Inspirational. Enigmatic. Stubborn. Insightful. Truly one of the greatest minds the world has ever known was the philosopher Socrates. Yet almost nothing is known with certainty about him. This is because he didn't bother to write down any of his reflections or teachings. However, most of what we know about Socrates today comes to us from the works of Socrates' student, Plato. It is through many of his works that Socrates' ethical theories can be learned and his methods known. WHO WAS HE? Socrates was a devoted student of human nature and human motivation. As such, he was a passionate political commentator. The problem, of course, was that during that time you could end up in prison or, even worse, die. “States are as men are; they arise from human characters (Plato, 543a). This philosophy of Socrates is what supposedly got him arrested, tried, and executed. Socrates, according to Plato, analyzed the various types of government that were attempted during a very chaotic time in Athens. As such, corruption was widespread and Socrates spoke out against it. In the eighth book of Plato's Republic, Socrates explains the four types of corrupt governments, the type of men who make each type of government work and says that just as there is the personality of the individual, so there is also the personality of the government . In other words, if the person is corrupt or has some kind of corruption, then the government will too. Socrates, if you read any of Plato's works, appears to be a man of intense and never satisfied curiosity. He used the same logical actions developed by the sophists for a new purpose, the search for truth. Many credit Socrates with the birth of critical philosophy due to the fact that he would accept nothing less than a complete account of h... half of paper... l of philosophers. That humanity is a continuous source of amazement and discovery, no one would have argued. And in the end, the soul of humanity is the last great frontier, isn't it? This largely unknown frontier was a source of constant contemplation by Socrates and, in turn, by those future philosophers who would come after him. Works Cited The Death of Socrates (2002, November 25) Citro (online) Available: http://www.wsu .edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/phaedo.htmlPlato, Lee, Desmond (Translator) Plato: The Republic 1979Plato, Five Dialogues, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, Hackett Publishing Company,1981, pp. 6-22Plato (2002, November 25) (online) Available: http://plato- dialogs.org/plato.htmSocrates: The Examiner (2002, November 25) (online) Available: http://www.creatorix.com .au/philosophy/03/03f05.html