Socrates
<p ><b>Socrates</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ˈ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >s</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ɒ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >k</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >r</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ə</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >t</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >iː</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >z</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English" >/</a>;<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates#cite_note-2" >[2]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language" >Greek</a>: Σωκράτης <i>Sōkrátēs</i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Greek" title="Help:IPA for Greek" >[sɔːkrátɛːs]</a>; 470/469 BC – 399 BC)<sup id="cite_ref-enc1911_1-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates#cite_note-enc1911-1" >[1]</a></sup> was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Greece" title="Classical Greece" >classical Greek</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Athens" title="Classical Athens" >Athenian</a>) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy" >philosopher</a> credited as one of the founders of<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_philosophy" title="Western philosophy" >Western philosophy</a>. He is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers, especially the writings of his students <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato" title="Plato" >Plato</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophon" title="Xenophon" >Xenophon</a> and the plays of his contemporary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristophanes" title="Aristophanes" >Aristophanes</a>. Plato's dialogues are among the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity, though it is unclear the degree to which Socrates himself is "hidden behind his 'best disciple', Plato".<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates#cite_note-3" >[3]</a></sup>
Through his portrayal in Plato's dialogues, Socrates has become renowned for his contribution to the field of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics" title="Ethics" >ethics</a>, and it is this Platonic Socrates who lends his name to the concepts of Socratic irony and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method" title="Socratic method" >Socratic method</a>, or <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method" title="Socratic method" >elenchus</a></i>. The latter remains a commonly used tool in a wide range of discussions, and is a type of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy" title="Pedagogy" >pedagogy</a> in which a series of questions is asked not only to draw individual answers, but also to encourage fundamental insight into the issue at hand. Plato's Socrates also made important and lasting contributions to the field of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology" title="Epistemology" >epistemology</a>, and the influence of his ideas and approach remains a strong foundation for much western philosophy that followed.</p>