Socrates

            "The unexamined life is not worth living."" For many these are just words, but for one man it was a way of life. Socrates is one of the greatest philosophers of all time. His life was a constant quest for excellence of being, wisdom and of morality of the soul. He believed that if one would live his life with a love of wisdom and excellence, instead of wealth and personal gain, that only then would one truly be happy. A citizen of Athens, Socrates was a model citizen and faithful to his city even after they condemned him to death. It was in his belief that the state is like a parent to the individual that the Social Contact Theory later evolved. It is this particular belief that will be focused on, because so strongly did he believe in the role of the state as a parent that has to be obeyed that he died for it.
             Socrates never wrote any of his ideas down, what we know of his teachings and beliefs come for his disciple Plato. Keeping this in mind, we are not really sure where the ideals of Socrates stop and those of Plato begin. Socrates spent most of his life inside of the city of Athens, usually in conversations with the other Athenians. Socrates had great self-control and did not worry about such things as physical comfort, wealth or status. His focus was on living a life of knowledge and pursuing the betterment of the soul. Late in his life he was accused, stood trial and was executed under the charges of corrupting the youth and worshipping strange and false gods. The calm way that he accepts death and the judgment of his fellow Athenians was essential for him to prove his belief that one can be content with their life if they follow a life of knowledge and betterment of the soul. He set an example of how to live your life in both life and death.
             We can see how he views the State and the individual in Plato's Crito. The city and individual take on a parent and child relationship, or one of slave and master.