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Introduction:

Socrates was born in Athens, the son of a sculptor and a midwife. In the beginning, he 
followed in the footsteps of his father making art and led a simple existence alongside 
Xanthippe, his wife. 
 
Between 469-399 BC, Socrates was considered to be the father of Western 
Philosophy, but he remains an obscure figure. Although he did not have a school, he 
was regarded as the teacher of the new generation. His teaching method was to ask his 
students questions so that they themselves had to think about the matter and draw their 
own conclusions. In education today, this learning methodology is known as the 
Socratic method. 
 
Socrates was not well accepted by the Greek aristocracy, as he advocated some ideas 
that went against the workings of Greek society. He criticized many aspects of Greek 
culture, saying that many traditions, religious beliefs and customs did not help the 
intellectual development of Greek citizens. 
 
Because of his innovative ideas for society, he began to attract the attention of many 
young Athenians. His qualities as a speaker and his intelligence also contributed to his 
increasing popularity. Fearing some sort of change in society, the more conservative 
elite of Athens began to regard Socrates as a public enemy and potential troublemaker. 
 
He was arrested, accused of trying to subvert the social order, corrupting the youth and 
provoking changes to Greek religion. In his cell, he was sentenced to kill himself by 
taking a poison called hemlock in 399 BC. 
 
Socrates&#39; philosophy is a response to Anaxagoras, who claimed that man is only 
intelligent because he has hands. In fact, the superiority of the human being is found in 
his intelligent soul, which governs the body and participates in the divine. 
 
Socrates re-establishes possibility and determines the true subject of science. The 
purpose of science is not sensitive, singular, or the individual, it is the intelligible 
concept that is expressed by the definition. This concept is obtained by a dialectical 
process he called induction, which involves comparing several individuals of the same 
species. 
 
When controversially exposing and teaching these ideas, Socrates always used 
dialogues, which were double sided, depending on whether he had an opponent to 
refute or a student to instruct. In the first case, he would humbly assume the position 
of the learner and would increase his questions to the opponent until he caused the 
proud opponent to make an evident contradiction and embarrassed him until he 
humiliatingly confessed his ignorance. 
 
In the second case, he still increased his questions but now directed them in order to 
obtain from specific concrete examples the deduction of a concept; a general 
definition of the subject in question. He named this educational process ingenious 
obstetrics of the spirit, which facilitate the birth of ideas. 
 
However, above all, when we talk about Socrates, we are talking about someone who 
was a revolutionary figure, through his intelligence, his constructive ideas and his 
qualities. 
 
The Socratic method can be of great benefit to students if the teacher uses it 
correctly. The method consists of asking questions. Giving answers to these questions 
allows students the benefit of expressing themselves during class. Students create the 
skills and abilities to propose an idea and answer the questions put to them. It not only 
benefits the students by enabling them to formulate ideas, it also gives them the spirit 
of finding and investigating the facts until they have solutions to those facts.

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