The Man Who Asked Questions.

Question 1

About _________ years ago in Athens a man was put to death for asking too many questions.

Answer 1

2,400

Question 2

Describe Socrates.

Answer 2

Snub-nosed, podgy, shabby, and a bit strange.

Question 3

What did Socrates do as a young man that made him brave?

Answer 3

He fought in the Peloponnesian wars against the Spartans and their allies.

Question 4

What were Socrates questions like?

Answer 4

They seemed straight forward but they weren’t.

Question 5

At that time in Athens sons of rich men would be sent to study with________.

Answer 5

Sophists.

Question 6

What are sophists?

Answer 6

They are clever teachers who would coach their students in the art of speech-making.

Question 7

One day his friend Chaerophon went to the oracle of Apollo at ___________.

Answer 7

Delphi

Question 8

What was the oracle?

Answer 8

The oracle was a wise old woman, a sibyl, who would answer questions that visitors asked.

Question 9

What was wisdom for Socrates?

Answer 9

Understanding the true nature of our existence, including the limits of what we can know.

Question 10

What did Socrates prefer to do than to write?

Answer 10

Talking.

Question 11

What are the Platonic Dialogues?

Answer 11

A series of written down conversations between Socrates and the people he questioned by Plato.

Question 12

What did Plato do to make a point?

Answer 12

Plato described an imaginary cave.

Question 13

In the imaginary cave, what did the people in the cave see?

Answer 13

Shadows made by objects held up in front of a fire behind them.

Question 14

Who did Plato believe should have the political power and be in charge?

Answer 14

Philosophers.

Question 15

What would the social rankings look like if philosophers ruled?

Answer 15

Philosophers
soldiers
workers

Question 16

What was a perfect balance according to Plato?

Answer 16

Plato thought, a balance that was like a well balanced mind with the reasonable part keeping the emotions and desires in control.

Question 17

What percentage of the population vote in the society that Plato imagined?

Answer 17

10% of the population could vote.

Question 18

In _________ BC, when Socrates was 70 years old, one of them, Meletus, took him to court.

Answer 18

399 BC

Question 19

Why did Meletus take Socrates to court?

Answer 19

He claimed that Socrates was neglecting the Athenian gods, introducing new gods of his own.

Question 20

How many citizens made up the jury in that court?

Answer 20

501 citizens

Question 21

What was Socrates sentenced to?

Answer 21

He was sentenced to death.

Question 22

What argument did Socrates make that angered the Athenians?

Answer 22

They should be rewarding him by giving him free meals for life instead of punishing him.

Question 23

How was Socrates put to death?

Answer 23

He was forced to drink poison made from hemlock.

Question 24

What is hemlock?

Answer 24

A plant that gradually paralyzes the body.

Question 25

Who were the last people that Socrates saw before he was put to death?

Answer 25

His wife, three sons and his students.