Socrates: Soldier, Philosopher, Teacher and Conscientious Objector

Born and raised during the golden age of Athens, as a youth, Socrates studied the writings of contemporary philosopher Anaxagoras, while he was taught rhetoric by Aspasia, the gifted mistress of the Athenian leader Pericles.

From Military to Philosophy

Born physically ugly, with bulging eyes and an upturned nose, Socrates showed great physical endurance and courage during his years as a hoplite or foot soldier, rescuing the future Athenian leader Alcibiades during the siege of Potidaea in 432 B.C. After his service during the Peloponnesian War, Socrates became a beloved teacher and philosopher to the youth of Athens, despite his unkempt appearance in a society with highly refined standards of beauty and hygiene.

Socratic Technique

While Socrates left no written records of his philosophical teachings, two of his students—the future historian Xenophon and philosopher Plato—wrote down many of their elder’s teachings, including his Socratic Technique, or the disciplined practice of thoughtful questioning, which allows a student to examine ideas logically before determining the validity of the ideas in question.

In a nutshell, Socrates believed that philosophy—despite the limits of human knowledge—should achieve practical results for the greater good of society, pointing out in Plato’s Socratic dialogues that human choice is almost entirely motivated by an individual’s desire for happiness.

Socrates avoided politics for most of his life, preferring to maintain unbiased friendships during the fierce power struggles that followed the Peloponnesian War until his name was drawn to serve in the Athens assembly, which was one of three branches in ancient Greek democracy.

Conscientious Objector

When tyrannical Athenian politicians ordered Socrates to participate in the arrest and murder of Leon of Salamis, he adamantly refused—an act of civil disobedience that Martin Luther King, Jr. would reference in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

In 399 B.C., Socrates was sentenced to death for refusing to honor Athenian gods and corrupting the youth of Athens, where he uttered his now-famous phrase upon his conviction, “the unexamined life in not worth living.” Despite Plato’s spirited defense of his teacher, 30 days after his conviction, Socrates drank a cup of brewed hemlock tea handed to him by his executioner.

He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his legion of friends and former students, leading Benjamin Franklin to write in his 1791 autobiography, “For humility, imitate Jesus and Socrates.”