Socrates was a ancient Greek philosopher who lived in Athens during the 5th century BCE. He is considered to be one of the original founders of Western philosophy, and is best known for his method of questioning, known as the Socratic method, which is still widely used in education today.

Socrates was known for his unique teaching style, which focused on asking questions rather than providing answers. He believed that by asking questions, he could help his students to think more critically and to arrive at their own understanding of the world. He famously said, "I know that I know nothing".

Socrates did not leave any written works, most of the knowledge about him comes from his student Plato and Xenophon, who wrote dialogues featuring Socrates as the main character.

Despite his popularity among the people of Athens, Socrates was not well-regarded by the city's political leaders. He was critical of the city's democracy, and believed that the people were not capable of governing themselves. This earned him many enemies, and in 399 BCE, he was brought to trial on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth. He was found guilty and sentenced to death by drinking hemlock.

Socrates' death had a profound impact on the people of Athens and on Western philosophy as a whole. His willingness to die for his beliefs in the pursuit of truth and knowledge was seen as a sacrifice for the greater good, and his story has become a symbol of integrity and courage. His method of question became widely used as a method to elicit truth, and even today is a fundamental way of teaching in various fields of study.

Many philosophers consider Socrates as a key figure that laid the foundations of Western philosophy, His ideas and method have been widely studied and influenced many figures of Western thought such as Plato, Aristotle, and later on Descartes, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, among others.