Socrates And His Theories' Impact On The Philosophy

Socrates is one of the few individuals whom one could say has shaped the cultural and intellectual development of the world; without him, history would be profoundly different. He is best known for his association with the Socratic method of question and answer, his claim that he was ignorant (or aware of his own absence of knowledge), and his claim that the unexamined life is not worth living for human beings. Socrates tends to bring inner discord, guilt, stress, anxiety, and other characteristics of an unhealthy mind.

First, Socrates’ analogizes himself as being a gadfly in his desire to impact Athens, he states, “… you will not easily find another who, if I may use a ludicrous comparison, clings to the state as a sort of gadfly to a horse that is large and well-bred but rather sluggish from its size, and needing to be aroused,” (Mulvaney 24). Socrates was the gadfly, and his actions permeated throughout the big city, Athens, the horse. Socrates wanted people to be their true selves and improve their personalities. He talked to people in person or small groups; and in doing so, created the gadfly ripple. (A gadfly is small compared to a large bulky horse; but when the fly stings the horse, one part will twitch, in turn, causing another part to twitch.)