Socrates, Plato, Aristotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle - Essay Example Despite the enigma that surrounds his life and his teachings, Socrates is today considered by many scholars to be one of the fathers of Western philosophy. His student, Plato, has done most of his thoughts and ideas that have been put down in writing because there is no record of his thought ever being written down during his lifetime. Based on this, it is very difficult to distinguish between the thought that was of Socrates and what was Plato is because it can be suspected that Plato may have put some of his ideas into the mouth of Socrates to make them seem more credible to his audience due to Socrates’ reputation. The dialectic method of enquiry can be considered Socrates’ most lasting contribution to Western philosophy, which tended mostly to be applied when dealing with moral matters such as what was good and just within the society. The dialectic method, which Socrates used, was first described by Plato when he stated that in order to solve a problem; this problem would be split into a series of questions the answers to which would eventually create a logical solution (McCall 1935 – 1936). The scientific method that is used today is heavily influenced by Socrates’ dialectic method of enquiry because a hypothesis for the solution of a problem is often the first stage in the scientific method. Socrates’ development and practicing of the dialectic method is what has earned him his place as one of the fathers of Western philosophy as well as the creator of the study of political philosophy, and moral philosophy.