Socrates lived in fifth-century Athens and became known for questioning people about the qualities they claimed to understand: courage, justice, piety and the good life. He left no surviving philosophical writings. We encounter him through differing portrayals, especially those of Plato and Xenophon, as well as comedy and later testimony. Distinguishing the historical person from those accounts is an enduring scholarly problem. His trial and execution in 399 BCE are central to the way later generations have understood his life.
The Socrates presented in Plato’s dialogues often begins with a familiar assertion and asks what would make it true. His questions can expose confusion, but the conversations also show an interest in continuing the search together. In the Apology, he defends the value of examining conduct and admits limits to his own knowledge. In the Crito, facing death, he asks whether a proposed action agrees with principles already accepted. The passages here are explicitly selections from Plato’s portrayals. They are not verified verbatim speech by the historical Socrates, nor books he authored. Read together, they offer several approaches to inquiry: humility, definition, partnership, consistency and attention to how one lives.
Quotations retain the wording of the cited editions. The explanations are Alrewaq’s editorial readings.
01Examining a life
the life which is unexamined is not worth living
Plato’s Socrates speaks these uncompromising words while defending his commitment to inquiry at his trial. Their setting is a particular argument about virtue and his own vocation. Our editorial invitation is to reflect on conduct, without treating another person’s life as less worthy.
Source & edition · Examining a life
Plato, Apology 38a · Socrates as portrayed by Plato, excerpt
Benjamin Jowett, nineteenth-century English translation.
A literary presentation of Socrates’s defence, not a surviving trial transcript.
After questioning a man reputed to be wise, Plato’s Socrates distinguishes ignorance from an unwarranted claim to knowledge. He is discussing matters of goodness and wisdom in his defence. We can admit what we do not know and keep investigating.
Source & edition · Admitting a limit
Plato, Apology 21d · Socrates’s account of examining a reputedly wise man
Benjamin Jowett, nineteenth-century English translation.
Socrates as portrayed by Plato; not a claim that Socrates believed he knew literally nothing.
Then we ought not to retaliate or render evil for evil to anyone
In prison, Plato’s Socrates tests a proposed escape against the principle that one must not commit injustice. The passage challenges the idea that injury automatically justifies injury in return. Our reading concerns the reasons for an action; it does not require remaining exposed to harm.
Source & edition · Refusing retaliation
Plato, Crito 49c · Socrates speaking, excerpt
Benjamin Jowett, nineteenth-century English translation.
The sentence continues by considering evil suffered from another person.
I have no objection to join with you in the enquiry.
Meno has become unable to define virtue, and Plato’s Socrates admits his own perplexity before proposing continued inquiry. The relationship is not simply an expert delivering answers.
Source & edition · Looking together
Plato, Meno 80d · Socrates responding to Meno
Benjamin Jowett, nineteenth-century English translation.
Plato’s dramatic portrayal; the historical conversation cannot be reconstructed from it.
Euthyphro has offered an example of pious conduct. Plato’s Socrates asks for an explanation of what makes different acts count as pious, so a claim can be examined consistently. Our reading asks whether a familiar word has a meaning we can explain and test.
Source & edition · Beyond an example
Plato, Euthyphro 6e · Socrates seeking a definition of piety, excerpt
Benjamin Jowett, nineteenth-century English translation.
An opening clause; the passage continues by asking for a standard for judging actions.
