Socrates said it. Socrates and his student Plato, as well as Plato's student Aristotle, are known as the "three sages of ancient Greece" and are generally regarded as the founders of western philosophy by later generations. As a citizen of Athens, it is recorded that Socrates was finally sentenced to death by the Athens court on charges of insulting the Athenian god, introducing neo-theism and corrupting the thoughts of the Athenian youth.

Socrates often argues with people, and the question and answer is divided into three steps: the first step is called Socrates' satire, which he thinks is necessary to make people smart, because unless a person is humble and "knows his ignorance", he can't learn true knowledge.

The second step is called definition. After repeated questions and induction in question and answer, a clear definition and concept are obtained. The third step is called midwifery, which guides students to think for themselves and draw their own conclusions. As Socrates himself said, although he is ignorant, he can help others acquire knowledge, just as his mother is a midwife. Although she is old and barren, she can deliver a baby and help a new life to be born.

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Aristotle believes that Socrates gave up the study of nature, wanted to seek universal truth on ethical issues, and began to seek a definition for things. He opposed the relativism of wise men and thought that there could be various opinions, but there was only one truth. "Viewpoint" can change with everyone and other conditions, but "truth" is eternal.

In Plato's early dialogues, almost all the topics discussed were how to define ethics. Socrates pursues the understanding of "beauty itself" and "justice itself". This is a universal definition of beauty and justice, real knowledge, Plato's "idea of beauty" and "idea of justice".

Baidu encyclopedia Socrates