In this essay I will discuss one of the four major philosophical movements of ancient Greek philosophy; namely the Socratic movement. The Socratic turn was a philosophical shift from a natural philosophy to a social philosophy. It is a part of ancient Greek philosophy that sparked a huge movement of thought that influenced the course of humanity for many centuries. I will attempt to express my observations on this movement as clearly and specifically as possible. Social philosophy, also described as the philosophical study of social behavior (especially in humans), was one of the key aspects of Plato's philosophy. It must be recognized, however, that this was not exclusive to the Socratic turn, as many other philosophers incorporated social philosophy after Plato. However, our main concern will be the philosophy of Plato, as he was responsible for the beginning of the philosophical social movement. Plato incorporated his philosophy primarily through his own writings, as well as the dialogues he recorded from his mentor Socrates. The main character in Plato's works was Socrates. Socrates was a philosopher whose life mission was to be concerned with virtue and excellence of the mind, or arête in Greek terms. In Plato's Apologies, which means explanation in Greek, you can see Socrates' goal and determination. One of Socrates' most famous phrases is: "Are you not ashamed of worrying about having as much money, reputation and honor as possible, but not having to more Mendia, Page. 2 do not care or think about prudence and truth, and how will your soul be the best that it can be? (Kolak and Thomson, 95). Plato's Socrates was very concerned with the soul, which will be the next topic of our discussion. The soul,...... middle of paper ...... showed him Aristotle's admiration. Obviously, a refutation is a sign of strong influence from Parmenides to Aristotle. In this essay, I have discussed the influence that the Pre-Socratics had on the Platonic and Aristotelian movements of thought. Although I have analyzed the former more than the latter, I have elaborated enough to show that the pre-Socratics were of great importance to both Plato and Socrates. Pre-Socratic thought was very important in ancient Greek philosophy, as well as for us philosophy students who are trying to learn the roots of great philosophical thought. Pre-Socratic thought was the beginning of philosophy, and philosophers must search for its roots to have a solid foundation of philosophy. Works Cited Kolak, Daniel and Garrett Thomson. Longman's standard history of ancient philosophy. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. Print.