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The father of Western philosophy The word ‘philosophy’ means ‘love of wisdom’. Philosophy can be thought of as a way of looking at the world around us, or of answering the great questions of life, such as ‘Why are we here?’ and ‘What is truth?’ The father of Western philosophy was Socrates (469–399 BC). Socrates was from Athens, in Greece. When he was young, he was a brave soldier. Later, he became a teacher, but he taught for free and earned his salary from being a common worker. Aside from this, we know very little about him. Since he never wrote a book, we also know very little about his philosophy. Yet, Socrates has had a deep influence on Western thought and science. To understand how this can be true, we must understand how Socrates taught. Socrates taught by asking questions. Through this, he challenged his students to develop and explain their own arguments. In many cases, his questions made his students aware of their own errors. Many students got embarrassed and even angry when this happened, while others changed their opinions. Socrates’ way of approaching the truth is now called the Socratic Method. The idea of asking questions until you reach the right answer is the basis of modern philosophy and science. Unfortunately for him, Socrates questioned too much. He always asked challenging questions to everyone he met, upsetting many people in Athens. Finally, some people had had enough of him, so they took him to court for questioning the existence of the Greek gods and for corrupting the young people of Athens. At his trial, he defended himself by asking his judges yet more questions. This just made a bad situation worse. Finally he was put to death by being forced to drink poison. Through his death, Socrates became the hero of all people who search for the truth. 西方哲学之父 “哲学”一词意为“热爱智慧”。哲学可被认为是观察我们周围世界的一种方式，或是解答人生重大问题的一种方式，如：“我们为什么会在这里?”以及“什么是真理?” 西方哲学之父是苏格拉底(公元前4 69—公元前3 99年)。苏格拉底是希腊雅典人。在年轻时，他是一名勇敢的士兵。后来，他成了一名教师，但他教书却不收费，靠当一名普通劳动者挣钱。除此以外，我们对他了解很少。由于他从不写书，因此我们对他的哲学也知之甚少。然而，苏格拉底对西方的思想和科学却有着深刻的影响。 为了理解这何以成真，我们必须搞清苏格拉底是怎样教学的。苏格拉底通过提问进行教学。通过这种方式，他盘问学生，要他们完善并阐释自己的论点。很多时候，他的问题让学生们意识到自己的错误。当这种情况发生时，许多学生感到尴尬和气愤，而另外一些学生则会改变他们的观点。苏格拉底探求真理的方式现在被称作苏格拉底问答法。提出一个个问题直至你得出正确答案的这一思路是现代哲学和科学的基础。 很不幸的是，苏格拉底问得太多了。每遇到一个人，他都要提出一些难以回答的问题，惹恼了雅典的许多人。最后，一些人对他忍无可忍，于是便把他送上了法庭，罪名是质疑希腊众神的存在和腐蚀雅典的年轻人。在审判中，他却向法官提出更多问题，以此为自己辩护。这更是雪上加霜。最后，他被迫喝下毒药而被处死。由于他的死，苏格拉底成了所有探求真理的人心目中的英雄。 |
