The Key Ethical Question According to Socrates

The Philosophy of Socrates

Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived around 470 B.C. in Athens. He is considered the father of many subjects, with Ethics being one of them. Socrates never wrote a book, but we know more about him and his thoughts thanks to Plato, who wrote books in which he recreated the conversations his teacher would have with people in Athens.

The Core Question of Socrates' Philosophy

The core question of Socrates' philosophy was "What ought one to do?" According to him, if a person knows what is good, then the person will always do what is good. Therefore, the goal of his philosophy was the pursuit of knowing what was good in order to live a good life. The key ethical question for him was "How should one live?" because a person who acts in a good way would have a better life than someone who didn't do so.