Socrates the Younger (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Σωκράτης ὁ νεώτερος, ''Sōkrátēs ho neōteros'', c. 415 – 4th century BCE) was an ancient Athenian philosopher. Ancient texts suggest that he was a young student of the elder

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

and later a cohort of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

. He is best remembered for his depiction in Plato's ''

Statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

'', and scholars have suggested that he had ties to

Academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and

Pythagorean Pythagorean, meaning of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras, may refer to: Philosophy * Pythagoreanism, the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras * Ne ...

philosophy.Herbert Granger, "''Metaphysics'' Z.11.1036b28: ''aisthēton'' or ''aisthētikon''?". ''Classical Quarterly'' 50.2 (2000); pg. 415

Life and thought

Little is known of Socrates the Younger's life, although several clues from the writing of Plato have led scholars to posit his significance in the later circle of the elder Socrates and the early Academy.

Debra Nails Debra Nails (born November 15, 1950) is an American philosophy professor who taught at Michigan State University. Nails earned her M.A. in philosophy and classical Greek from Louisiana State University before going on to earn a Ph.D. in philosophy ...

, ''The People of Plato'', Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2002, pp. 52–53 Socrates the Younger is depicted as a youth in the ''Statesman'', as well as the '' Theaetetus'' and ''

Sophist A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...

'' dialogues in which he is also present, the 399 BCE dramatic dates of which place his birth less than two decades prior. In the ''Theaetetus'', his character is a student of the mathematician

Theodorus of Cyrene Theodorus of Cyrene ( el, Θεόδωρος ὁ Κυρηναῖος) was an ancient Greek mathematician who lived during the 5th century BC. The only first-hand accounts of him that survive are in three of Plato's dialogues: the '' Theaetetus'', th ...

and interested in algebraic and geometric theory. The apocryphal Eleventh Letter attributed to Plato mentions a Socrates, considered by some scholars John M. Cooper, ''The Complete Plato'', Hackett Publishing, 1998; pg. 1672 to be Socrates the Younger. The severe case of his strangury described in the letter may reference his death, which would thus approximately date to 360. The Eleventh Letter further suggests that he was involved in the Academy during this period. Less still is known of Socrates the Younger's thought. A mention in Book 7 of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's ''

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

''Aristotle, ''Metaphysics'', 1036b25 seems to indicate that he remained active as a philosopher. Some scholars have interpreted Aristotle's remarks as describing Socrates the Younger's model of the human as using geometric metaphors to describe human essence, which was ultimately not reliant on its parts. This, along with his depiction as a student of Theodorus and friend of the mathematician Theaetetus in the Platonic literature, suggests his possible association with

Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek col ...

References

{{reflist, 2 5th-century BC Athenians 4th-century BC Athenians Academic philosophers Pupils of Socrates

Life and thought

See also

References