Most people would speak of Socrates as "the most influential philosopher of all-time." That statement is not necessarily incorrect - just a bit twisted. Rather than thinking of Socrates as influential, think of him as revolutionary. Socrates, unlike the Presocratics before him, did not try to create a new theory; he just simply built on the Sophists theory. Socrates is also the only philosopher that did not write his works down - so rather than having the truth straight from Socrates himself, there are three different views of Socrates that must be interpreted. One portrait portrays Socrates as a cold-hearted con artist, while another view of Socrates (Plato's, which is most widely followed) portrays him as one who is ignorant concerning death.

According to Socrates, death is ultimately what true philosophers desire. The soul then is able to gather all the knowledge the philosopher has sought after his...