Philosophy, by definition, is not only the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom but also asking questions that seemingly have no answers. Ancient Greece had no shortage of wise men called the Sophists. While they taught young men wisdom for money, their objective was to prove themselves wiser than their opponents by making their arguments appear stronger than it really was. To them, the truth was relative and arguments, as Protagoras admitted, could be distorted to their advantage.
Of course, Socrates, being part of the Sophists, did differently by using their reasoning techniques in order arrive at the indisputable truth without charging his students. Simply put, he would propose a hypothesis and set about disproving it. To him, if an argument could not be proved wrong, it must be the truth. Using inductive reasoning, he developed the Socratic Method of Questioning or 'elenchus' to explore all kinds of questions, not just pertaining to the physical sciences but to ideas, ethics and morality as well (Mark). Very differently, he did not argue for the sake of being right but to arrive at the truth. Being the very first philosopher to do so, his method sought to define concepts since he believed that it was these accurate definitions that bring one closer to the truth.
So, why is Socrates considered “the father of Western Philosophy”? Not only did the Socratic Method of Questioning influence his students such as Plato but played a role in the work of Aristotle who came much later. Having said that, his method of rational inquiry is the basis of Western Philosophy today where philosophers not only have clear starting points but view issues from multiple perspectives. Not only did he explore logical connections but also determine the consequences of one's beliefs. He was willing to take an argument into unchartered territory while also very open to revising one's opinions in the light of new findings. This is not very different from the scientific inquiry that we conduct in the modern world not only in Philosophy but also in a number of scientific disciplines.
So, if it not were for the contribution of Socrates, the way we categorize, drill down, sift and organize our thoughts through arguments, premises and logical conclusions would have never been ours to benefit from. Hence, for being the very first philosopher to take such a unique approach to examining Life and for the Socratic Method that is still used today, Socrates is widely regarded as the Father of Western Philosophy (Mark).
Works Cited
Mark, Joshua J. "Socrates." Ancient History Encyclopedia. 2 September 2009. Web. 29 January 2017. <https://www.ancient.eu/socrates/>
