personality of plural facets. He was not a statesman, an orator, a physician, a poet and a philosopher, but also a religious teacher. His followers believed him to be master of supernatural powers.

He admitted that no change is possible, in the sense that something which exists may be destroyed, and something which does not exist at all may come into being. But there may be a lot of change in the sense that the universe consists of "four root things: earth, air, water and fire." In addition, there are two forces: Repulsion and Attraction. So these two forces respectively cause the continuous separation and mingling of these four "root things." This explains all the changes in this world.

Socrates: (399-469 B.C.) He was said to be an ugly person. He was short, stocky, blear-eyed and snub-nosed with a large mouth, thick lips, careless in dress, clumsy and uncouth. He was the sun of a sculptor. His mother was a midwife. His "dialectic method" popularly known as the Socratic Method, consisted of systematic analysis in dialogues. His works have reached us in the form of dialogues. Plato, his pupil, has immortalized these "Dialogues by recording thirty-five of them in writing. He did not invent any particular teachings, but generally proved that knowledge, morality and organized human society is possible.

Socrates has come to stand for the ideal of a wise man, yet one of his principles was that it is wise to know that your wisdom is worth nothing!

He was born in Athens, Greece, about 470 B.C. little are known of his parents or childhood.
He left no writes. His disciple, the great philosopher Plato, wrote down, in the form of dialogues, Socrates' teachings and ideas, together with many scenes from his life.

According to Plato, Socrates spent his time in the market place of Athens talking to anybody who would listen. He liked especially to find someone with firm ideas on a subject. Socrates would draw him out with leading questions and show him he was ignorant of the subject he had been so sure about. Hence, the method of arguing by asking questions is called Socratic. His fundamental principle was "Know thyself".The Athenians disliked him because he upset all their former ideas. Therefore they said to him that he did not believe in the gods, or in truth, or injustice.

In the year 399 B.C., his enemies brought him to trial on the charge of having corrupted the youth of Athens and of neglecting his religious duties. No one believed the accusations and Socrates realized this. The defence he made, known as ''the Apology of Socrates", was afterwards written out by Plato. It was mocking and courageous. Although Socrates knew that he would be condemned to death, he said he must go on leading the same life, devoting himself to the search for truth.

In prison, Socrates passed his last day discussing with his friends the immortality of the soul. He took the cup of hemlock, the poison which was given him, without trembling and drank it. His friends burst into tears, but he begged them to be silent. He died with a smile on his lips.