Socrates

Socrates (c. 470–399 BCE) is one of the foundational figures of Western philosophy. He left no written works, and his thought is known primarily through the accounts of his students, especially Plato and Xenophon. Socrates understood philosophy as a constant examination of oneself and others, grounded in dialogue, questioning, and the testing of beliefs. Through his dialectical method, he sought not to transmit knowledge but to awaken an awareness of ignorance and to guide the soul toward the pursuit of justice and the good. His thinking is fundamentally ethical, concerned with how to live a good, coherent, and just life. By making philosophy a practice of moral clarity rather than a body of doctrines, Socrates profoundly reshaped the very meaning of philosophy.